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Charming former Hungarian royal town will be the 2026 European Capital of Culture
On January 1, 2026, Trenčín (in Hungarian: Trencsén) will become the European Capital of Culture. On Friday evening, October 31, a symbolic countdown will be unveiled and launched in a spectacular show called Counting Down to the Future. The central points of the program will be a giant interactive mirror triangle called Zero and multimedia video mapping with a laser show based on folklore motifs.
At 7 p.m., a unique object will be ceremoniously launched in Trenčín’s M. R. Štefánik Park – an interactive audiovisual work entitled Zero by architect Alan Prekop. The evening program will also include an audiovisual experience in the form of video mapping directly on the Váh River by artist Boris Vitázek.
2026 European Capital of Culture
The work entitled “Zero” is no ordinary monument. It is a vertical structure with interactive light and sound elements that responds sensitively to its surroundings while reflecting the city itself. “The object breathes, flashes, and waits. The countdown is not just a function here, but becomes a place where the present meets the future,” explains the author of the work, architect Alan Prekop.
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The visual language of the work plays with the contrast between reflection and disappearance. Mirrored surfaces reflect the city and its details, but at the same time, at certain angles, they allow the object to blend in with its surroundings. Its base is a concrete ring filled with soil and perennials—a gesture symbolizing that culture is not just a decoration of the city, but its foundation. Plants that need time to take root remind us that the values cultivated by culture also mature gradually.
Technology in symbyosis with nature
The countdown clock consists of 24 LED panels onto which video recordings of everyday moments in the life of the city are projected – for example, shop windows opening, boats sailing on the Váh River, or bread being delivered. The video was created by Emma Lea Nikodýmová (camera), Adam Kubala (editing), and Juraj Marikovič (music). The lighting elements are designed with the biodiversity of the city park in mind. The wavelength of light used is gentle on nocturnal insects, birds, and small animals, thus preserving the natural rhythm of nature.
Visitors can also interactively control the object using a QR code, which allows them to change the intensity of the light. When the countdown reaches zero, the object will not disappear, but will instead take on a new function. It will welcome visitors, provide information, and continue to serve the city, no longer as a symbol of anticipation, but as an active part of the cultural year 2026.
It would be nice if the article mentioned that Trenčín is located in Slovakia.
Mr Rickard, I concur fully. A triumph of jingoism — the only nation mentioned (and in the headline, in the lead-in paragraph ! ) Hungary, and a failure of journalism.
It is funny, how you seem to no understand the word “formerly”.
And by that logic, the writer wants to return to absolute monarchy, because they wrote “formerly royal”.
The only thing you proved is, that you hate everything Hungarian so much, that you just hate everyone that knows history, because history supports Hungary’s existence. And I would guess you are a gay-race-communist, that wants to abolish nations, societies, culture, and return to anarchist barbarism.
Grumpy concurs too. This is not the way the Slovaks tell the story. And, for the record, it’s not a Hungarian town. It’s in Slovakia. That would be akin to labeling some towns in Békés county as Slovakian. They aren’t. They are Hungarian.
The article writes “formerly Hungarian royal town”. Should I give you a dictionary to understand “formerly”, or should I teach you to read properly?