Episode Details

As Slovakia's manufacturing sector privatized and modernized, many hulking and once prosperous factories and mills were left rusting and forgotten. This was true for the Merina textile factory in Trencin. It may have survived two world wars and tremendous political upheaval, but it could not withstand the fierce competition from cheap, foreign textiles. In this episode, we look at this factory complex and the fight to declare it an industrial monument in order to save it for future generations of Slovaks. Who ultimately wins this fight says much about the values of the moment.