Karol Kállay Testimony of an Epoch

The exhibition, organized on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of renowned Slovak photographer Karol Kállay, entitled Testimony of the Times, is open from March 8 to May 31, 2026, at Danubiana.

This world-renowned photographer has been taking pictures since he was ten years old. At the age of sixteen, he won a gold medal at a national photography exhibition, and his first works were published in the Swiss magazine Camera.

After completing his university studies, he worked as a professional photographer for the weekly magazines Svět v obrazech (World in Pictures) and Domov a svět (Home and World). He photographed fashion in Bratislava and Prague, and later spent long periods in Berlin and Paris. He produced reports for prestigious foreign magazines such as GEO, Stern, Merian, and Paris Match.

He was a member of the German Bielderberg Society and brought back “pictorial reports” from Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, the USA, and Russia. Many people remember his images of old Bratislava, its streets, summer days on the banks of the Danube, and the iconic image of nuns with their backs turned, looking at the city. The capital city captured through Kállay’s unique perspective is summarized in the photo book Bratislava moja (My Bratislava). He demonstrated his love for Prague in the publication Franz Kafka a Praha (Franz Kafka and Prague).

Kállay tried to capture what no one else could, to be in places where others did not go, and when he was looking for a subject for a photograph and pressing the shutter, he remembered the advice of photographer Karol Hájek: “Try to see things differently than everyone else.”

Last but not least, he remembers an old lady on the Trans-Siberian Railway who asked him where he was from, what nationality he was, and whether he believed in God. He answered her questions. It was as if she wasn’t listening to him. She ended their conversation with the words: “But it doesn’t matter who you are, the important thing is that there is no war.”

He remembered this conversation forever. It was perhaps more important to him than the photo in which he remembered her face. His photographs are exhibited in prestigious galleries around the world.

Biography

He was born on April 26, 1926, in Čadca. He studied at a high school in Trenčín and graduated from the University of Economics in 1948. He devoted his entire life to photography. He died on August 4, 2012, at the age of 86 in Bratislava.

His first book, Slovenské rieky (Slovak Rivers), was published in 1954. Of the nearly 50 books he published, those about Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, Rome, Mexico, and Slovakia became particularly famous. The publications Pieseň o Slovensku (Song of Slovakia) and Los Angeles won, among other awards, the UNESCO Prize for the most beautiful books in the world. His book Kafka und Prag won an award in the Most Beautiful Books of Slovakia 1995 competition.

He presented his work at more than 80 personal exhibitions at home and abroad (Prague, Berlin, New York, Moscow, Budapest, Warsaw, Bucharest, Sofia, Paris, Hamburg, Baghdad, Cairo, Osaka, Istanbul, Havana). He has received many awards, including the Pribina Cross, First Class, for his life’s work, Photographer of the Year by GEO magazine in Germany, the EFIAP title in Switzerland, and the Leopold J. Danihels Award for artistic activities in Los Angeles, USA.

Curator: Norbert Šlachta
Exhibition concept: Karol Kállay, Martin Kállay

Location: Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, Čunovo, Slovakia

Date: from 08.03.2026 – 31.05.2026

Opening hours:

Monday – closed
Tuesday – Sunday from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Entrance fee:

Adults – 12 €
Family (2 adults and 2 students) – 25 €
Pensioners (over 62 years old) – 6 €
Students – 6 €
Children (under 6 years old) – Free
Members of the Danubiana Club – Free
Disabled persons, persons over 75 years old – Free

Here you will find all tips for EVENTS BRATISLAVA.