1 Dec 2013

Bratislava tram depot

In The Living Daylights when Bond travels to Bratislava he ends up on the tram when tailing Kara from the conservatoire. He watches her during a rehearsal and gets on the same tram to try and make contact. 
Before he makes contact Kara is abducted by the KGB on the tram. Bond takes her Cello case and continues to the end station, the tram depot supposedly outside of town. At the tram depot he gets off with the cello. 
Like all the action in Bratislava, these scenes too were filmed in Vienna, Austria. The eastern bloc were not very accessible for filming and even though the wall came down only two years after The Living Daylights, the cold war was still going on at the time of filming. The film was shot a few kilometers outside the city center, a part of Vienna that had a more eastern European look.


The tram depot where Bond arrives is located in the 18th district of Vienna and can be found at Kreutzgasse 72-76 alongside the tram line 9 and 42. The tram line 9 is the one that Kara takes from the conservatoire and can be seen in the film. However, the line that runs to Kara's apartment is number 42. The depot, also known as Remise in German, has been closed down since 1993 and is a cultural heritage site. 


The building, originally meant for horses, was constructed in 1883. Originally the trams were driven by horses but when electricity was introduced in 1902 the buildings were expanded to accommodate larger cars.


After getting off the tram, Bond is looking for a place where he can examine Kara's cello case. He finds a public toilet just to the right of the depot building where he walks in. Most likely the toilet interior was shot in studio but the building seen in the film can actually be found on location. It is in here that Bond finds Kara's rifle. 


The building is located at the corner of Lacknergasse, just to the right of the original depot. Originally built as administrative offices it is plausible that this actually was a public toilet, probably used by the tram drivers. Today the Musikschule Schmid-Zettelmann, a muisc school, is housed in part of the building. The side of the building is fenced so you can't actually enter the "toilet". But given the state of the building, it is possible that you wouldn't be able to open the door anyway.



The old tram depot now houses a Spar Supermarket and in front of the it has another apartment building risen on pillars. The tram tracks in front of the building have also been removed. The former glory of this magnificent tram building is gone and the building has almost disappeared in the city during development. Nonetheless, the depot is an interesting location mainly due to the fact that the public toilet can be found on location along with the main building. Kara's apartment is located just one block away, but that will be covered at a later date.



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