ABfromYYZ Bratislava, Slovakia Travel Itinerary: February 13-15 2016
Bratislava Brief History Bratislava is one of the youngest capitals in Europe, but it has a very rich history. Over the centuries Bratislava had several names: Possonium (Latin), Pressburg (German), Pozsony (Hungarian), and Prešporok (Slovak). As the city lies in the heart of Europe on the bank of Danube River, it easily became a centre of trade and business meetings as much as the centre of different cultures. Bratislava was inhabited by the Slavs in the 6th century and the first written mention of Bratislava comes from the year 907, which also mentions the Bratislava Castle. Bratislava was a part of Nitra Principality, since the end of the 8th century, which in 833 with the Moravian Principality formed the state of Great Moravia. In 1464 Bratislava received an important right of sword from Matthias Corvinus, for the city it meant that the City Council could punish offenders even with the highest penalty, the capital penalty. Later, Bratislava was the meeting place of the Hungarian Council (1542-1848), it was the seat of the archbishop of Esztergom (1543-1820) and was also the coronation city of Hungarian Kings (1563-1830). Until 1918 Bratislava was a part of the Hungarian Empire and later belonged to the Habsburg Monarchy. It acquired the city privileges in 1291 from the Hungarian King Andrew III. On 14th of March 1939 until the year 1945, after the breakup of Czechoslovakia, Bratislava became the capital of the independent Slovakia. The city became the seat of the president, parliament, government and all government offices. However, it lost a part of its territory, because Petržalka and Devín became a part of Germany. In 1946 the Great Bratislava was created when Devín, Dúbravka, Lamač, Petržalka, Prievoz, Rača and Vajnory were reconnected to it. Since 1968 until 1992 Bratislava was the capital of the Slovak Socialist Republic within the Czechoslovakia. Since 1st of January 1993, Bratislava is the capital of the independent Slovak Republic. Archeological evidence shows that people lived in the area of Bratislava as long ago as Neolithic times. The Celts occupied an area three times larger than the current city before the Romans came in the 1st centry A.D. and established a military camp, Gerulta, where today the Bratislava suburb of Rusovce stands. Bratislava as a town was founded by German colonists in the 13th century. Under Hungarian rule since the 9th century, much of the land now known as Slovakia was devastated by Tatars from Asia earlier in the 13th c. Eager to have this strategically important area repopulated, Hungarian kings gave many incentives to attract industrious and skilled Germans. Known as Pressburg by German speakers, Pozsony by Hungarians the city became the capital of Hungary during the Turkish occupation of much of Hungary, including Buda. These were the city s glory days during the 16th-18th centies particularly during the reign of Empress Maria Theresa. But Maria Theresa s son moved the capital back to the newly-founded Pest in Hungary, and Pressburg/Pozsony/Bratislava declined. By the start of the 20th century, the population had dwindled to a mere 60,000. The city was named Bratislava in 1919 although at the start of that year it was called Wilson, after American President Woodrow Wilson! Wilson supported the creation of the country of Czechoslovakia after World War I. At that point, Bratislava had an ethnically diverse population: in addition to Slovaks, there were many Germans, Austrians, Hungarians, Romani (gypsies), Rusyns (also known as Ruthenians) and Jews. In fact, many of the older generation still speak three languages Slovak, German and Hungarian. More of Bratislava was destroyed during the Soviet era than during WWII. In what could be called an act of cultural terrorism, two-thirds of the Old Town, including most of the old Jewish quarter, was levelled to make space for the ultra-modern New Bridge (nicknamed the UFO bridge by locals). The Nazis had blown up the original bridge. A four-lane highway leading to the bridge was built just yards away from St. Martin s Cathedral by the atheist Communist regime, as a deliberate insult to religious tradition. The highway isolates the Castle from the rest of the Old Town. An enormous, concrete housing project, Petrzalka, on the opposite side of the Danube from the Old Town, is now home to 150,000 people one-third of the city s population. Tours of Petrzalka are offered. With the fall of Communism began a careful restoration of long-neglected structures. Stroll around the cobblestone streets and alleys of the Old Town, and along the river and admire the results.
Bratislava Day 2: Old Town Area Overview Founded by the Celts in the 2nd Century BC, Bratislava is Slovakia s administrative centre and cultual life. Most of the historic sights are located in the Old Town centre on the ledt bank of the Danube river. Some of the finest buildings, such as the Mirbach Palace and the Old Town Hall, can be seen around Franciscan Square. The landmark Bratislava Castle is on a hill above the city. The views from the open air observation decs here, or from the restaurant on SNP Bridge, are breathtaking. The history of the city has been strongly influenced by people of different nations and religions, namely by Austrians, Czechs, Hungarians, Jews, Serbs and Slovaks. The city was the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary, a part of the larger Habsburg Monarchy territories, from 1536 to 1783 and has been home to many Slovak, Hungarian and German historical figures. Sights 1 Old Town Hall 2 Primatial Palace 3 Franciscan Church 4 Mirbach Palace 5 Michael s Gate 6 Bratislava Castle 7 House at the Good Shepherd 8 St Martin s Cathedral 9 Slovak National Theatre 10 Reduta 11 Slovak National Gallery 12 SNP Bridge Not Pictured 13 Devin Castle 14 Red Stone Castle
Bratislava Day 2: Old Town Details 1 Old Town Hall Old Town Hall is a complex of buildings from the 14th century in the Old Town of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is the oldest city hall in the country and it is one of the oldest stone buildings still standing in Bratislava, with the tower being built approximately in 1370. The town hall was created in the 15th century by connecting three townhouses, and then went through several reconstructions in the course of the centuries. It houses the oldest museum in Bratislava, the Bratislava City Museum, founded in 1868, featuring an exhibit of the city history and an exhibit of torture devices. The outlook from the top of the Old Town Hall tower offers a round view of Bratislava Old Town and its environs. 2 Primatial Palace t was built from 1778 to 1781 for Archbishop József Batthyány, after the design of architect Melchior Hefele. In 1805, the Palace's Hall of Mirrors saw the signing of the fourth Peace of Pressburg, ending the War of the Third Coalition. Today, it serves as the seat of Mayor of Bratislava. 3 Franciscan Church The Franciscan Church (Slovak: Františkánsky kostol or Kostol Zvestovania Pána) is the oldest existing religious (sacral) building in the Old Town of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The church was consecrated in the year 1297 in the presence of King Andrew III of Hungary. In the past, the church building served for larger gatherings of townspeople or Hungarian nobles. In 1526 Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor was elected here to become the King of Hungary. During coronations, kings used to knight nobles as Knights of the Order of the Golden Spur in this church. 4 Mirbach Palace Mirbach Palace is a Rococo-style palace in the Old Town, Bratislava, built from 1768 to 1770 for Bratislava (then Pressburg) brewer Michal Spech.The palace is named after its last owner, Count Emil Mirbach. Count Emil Mirbach was shot in 1945 by the invading Russians and the palace was expropriated along with the contained Mirbach's art collections. The palace was completely renovated in 1975 and made a seat of the Bratislava City Gallery. It houses Central European baroque painting and sculptures exhibition and temporary exhibitions. 5 Michael s Gate Michael's Gate is the only city gate that has been preserved of the medieval fortifications and ranks among the oldest town buildings. Built about the year 1300, its present shape is the result of baroque reconstructions in 1758, when the statue of St. Michael and the Dragon was placed on its top. The tower houses the Exhibition of Weapons of Bratislava City Museum. In the medieval times the town was surrounded by fortified walls, and entry and exit was only possible through one of the four heavily fortified gates. On the east side of the town, it was the Laurinc Gate, named after Saint Lawrence, in the south it was the Fishermen's Gate. This was the smallest gate of the four, used mainly by the fishermen entering the city with fish caught in the river Danube. On the west side it was the Vydrica Gate, also called the Dark Gate or Black Gate, since it was like a tunnel dark and long. In the north, there was St. Michael's Gate named after St. Michael and the St. Michael church that stood in front of it (outside the town wall). Later on it was put down and materials gained from it were used in the building of additional town walls. 6 Bratislava Castle The massive rectangular building with four corner towers stands on an isolated rocky hill of the Little Carpathians directly above the Danube river in the middle of Bratislava. Because of its size and location, it has been a dominant feature of the city for centuries.the location provides excellent views of Bratislava, Austria and, in clear weather, parts of Hungary. Many legends are connected with the history of the castle.
Bratislava Day 2: Old Town Details 8 St Martin s Cathedral This imposing Gothic edifice, with a wide nave flanked by two aisles, was built in 1452 on the site of an earlier 14th century Romanesque church. Between 1563 and 1830, 11 Hungarian kings and 8 Queens were crowned in the cathedral. From here it is possible to walk the former coronation route through the Old Town by following a series of golden crowns embedded in the pavement. In the 19th century, the church was rebuilt in Neo Gothic style by architect Jozef Lippert and its interior refurbised along more purist lines. 9 Slovak National Theatre The Slovak National Theatre is a Neo-Renaissance theatre building in the Old Town of Bratislava, Slovakia, which formerly housed two of the theatre's ensembles (opera and ballet, drama was based elsewhere), the theatre's large modern theatre building in Bratislava near the Danube, which opened on 14 April 2007. 10 Reduta Near the Slovak National Theatre stands the imposing building of the Reducta. Built between 1913-1918, with a grand lobby and staircase, it used to stage social and artistic events, symphony concerts and performances. Today the reducta is home to the Slovak Philharmonic, and every fall it is the venue for the Bratislava Music Festival. A section of the building houses a casion and a restaurant. 11 Slovak National Gallery The Slovak National Gallery is a network of galleries in Slovakia. It has its headquarters in Bratislava. The gallery was established by law on 29 July 1949. In Bratislava, it has its displays situated in Esterházy Palace (Esterházyho palác) and the Water Barracks (Vodné kasárne) which are adjacent to each other. The Esterházy Palace was reconstructed for the purposes of the gallery in the 1950s and a modern extension was added in the 1970s. 12 SNP Bridge It is the world's longest cable-stayed bridge to have one pylon and one cable-stayed plane. It is an asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge with a main span length of 303 m. Its steel construction is suspended from steel cables, connected on the Petržalka side to two pillars. The total length of the bridge is 430.8 m, its width 21 m, and it weighs 537t. A special attraction is the flying saucer-shaped structure housing a restaurant, which since 2005 has been called UFO, on the bridge's 84.6 m pylon. 13 Devin Castle The castle stands just inside Slovak territory on the frontier between Slovakia and Austria. Prior to 1989, the Iron Curtain between the Eastern Bloc and the West ran just in front of the castle. Although the castle was open to the public, the area surrounding it constituted a restricted military zone, and was heavily fortified with watchtowers and barbed wire. After the Velvet Revolution the area was demilitarised.the most photogenic part of the castle is the tiny watchtower, known as the Maiden Tower. Separated from the main castle, it balances perilously on a lone rock and has spawned countless legends concerning imprisoned lovelorn daughters leaping to their deaths.inside, the castle is a sprawling landscape of walls, staircases, open courtyards and gardens in various states of repair. They are all, however, made readily accessible by a continuing restoration and archaeological project conducted since the borough of Devín was reclaimed from Nazi Germany which had annexed it shortly before World War II. 14 Red Stone Castle A stone castle was built in the 13th century as part of the chain of the Kingdom of Hungary s frontier defense castles ranging from Pressburg to Žilina (Hungarian: Zsolna). This castle was completely rebuilt as a fortress in the first half of the 16th century. When the Pálffy family acquired the castle in 1588, the fortress was completed, and it became a representative noble castle.