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Bratislava

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and is located in the south west of Slovakia, lies on both banks of the Danube, and it is the only national capital in the world that borders two other countries - Austria and Hungary.

The city's history has been strongly influenced by various peoples, including Austrians, Czechs, Germans, Hungarians, Jews, and Slovaks. The city, called Pressburg until 1919, was a key economic and administrative centre of the Kingdom of Hungary and later of the Habsburg Monarchy. Bratislava was home to the Slovak national movement in the 19th century and many other Slovak historical figures, including Milan Rastislav Štefánik and Alexander Dubček.

Even though Bratislava is one of Europe's newest capital cities (since 1993), the territory has a rich history connected to many tribes and nations. The first known permanent settlement began with the Linear Pottery Culture, around 5000 BC in the Neolithic era. About 200 BC, the Celtic Boii tribe founded the first significant settlement, a fortified town of the sort now known as an oppidum, and also established a mint which produced silver coins known as biatecs

The area fell under Roman influence from the 1st century AD until the 4th century, and forming part of the Limes Romanus, a border defence system. The Romans introduced wine growing to the area and began a tradition of winemaking which survives to the present. After the Roman military abandoned the borders at the end of the 4th century, various tribes (e.g. Heruli and Goths) settled there temporarily in the 5th century.

Slavs arrived between the 5th and 6th century during the Migration Period. As a response to onslaughts by Avars, the local Slavic tribes rebelled and established Samo's Empire (623-658), the first known Slavic political entity. In the 9th century, the castles at Bratislava and Devín were important centres of the Principality of Nitra and later Great Moravia. The first written reference to the city (as Brezalauspurc) dates to 907.

Around 1000, the territory of Bratislava was annexed into the Kingdom of Hungary and became a key economic and administrative centre at the kingdom's frontier. This strategic position destined the city to be a site of frequent attacks and battles.

After the Battle of Mohács in 1526, where the Kingdom of Hungary was defeated by the Ottoman Empire, the Turks besieged and damaged Bratislava, but failed to conquer the city. As a consequence of Ottoman advance through Hungarian territory, Bratislava was designated the new capital of Hungary in 1536, becoming part of the Habsburg (Austrian) monarchy and marking the beginning of a new era. Bratislava became a coronation town and the seat of kings, archbishops (1543), the nobility and all major organisations and offices. Between 1536 and 1830, 11 kings and queens were crowned at St. Martin's Cathedral

During the 18th century reign of Maria Theresa of Austria, Bratislava flourished, becoming the largest and most important town in the territory of present day Slovakia and Hungary. The population tripled; many new mansions, palaces, monasteries, and streets were built, and Bratislava was the centre of social and cultural life.The Devín Castle was brought to ruin by Napoleon's troops in 1809 and the Bratislava Castle was destroyed by fire in 1811.

Bratislava became a centre for the Slovak national movement. Industry grew rapidly in the 19th century. The first permanent bridge over the Danube, Starý most (Old Bridge), was built in 1891.

After World War I and the formation of Czechoslovakia on October 28, 1918, Bratislava was incorporated into the new nation despite its representatives' reluctance. On March 27, 1919, the name Bratislava was officially adopted for the first time. On March 14, 1939, Bratislava became the capital of the first Slovak Republic, but the yet independent boroughs of Petržalka and Devín were annexed by Nazi Germany. Bratislava was occupied by German troops, bombarded by the Allies and eventually liberated by the Soviet Red Army on April 4, 1945.

After the Communist Party seized power in Czechoslovakia in February 1948, the city became part of the Eastern Bloc, and hundreds of citizens were expelled during the communist repression of the 1950s. Bratislava's dissidents anticipated the fall of the Communism with the Bratislava candle demonstration in 1988. In 1993, the city became the capital of the newly formed Slovak Republic following the Velvet Divorce.

City

Most historical buildings are concentrated in the Old Town. Bratislava's Town Hall is a complex of buildings erected in the 14th-15th centuries and now hosts the Bratislava City Museum, which is the oldest museum in Slovakia. Michael's Gate is the only gate that has been preserved from the medieval fortifications, and ranks among the oldest of the town's buildings. The narrowest house in Europe is located close by. The building of the University Library (erected in 1756) was used by the Diet (parliament) of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1802 to 1848. Much of the significant legislation of the Hungarian Reform Era (such as the abolition of serfdom and the foundation of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) were enacted there.

The historic centre is characterised by many baroque palaces. The Grassalkovich Palace, built around 1760, is now the residence of the Slovak president, and the Slovak government now has its seat in the former Archepiscopal palace. In 1805, Emperors Napoleon and Francis II signed the fourth Peace of Pressburg in the Primate's Palace. Even some of smaller houses are historically interesting. For example, composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel was born in an 18th century house in Bratislava's Old town.

Much of the city's public life in the past occurred in Bratislava's churches. The Gothic St. Martin's Cathedral was built in the 13th-16th centuries and it served as the coronation church of the Kingdom of Hungary between 1563 and 1830. The Franciscan church, dated to the 13th century, has been a place of knighting ceremonies. The Church of St. Elisabeth, better known as the Blue Church, is built entirely in the Art Nouveau style.

A curiosity is the underground (formerly on the ground level) restored portion of the Jewish cemetery where Rabbi Moses Sofer is buried, located at the base of the castle hill near the entrance to a tram tunnel on the Danube side.

The only military cemetery in Bratislava is Slavín, unveiled in 1960, in honour of Soviet Army soldiers who fell when liberating Bratislava from German troops. It also offers an excellent view of the city and the Little Carpathians.

Other prominent 20th century structures include the Nový Most bridge across the Danube featuring a UFO-like tower restaurant, Slovak Radio's inverted pyramid-shaped headquarters, and the uniquely-designed Kamzík TV Tower with an observation deck and rotating restaurant.

Bratislava Castle

One of the most prominent structures in the city is Bratislava Castle, situated on a plateau 82 metres above the Danube. The castle hill site has been inhabited since the transition period between Stone and Bronze Ages, and has been host to the acropolis of a Celtic town, part of the Roman Limes Romanus, a huge Slavic fortified settlement, and a political, military and religious centre for Great Moravia. A stone castle was only constructed in the 10th century, when the area was part of the Kingdom of Hungary. The castle was was reconstructed in 1649 in the baroque style. In 1811, the castle was inadvertently destroyed and lay in ruins until the 1950s, when it was reconstructed mostly in its former Theresan style.