History of the house and the association

It was built as a medieval pit-house (grubhouse). Today this original house is the central cellar of the property. In the 14th century, the room may have already served as a wine cellar.

The grubhouse has been extended with an additional cellar and with a two-storey extension, probably with an open fire in the kitchen in the central room. The ground floor of the house was at this time approximately 1 meter below the level of present-day Kapitulská Street. There was also an avant-corps - a porch in the center of the south front of the house.

The house was extended to Kapitulská Street, and the rooms on the ground floor were vaulted. The first street wall was built. The eastern extension, including additional cellars, was also built to the west wing of the cloister of the Poor Clares.

The owners built a brick staircase to the cellars with a separate courtyard entrance, enlarged the door and window openings, unified the ceiling heights, changed the truss construction, enlarged the bay, added an eastern staircase to the first floor and attic, built a new street wall with a stone portal, and painted the upstairs rooms with decorative paintings.

Utilitarian modifications were made, floors, ceilings, and window fillings were replaced, technical infrastructure was created, gas heaters were installed, and the shingle roof was covered with sheet metal and asbestos. The building was pre-facaded, and the original historical plaster was removed...

The family of the director of the Municipal Music School and conductor of the Church Music Society, Alexander Albrecht, moved into the house from Lodna No. 12. The home became a popular meeting place for Bratislava intellectuals and artists. Photo: Alexander Albrecht with his wife Margareta and son Ján.

After the death of Alexander Albrecht, his son Jan Albrecht (nicknamed Hansi by his friends) took over the management of the artistic and social gatherings in the house. The violist, pedagogue, and musicologist gathered around him a large group of young enthusiasts for musical and visual arts, aesthetics, and literature and created, together with his wife Viera, a unique atmosphere for regular meetings of artists of all generations.

Until the year of Hansi's death, the house was an unofficial center for the artistic and human maturation of dozens of artists from all over Slovakia and abroad, it was a space for learning how to progress artistically and humanly.

Fourteen years after Hansi's Albrecht death, we founded the civic association ALBRECHT FORUM and started a general reconstruction of the house (ruins) with a vision not to forget the Albrecht family, to commemorate their commitment to the development of our culture and to reconstruct the house for contemporaries and future generations. The bridge from the past to present days and tomorrow is built on our passion for art and knowledge. We acquired the house for long-term rent from the Bratislava Archdiocese.

Renovation work on horizontal structures continued, and plumbing elements were replaced. An informal community of supporters and volunteers has been formed, who have long been donating funds to support the reconstruction and involved in revitalization work. We met at volunteer weekends and at the first public event - Concert in Ruins. After years, Musica aeterna played at home, and the Lotz Trio, Solamente natural, and Quasars ensemble also performed.

Archaeological research began in the house and the adjacent courtyard. The foundations of the building were repaired, the humidity of the vertical structures of the ground floor was repaired, the entire length of the building was dug out of the courtyard part, lowered courtyards next to the house with sewerage were created, ventilation and dehumidification of the building were installed using the IGLU system. We organized other volunteering events. Slovak fine artists donated their works to the renovation of the house, part of which was sold at an auction in SOGA.

We met two for the revitalization of the interior of the house committed architects Katka Šimončičová and Eva Šperka. We reconstructed the stone elements in the exterior and the retaining wall in the garden of the house. We have traditionally prepared ``Kapitulské dvory`` (Open courtyards at Kapitulská street event) during which hundreds of people visited the house, and we organized a few volunteer events. Guests from the Czech Republic, Martin Cára, and Vít Dvořáček performed as part of the J. K. Mertz Guitar Festival. Musica aeterna introduced Serenata a due voci (Drama per Musica) Marc´Antonio e Cleopatra by Johann Adolf Hasse. The ensemble Solamente naturali also performed on our unofficial garden stage.

For future memorial spaces, we borrowed the original furniture of the house from the time of the Albrecht family. We replaced all the exterior doors and had the interior doors crafted. Lenka Hlubinová completed the project of revitalizing the garden and at the end of the summer, we set up the garden. Architects Katka Šimončičová and Eva Šperka completed the entire interior design of the house, we put a part to be produced. Archaeological research continued - this time in the garden area and at the place for the retention tank for rainwater collection and watering. In the courtyard, which turned into a garden, we co-organized an event as part of the One World festival. Michal Hvorecký hosted Sacha Batthyany, and the duo Plaisirs de Musique performed in a concert. As in other years, Zuzka Godárová presented the house on guided walks through Bratislava this year.

We are continuing the reconstruction of the exterior, designing the roof insulation, applying for grants, and submitting applications for funding to the Bratislava City Foundation, the Bratislava Municipality, the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic, SOZA, the Music Fund and the Fund for the Support of Arts. Applications for funding for live culture were supported and the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic and the Bratislava City Foundation contributed to repairs. Cultural life was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the summer ``window`` we managed to organize a series of chamber concerts called Hortus artis (Garden of Art). We were preparing a fundraising campaign and launched and launched it.

The Albrecht House began to live a busier artistic life. We organized the second year of the chamber concert series in the garden of the Albrecht House Hortus Artis 2021. We were visited by Konvergencie festival, the J. K. Mertz Guitar Festival, Opera Aeterna project, Viva Musica! Festival, NUDE theatre, Lash&Grey, Fats Jazz Band, Novum Foundation, author readings (Eva Borušovičová, Silvester Lavrík), Music at Fulla's, and others. We were again part of the Weekend of Open Parks and Gardens event. The garden became a place of relaxation, absorption of artistic expressions, and reflection. With the financial help of Bratislava Self-Governing Region, we completed the reconstruction of the heating system, Bratislava - Staré Mesto financially supported the construction of a gazebo with a green roof, Hortus Artis was organized thanks to the support of the main partner of the project Slovak Art Council and contributions from the Music Fund and SOZA. More than 150 people contributed to the 2020/2021 fundraising campaign by buying different artistic objects and through donating money. Thank you!

In 2022, we continued the general reconstruction of the Albrecht House - we finalized the ceilings in the small exhibition room on the 2nd floor, we put into operation the heating with heat pumps, bathrooms on the 1st floor, we planted a green roof on the gazebo, we had an acoustics study and a project for the interior of the chamber concert hall designed. Musica aeterna gave concerts in the house, we were part of the Open Parks and Gardens Weekend in June, we hosted masterclasses during the J. K. Mertz Guitar Festival, we hosted the 3rd Hortus Artis Chamber Music Festival, the space of the house and the garden was addressed by several filmmakers, Martin and Radka Krajčovci, Lash&Grey, Fats Jazz Band, NUDE Theatre, Konvergencie Festival, Stále Dobri and other performers and artists performed here again. Our events and programs were supported by the Slovak Art Council, SOZA, the Music Fund, the Bratislava City Foundation, the Bratislava Municipality, and many individuals. We are very grateful to all of them! We are moving on.