Bratislava

Bratislava (see below for other names) is the capital of Slovakia, and the country's largest city, with a population of some 450,000, while the population of whole metropolitan area is 600,000. Bratislava is the political, cultural and economic centre of Slovakia. It is the seat of the Slovak presidency, parliament and government, as well as home to several universities, museums, theatres, galleries and other important economic, cultural and educational institutions. Most of Slovakia's large businesses and financial institutions have their headquarters in Bratislava. The city's past has been characterized by the strong influence of various nations, including Slovaks, Germans, Hungarians, Czechs, Austrians and Jews. Bratislava still retains its cosmopolitan spirit. It hosts many festivals and trade shows (such as Incheba) and it is famous for its night life and leisure facilities.

[edit] Etymology

In March 1919 Bratislava was adopted as the official name. It is not known on what grounds. One theory is that the name was invented by US president Wilson, another that it might be a corruption of the old Slavic Braslava. However, we know for sure that a variant of this name was reconstructed by Pavel Jozef Šafárik (by mistake) from old names in the 1830s based on the name of the Bohemian ruler Bretislav. It was used subsequently by members of the Slovak movement in the 1840s and occasionally also afterwards.

A more detailed list can be found in the History of Bratislava article.

[edit] Geography

Bratislava lies on both banks of the River Danube, by Slovakia's borders with Austria and Hungary, and is only an hour's drive from the border with the Czech Republic. It is the only capital in the world which borders two countries. The Carpathian mountain range begins within the territory of the city with the Little Carpathians (Slovak: Malé Karpaty).

Bratislava is only 50 km from the Austrian capital Vienna.

Other rivers include Morava River, which forms north-western border of the city, and the Little Danube.

The closest towns or villages are to the north Stupava, Marianka, Borinka and Svätý Jur, to the east Ivanka pri Dunaji and Most pri Bratislave, to the south-east Rovinka, Hamuliakovo, Dunajská Lužná and Šamorín, to the south Rajka(H), and to the west Kittsee(A), Hainburg an der Donau(A) and Marchegg (A).

Climate: The city climate is mild. It is often windy with a marked variation between hot summers and cold, humid winters.

annual average temperature: 9.9 °C
annual sunshine hours: 1976.4 (5.4 hours/day)
annual average rainfall: 527.4 mm (according to 1993 data)

Bratislava's names most commonly used before 1920
Preßburg	German (before the 19th century occasionally and since the German spelling reform of 1996 regularly spelled Pressburg)
Prešporok	Slovak name; stems from the German one (one of the many variants was Pressporek in 1773)
Prešpur(e)k or Presspur(e)k	Czech
Pressburg(h) or Pressborough	English (Pressburg Street in southwestern London)
Presburgo	Spanish and Portuguese
Pressbourg later Presbourg	French (rue de Presbourg in Paris)
Presburg	Dutch
Pozsony	Hungarian (still in use by Hungarians today). Earlier variant Posony (1773)
Posonium	Latin
Požun	Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian
Pozhoma	Romani
Istropolis	Greek, meaning the Danube City
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Demographics
data derived from the 2001 census
Population	428,672 inhabitants
Population by districts	Bratislava I 44,798, Bratislava II 108,139, Bratislava III 61,418, Bratislava IV 93,058, Bratislava V 121,259
Average age	38.7 years
Age structure	0–5: 4.1%, 6–14: 9.8%, Working age: 62.9%, Retirement age: 19%
Ethnic groups	Slovaks 391,761 (91.4%), Hungarians 16,451 (3.8%), Czechs 7,972 (1.9%), Moravians 635, Ruthenes 461, Ukrainians 452, Germans 1 200, Croats 614, Roma 417, Poles 339
Religion	Roman Catholics 243,048 (56.7%), Atheists 125,729 (29.3%), Lutherans of the Augsburg Confession 24,810 (6%), Greek Catholics 3,163 (0.7%), Reformed Christians 1,918, Eastern Orthodox 1,616, Jehovah's Witnesses 1,827, Methodist Protestants 737, Jews 700, Baptists 613
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The Old Town Hall viewed from the Main Square.

[edit] History

Main article: History of Bratislava

[edit] Prehistory and early Middle Ages

Neolithic Age: the first permanent settlement of the region now known as Bratislava begins with the Linear Pottery Culture
400 BC-50 BC: Celts were settled here. From 125 BC they had an important oppidum (fortified town), in which they minted silver Biatecs.
1st century-5th century: the border of the Roman Empire (Limes Romanus) runs right through the middle of today's town; many Roman (e.g. "Gerulata") and Germanic settlements
6th century-8th century: first Slavs (500 A.D.- today) and Avars (560s - 8th century)
- 623-658: part of King Samo's Empire
late 8th century-833: part of the Principality of Nitra
833-907: part of Great Moravia

[edit] 907-1918

Medieval Bratislava Castle.

From 2nd half of 10th century to 1918: part of the Kingdom of Hungary (with short interruptions) and the capital of the Posonium Comitatus:
1536-1784: capital of the Kingdom of Hungary (whose territory consisted until 1699 of today's Slovakia and parts of today's Western Hungary, because the Turks ruled Buda at that time); the Kingdom of Hungary was part of the Habsburg (i. e. Austrian) Monarchy from 1526 to 1918
1542-1848: meeting place of the Hungarian Diet (with short interruptions)
1563-1830: coronation town for Hungarian kings (St. Martin's Cathedral (picture below))
since the 18th century: centre of the Slovak national movement

[edit] Post WWI (1919-present)

1919-1939: part of Czechoslovakia; official new name becomes "Bratislava"- instead of "Prešporok" (Slovak) /"Pressburg" (German)/ "Pozsony" (Hungarian) in 1919
1939-1945: capital of Slovakia
1945-1992: part of Czechoslovakia again:

1969-1992: capital of the federal state of Slovakia within Czechoslovakia

since 1993: capital of Slovakia

[edit] Important events held in Bratislava

[edit] Culture and points of interest

[edit] Theatres

Seat of the Slovak National Theatre.

Bratislava is the seat of Slovak National Theatre, which until April 2007 is housed in 3 buildings in the city centre, when it will move to the new building near the Danube. Smaller and alternative theatres include: Bratislava Puppet Theatre, Astorka Korzo '90 theatre, Aréna theatre, etc.

[edit] Museums

Main museums:

Slovak National Museum is located near the Nový Most near the Danube [1].
Municipal Museum of Bratislava focuses on the history of Bratislava (established 1868) [2]

Other museums:

Museum of Transportation is located near the main railway station
Museum of Weapons is in the Michael's Gate
Museum of Art in the Čunovo city part

[edit] Science

Slovak Academy of Sciences has its seat in Bratislava. The town is one of the few European capitals that does not have either an observatory or a planetarium. The closest observatory is in Modra (30 km away from Bratislava), and planetarium in Hlohovec (70 km away).

[edit] Music

Seat of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra. It also hosts several annual festivals, such as the Bratislava Music Celebrations. In the recent years, more and more known pop bands are performing in Bratislava.

[edit] Main sights

Paved street in the Old Town of Bratislava.

City Museum - Courtyard of the Old Town Hall .

A street in the Old Town.

Slavín memorial.

Bratislava is picturesquely situated on both banks of the Danube, at the base of the outlying spurs of the Lesser Carpathians, in a position of strategic importance near the Devín Gate (earlier called Hainburger Pforte or Porta Hungarica). The area includes a picturesque old town centre.

One of the most conspicuous buildings of the town is the Bratislava Castle situated on a plateau 82 m above the Danube. The castle has existed on the site since time immemorial. It has been the acropolis of a Celtic town, part of the Roman Limes Romanus, a huge Slav fortified settlement and a political, military and religious centre of Great Moravia. A castle of stone was built only in the 10th century (part of Hungary), it was turned into a Gothic anti-Hussite fortress under Sigismund of Luxemburg in 1430, in 1562 it became a Renaissance castle, and in 1649 a baroque reconstruction took place. Under Queen Maria Theresa, the castle was turned into a prestige seat of the royal governor Albert von Sachsen-Teschen, the son-in-law of Maria Theresa, who founded the Albertina picture gallery in the castle, which was later moved to Vienna. In 1784, when Bratislava ceased to be the capital of Hungary, the castle was turned into a school for Catholic clergy, and later, in 1802, into barracks. In 1811, the castle was inadvertently destroyed by fire by the French soldiers and lay in ruins until the 1950s, when it was reconstructed mostly in its former Maria Theresa style.

Another castle is Devín Castle (now in ruins) in the borough of Bratislava-Devín. It is situated on the top of a high rock at the point where the March (Morava) river, which forms the boundary between Austria and Slovakia, reaches the Danube. It is one of the most important Slovak archaeological sites and has been – thanks to its excellent location – a very important frontier castle of Great Moravia and the early Hungarian state. It was destroyed by Napoleonic troops in 1809 and is an important symbol of Slovak and Slavic history.

Yet another castle, built in 1813 and turned into an English Gothic style castle in the late 19th century, is situated in the borough of Bratislava-Rusovce, otherwise known for ruins of Roman Gerulata settlements.

Other noteworthy buildings are:

St. Martin's Cathedral (a Gothic edifice of the 14th-15th century replacing an older church from the 13th century) in which many of the Hungarian kings were crowned
Bratislava's Town hall (a complex of 14th-15th century buildings) containing an interesting museum – the City Museum founded in 1868
Bratislava's Franciscan church, dating from 1297
Church of St. Elisabeth, more known as the Blue Church
the building of the University Library (erected in 1756) where the sittings of the Diet (parliament) of the Kingdom of Hungary were held from 1802 to 1848 and many important laws of the Hungarian Reform Era were enacted (liberation of serfs, foundation of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences).
the Primate's Palace (erected in 1781) in which the (4th) Peace of Pressburg was signed
the beautiful Slovak National Theatre (built in 1886), and
the Michael's Gate (early 17th century), the only extant gate of the municipal fortification
the narrowest house in central (or maybe in the whole of) Europe (just behind the Michael's Gate)
the 18th century house of the composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel who was born in the town.
Nový Most Bratislava is a bridge across the Danube river, featuring a UFO-like tower restaurant
Kamzik TV Tower is a TV tower of unique design with an observation deck
Seat of the Slovak Radio - an inverted pyramid.

The historic centre is characterized by many baroque palaces. The Grassalkovich Palace (built around 1760), for example, is now the residence of the Slovak president, and the Slovak government now has its seat in the former Archiepiscopal palace, the former summer residence of the archbishop of Esztergom).

A curiosity is the underground restored portion of the Jewish cemetery where Rabbi Moses Sofer is buried. (See article on Sofer).

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

[edit] Lakes

The city has a number of natural or man-made lakes, most of which are also used for recreation.

Examples include Štrkovec lake, Kuchajda in Ružinov, the Vajnory lakes, Zlaté Piesky in the north-east and Malý Dráždiak, Veľký Dráždiak in Petržalka.

[edit] Parks

Sad Janka Kráľa.

Bratislava is a city with many parks, thanks to its location on the foothills of the Little Carpathians. The biggest of those parks is the Bratislava forest park, which includes some tourist locations, for example Železná studienka or Koliba. Horský park (literally Mountain(ous) Park) is located near the Old Town and it's still with original flora and fauna. On the right bank of the Danube is Sad Janka Kráľa, the first public park in Europe.

Bratislava's zoological park is located at Mlynská dolina, close to the headquarters of the Slovak Television.

[edit] Sport

Currently 3 football (soccer) teams from Bratislava are playing the Corgoň Liga:

Ice hockey team HC Slovan Bratislava plays in the Slovak Extraliga.

[edit] Tourism

In the recent years, particularly after Slovakia's entry to the European Union, Bratislava is a favourite tourist destination for the tourists from surrounding, as well as from more distant countries (Britain, United States, Japan, ...). But the growth of tourism has brought problem with insufficient hotel capacity, especially from more luxurious ones. Most tourists are staying in the city centre, or they are coming for annual event such as for celebrations of New Year.

[edit] Education

The first university in Bratislava and also in Slovakia was the Academia Istropolitana, established in 1467.

Today, it is the seat of several colleges/universities:

[edit] Economy

High-rise buildings at Nivy, the main business district of Bratislava

The economy of Bratislava is prosperous and mainly based on :

services
engineering (Volkswagen)
chemical (Slovnaft) and electrical industry

The GDP per capita (PPP), which was valued at €27,802 (2004), reaches 129.3% of the EU average, which is the second highest level (after Prague) of all regions in all the recently joined countries (Eurostat; for the latest Eurostat data, see: [3])

Around 150 000 people from Slovakia are commuting to Bratislava for work. Unemployment in Bratislava is 3%.

In recent years service and high-tech oriented businesses are thriving in Bratislava. Many global companies, including IBM, Dell, Accenture, AT&T, Lenovo and SAP to name a few, are building their outsourcing and service centres here.

[edit] Transport

Geographical position in Central Europe has always made Bratislava a natural crossroads for international trade traffic.

[edit] Road transportation

Motorway D1 in Bratislava-Petržalka

Large international motorway junction: D1 motorway connecting Bratislava to Trnava, Nitra, Trenčín, Žilina and further, while D2 motorway connecting it to Prague, Brno and Budapest in the north-south direction. D4 motorway (the outer bypass) is mostly at planning stage.

The A6 motorway to Vienna is currently under construction and will be opened on November 2007.

Currently five bridges stand over the Danube (ordered by the flow of river): Lafranconi Bridge, Nový Most, Starý most, Most Apollo and Prístavný most.

[edit] Rail transportation

The most important is the main railway station at the edge of Old Town with lines connecting it to Košice through northern Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary and southern Slovakia. Another important station is the Petržalka railway station, which is important especially for lines from Austria. There are also many suburb stations, for example in Rača, Lamač, Čunovo and so on.

[edit] Air transportation

Bratislava has the largest international airport in Slovakia, which enjoys rapidly growing traffic in recent years, and in conjunction with the Vienna International Airport, which is located some 40 km away, is providing a large international network.

[edit] River transportation

Bratislava has one of two international Slovak river ports (see Port of Bratislava), as well as numerous tourist lines along the Danube, for example from Bratislava to the city part Devín, from Bratislava to Vienna and so on.

[edit] Public transportation

Trolleybus in Bratislava

Tram in Bratislava

Public transportation in Bratislava is run by Dopravný podnik Bratislava, the city-owned company.

Three types of public transport vehicles:

buses (covering most of the city and the largest district of Petržalka).
trams (covering the most frequent commuter trips and connecting city centre with suburbs).
trolleybuses (connecting the city centre with suburbs and serving as a complementary means of transport).

[edit] Territorial division

Bratislava is divided to:

5 districts (national administrative division):

Bratislava I: Covers the city centre
Bratislava II: Covers the south-eastern and eastern parts
Bratislava III: Covers the north-eastern parts
Bratislava IV: Covers the western, north-western and northern parts
Bratislava V: Covers the southern parts, including the most populous city part Petržalka

Bratislava districts

17 "city parts" (i.e. approx. boroughs) (for the purpose of municipal administrative division and of serving as entities to which the town delegates its powers and functions imposed by law on communities)

20 "cadastral areas" in the land(real estate) registry coincide with the "city parts", except:

Nové Mesto is further split into Nové Mesto + Vinohrady
Ružinov is split into : Ružinov + Nivy + Trnávka

Administrative and Territorial Division of Bratislava
Districts	"City Parts" (Boroughs)	Quarters or Localities
Bratislava I	Staré Mesto
Bratislava II	Ružinov	Nivy, Pošeň, Prievoz, Ostredky, Trávniky, Štrkovec, Vlčie hrdlo, Trnávka
	Vrakuňa	Dolné hony
	Podunajské Biskupice	Dolné hony, Ketelec, Lieskovec, Medzi jarkami
Bratislava III	Nové Mesto	Ahoj, Jurajov dvor, Koliba, Kramáre, Mierová kolónia, Pasienky/Kuchajda, Vinohrady
	Rača	Krasňany, Rača, Východné
	Vajnory
Bratislava IV	Karlova Ves	Dlhé diely, Kútiky, Mlynská dolina, Rovnice
	Dúbravka	Podvornice, Záluhy, Krčace
	Lamač	Podháj, Rázsochy
	Devín
	Devínska Nová Ves	Devínske Jazero, Kostolné, Paulinské, Podhorské, Stred, Vápenka
	Záhorská Bystrica
Bratislava V	Petržalka	Dvory, Háje, Janíkov dvor, Lúky, Ovsište, Kopčany, Zrkadlový háj, Kapitulský dvor, Starý háj
	Jarovce
	Rusovce
	Čunovo

[edit] Twin towns

Bratislava is twinned with:

[edit] References

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[edit] Images

Devín Castle at the confluence of the Danube and the Morava viewed from Austria - an old picture.	Bratislava on the river Danube	Old Town (Staré mesto) of Bratislava viewed from Bratislava Castle.	Slovak National Theatre.
Bratislava on the river Danube	The Grassalkovich Palace - the seat of the President.	Michael's Gate.	St. Martin's Cathedral - the coronation cathedral.
Apartment blocks of Petržalka, across the Danube and the Nový Most	A typical paved street in Bratislava's Old Town district	Bratislava's Old Town district	Hotel Carlton in Hviezdoslav Square (Hviezdoslavovo námestie)

Panorama of Bratislava I (from castle)

[edit] See also

Bratislava county

[edit] External links

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edit	Districts of Bratislava Region
Bratislava I \| Bratislava II \| Bratislava III \| Bratislava IV \| Bratislava V \| Malacky \| Pezinok \| Senec

City parts of Bratislava (17)
Old Town - I \| Podunajské Biskupice - II \| Ružinov - II \| Vrakuňa - II \| Nové Mesto - III \| Rača - III \| Vajnory - III \| Devín - IV \| Devínska Nová Ves - IV \| Dúbravka - IV \| Karlova Ves - IV \| Lamač - IV \| Záhorská Bystrica - IV \| Čunovo - V \| Jarovce - V \| Petržalka - V \| Rusovce - V