Malacky - Character Change of a Small Town in the 2<sup>nd</sup> Half of the 20<sup>th</sup> Century

Abstract

The paper presents the view of the situation in a small town that started to develop dynamically in the second half of the 20th century. Until then, the town Malacky made a reservoir of labor for the near capital - Bratislava city. Social changes after the Second World War and the development of production technology had a deep impact on the city. This impact is visible up to these days. New times brought the development of industry and concentration of production, that led to new job opportunities. It attracted people of the surrounding area. This situation led to the housing crises. The way out of this situation was the construction of new urban structures and extensive housing estates of residential buildings, which inexorably replaced the original buildings. Part of the historic organism of the city was demolished and new buildings were formed directly in the city center. Rationalization and pragmatic solutions were dominating, they better met the demands and requirements of the society and material and technical production possibilities at that time. After several years there have been consequences of the situation which prioritize only selected aspects of housing. These residential complexes are the document of the way of society life in the second half of the 20th century, as well as the evidence of abilities of architects and urban planners who were created in the conditions of centrally planned construction.