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| Bratislava (Pressburg, Pozsony) Bratislava is the largest city in Slovakia, as well as the nation's capital. It has an estimated population of about 450,000, and an area of about 142 sq mi (368 sq km). The city is situated in the southwest corner of Slovakia, on the banks of the Danube River, which crosses the city from west to southeast. The only national capital to actually border two countries, the capitals of both Austria and Hungary lie less than a half-hour away from the city center. Government The city of Bratislava is divided into 17 independent boroughs, each of which has its own mayor, local borough office, and local council. Each borough is responsible for its own assets and budget. The highest executive in the city at large is the Mayor, who is elected to a four-year term. He is assisted in his duties by Deputies who are appointed from among the ranks of the City Council. Members of the 80-member City Council are also elected to four-year terms. The Council, which usually convenes once a month, is responsible for preparing and approving municipal legislation, as well as for approving the city budget and land use plan. It is the Mayor's job to implement any and all policies established by the Council. Economy In addition to being the seat of Slovakian government, Bratislava is also an important industrial center. Volkswagen has a factory in the city. Other major manufactures include furniture, chemicals, tobacco products, musical instruments, woolen goods, and leather products. History Prehistoric and Roman Occupations Archaeological evidence shows that the site of present-day Bratislava has been inhabited since the late Stone Age. In the 2nd century B.C. the Boii Celtic tribe established a settlement here that was for many generations famous for the minting of coins. The Romans never established any permanent settlements in or around what is now Bratislava, but they did build a series of military camps as a buffer between the Roman Empire and the various barbarian tribes to the north. It was the Roman Empire that first introduced the cultivation of grapes and the art of winemaking to the region, both of which have since become important industries throughout much of Central Europe. Post-Roman Period With the fall of the Roman Empire, what is now Slovakia became home to a succession of peoples. Slavic tribes were the first to arrive, beginning in the 5th century. In 623, a Frankish merchant by the name of Samo built an empire centered around the already ancient fortifications on the hills overlooking Bratislava. With his death in 658 the empire dissolved into a multitude of principalities. Over the years several of those principalities became part of the Avarian-Slavic Empire, of which Bratislava was an important center. That empire was in turn supplanted by the Greater Moravian Empire, of which the Bratislava Castle served as military, administrative, and church headquarters. In 907, Hungarian and Bavarian troops fought a great battle near Bratislava Castle. The battle was won by the Magyars, who then proceeded to occupy the eastern part of Greater Moravia. An account of that battle in the annals of Salzburg is the first written reference to Bratislava (which at the time was known as Brezalauspurc). Kingdom of Hungary In 1000, the Kingdom of Hungary was formed by King Stephan I, and the territory encompassed by the present city was annexed. Because it was a key economic and administrative center on the kingdom's frontier, the city was a frequent target of enemy forces. In 1042 it was destroyed by the German King Henry I, and a great battle for the Hungarian throne was fought nearby from 1074 to 1077. The erection of strong fortifications around the original city in the 12th century gave the city even greater strategic importance. As the Kingdom of Hungary's influence
in Europe grew, so too did the importance of Bratislava
within the kingdom. The city was afforded royal
privileges by Hungarian King Andrew III in 1291, and King
Sigismund of Luxembourg granted minting rights in 1430. Bratislava remained but an important part of the Hungarian Empire until 1526, when Hungarian King Louis II died during the Battle of Mohacs. The Turks, whom the Hungarians had been fighting, took advantage of the situation and swiftly advanced into the heart of the empire, forcing the Hungarian nobility to flee into present-day Slovakia. After the occupation of the capital of Buda, the nobility took refuge in Bratislava and established the seat of King Ferdinand in the castle. The city became the capital of Hungary in 1536, and the seat of the Archbishop in 1543. Between 1563 and 1860, eleven Hungarian kings were crowned in Bratislava. Bratislava enjoyed its greatest burst of development during the reign of Empress Maria-Theresa (1740-1780), who ordered that the old city walls be torn down to make room for the building of public and royal structures and development of the city in general. Streets were built and improved, the castle was rebuilt, and many of the city's cultural institutions were either created or greatly improved. The growth initiated by Maria-Theresa came to an end under the rule of Joseph II, however. In 1783 he ordered the governor's council and all other central authorities to relocate to Budapest, and, on May 13, he took the royal crown from Bratislava Castle to Vienna. Bratislava became just another principality city. 19th Century The Kingdom of Hungary was engaged in a series of wars throughout the 19th century, including wars to gain its independence from Habsburg rule. Bratislava once again became a center of attention during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1805, the French and Austrians signed the Treaty of Pressburg in Mirror Hall of the Primatial Palace. In 1809, Napoleon's army bombarded the city with cannon fire from the right bank of the Danube, and, May 28, 1811, that same army burned the castle. The last session of the Hungarian Diet was held in Bratislava in 1847-1848, after which the political seat of the Kingdom of Hungary was once again relocated to Pest. The city's fortunes would not begin building again until the mid-20th century. World War I Although Bratislava was never directly hit by World War I, it did suffer from a chronic lack of supplies and inflationary prices. At the war's end the Austro-Hungarian Empire was dissolved, and the Czechoslovak Republic was created. City representatives wanted the city to be renamed Wilson City in honor of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, and demanded that Bratislava be acknowledged as an open and free city. Both proposals were rejected by the negotiating powers, however. On March 27, 1919, the city was officially renamed Bratislava and made the capital of the Province of Slovakia. After the war, Bratislava enjoyed a sharp growth in industrial production, spurred primarily by the arrival of modern transportation. It also enjoyed a population boom, with many nationalities and cultures making the city their home, including Slovaks, Germans, Hungarians, Jews, Czechs, and Croatians. World War II On March 14, 1939, the government of Slovakia chose to become an "independent" state allied to Adolf Hitler rather than face an invasion by the Nazis. As a result, most of Slovakia escaped the ravages of the war. But, as the capital of a state allied to Hitler, Bratislava was bombed by U.S. air forces during the final campaigns of the war. The city was liberated by the Soviet Red Army on April 4, 1945. Although the city had survived the war relatively unscathed (compared to most other Nazi-occupied cities), most of its Jewish, German and Hungarian population had been displaced, and it would be many decades before the city would regain its cosmopolitan culture. Post-War Years On February 25, 1948, Communists assumed control of the government of Czechoslovakia, and Bratislava suddenly found itself literally straddling the border between East and West. Residents who lived on that border were forced to move as miles of barbed wire fencing were erected to keep separate Communists from non-Communists. On October 30, 1969, an agreement establishing the Czechoslovak Federation was signed at Bratislava Castle. By that agreement, Bratislava became the capital of the Slovak Socialist Republic. On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia officially split into two independent nations -- the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. At that same time, Bratislava became the capital of the Slovak Republic. Sites and Attractions
Devin Castle
sits above the confluence of the Morava and Danube
rivers. One of the most important archaeological sites in
Slovakia, the site was once occupied by Celts. It was a
military outpost during the Roman occupation, a
significant boundary fortress and administrative center
during the Greater Moravian Empire, and a border castle
of the Hungarian Empire. The castle was blown up by
Napoleon's troops in 1809 and never rebuilt. Michael's Gate is the only preserved gate of the city's medieval fortifications; its foundations were laid in the first half of the 14th century. The tower was heightened in 1511-1513, and was rebuilt to its present appearance in 1753-1758, when a statue of St. Michael was placed at the top. It now houses the Museum of Weapons and City Fortifications.
Among Bratislava's many cultural attractions are the Slovak National Theatre and Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, both of which are considered among Europe's best.
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In 1436,
King Sigismund granted the city a coat-of-arms. Still the
official symbol of the city today, it depicts, on a red
late-Gothic background, a silver, three-tower
fortification with a gate in the center. Two golden
spheres sit atop each tower, and there is a golden,
half-raised porticullis in the gate. Despite some popular
misconceptions, the design is not representative of
Bratislava Castle or any of the city's four medieval
gates, but simply a general depiction of a medieval town.
Bratislava
Castle sits atop a hill that has been
occupied in some form or another since the late Stone
Age. The current castle was originally built during the
reign of King Sigismund as an anti-Hussite fortress. It
was rebuilt during the reign of King Ferdinand in the
16th century, rebuilt in the baroque style during the
17th century, and greatly expanded and updated during the
reign of Empress Maria-Theresa. Burned down by Napoleon's
army in 1811, it was neglected until being reconstructed
between 1953 and 1958. Today, the castle is home to the
Slovak Parliament, as well as the collections of the
Slovak National Museum and the Slovak Museum of History.
The Primatial
Palace was built in 1778-1781, based on
designs by Melchior Hefele, for Archbishop Jozef
Bathyány. Mirror Hall, where the Treaty of Pressburg was
signed, is on the first floor. It now houses the Gallery
of the City of Bratislava, in which artifacts and relics
detailing the history of Bratislava are on display.
St.
Martin's Dome is a Gothic cathedral that
was built on the site of a Romanesque church.
Construction began at the beginning of the 14th century,
and the cathedral was consecrated in 1452. Eleven
Hungarian kings were crowned in the cathedral, and 
