Bratislava

Template:Geobox Bratislava (IPA: /ˈbratjɪslava/) is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of 425,000, the country's largest city. Bratislava is in the south-west of Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two other countries.

Bratislava is the political, cultural, and economic centre of Slovakia. It is the seat of the Slovak presidency, the parliament, and the government, and it is home to several universities, museums, theatres, galleries and other important economic, cultural, and educational institutions. The headquarters of many of Slovakia's large businesses and financial institutions are in Bratislava.

The history of the city, long known by the German name Pressburg, has been strongly influenced by various peoples, including Germans, Austrians, Czechs, Hungarians, Jews, and Slovaks. The city was a key economic and administrative centre of the Kingdom of Hungary and was its capital under the Habsburg monarchy from 1536 to 1783. Bratislava was home to the Slovak national movement of the 19th century and to many Slovak historical figures, including Milan Rastislav Štefánik and Alexander Dubček.

Names

The first written reference (as Brezalauspurc) comes from the Salzburg Annals, in relation to the battles between the Bavarians and the Hungarians, fought outside the walls of Bratislava Castle in 907. The castle was probably named either after Predslav, third son of King Svätopluk I, or the local nobleman Braslav. This ancient name reappears under the variant Braslava or Preslava on coins minted by King Stephen I of Hungary and dated around 1000. Later in the Middle Ages, it found its final form in the German name Pressburg and the Slovak name Prešporok derived from it. Pressburg was used to refer to the city by most English-speaking writers until 1919, and it is occasionally used even today. Although Pressburg was the official name until 1919, the Slovak inhabitants often called the city Prešporok, and the Hungarians used Pozsony. The Hungarian name (which is still in use among Hungarians, although it was spelled as Posony before the 19th century) come from Božaň, an 11th-century ruler of Bratislava Castle, and the Latin name Posonium is derived from the Hungarian. In addition to these names, Renaissance documents called the city Istropolis, meaning "Danube City" in Ancient Greek.

The current name, Bratislava, has its beginnings in 1837, when Slavist scholar Pavel Jozef Šafárik reconstructed a variant of it (Břetislaw) from old names, believing that they were derived from that of Bohemian ruler Bretislav I. The name was used for the first time by members of the Slovak movement in 1844 as Bratislav. After World War I, non-Slovak representatives attempted to rename the city "Wilson City" after American president Woodrow Wilson in their effort to prevent annexation to Czechoslovakia. The proposal was rejected, and the official name of the city was changed to Bratislava in March 1919, after the city became part of Czechoslovakia.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Bratislava

Bratislava is situated in southwest Slovakia, within the Bratislava Region. Its location on the borders with Austria and Hungary makes it the only national capital that borders two countries. It is only 62 kilometres (38.5 mi) from the border with the Czech Republic and only 60 kilometres (37.3 mi) from the Austrian capital Vienna.

The city has a total area of 367.58 square kilometres (141.9 sq mi), making it the second-largest city in Slovakia by area (after the township of Vysoké Tatry). Bratislava straddles the Danube River, which crosses the city from the west to the south-east. The Middle Danube basin begins at Devín Gate in western Bratislava. Other rivers are the Morava River, which forms the north-western border of the city and enters the Danube at Devín, the Little Danube, and the Vydrica, which enters the Danube in the borough of Karlova Ves.

The Carpathian mountain range begins in city territory with the Little Carpathians (Malé Karpaty). The Záhorie and Danubian lowlands stretch into Bratislava. The city's lowest point is at the Danube's surface at 126 metres (413 ft) AMSL, and the highest point is Devínska Kobyla at 514 m (1686 ft). The average altitude is 140 metres (459 ft).

Panorama of the Old Town (left) and Petržalka (right) from Bratislava Castle

Climate

Bratislava lies in the north temperate zone and has a continental climate with four distinct seasons. It is often windy with a marked variation between hot summers and cold, humid winters. Bratislava belongs to the warmest and driest parts of Slovakia. Recently, the transitions from winter to summer and summer to winter have been rapid, with short autumn and spring periods. Snow occurs less frequently than previously. Some parts of Bratislava, particularly Devín and Devínska Nová Ves, are vulnerable to floods from the Danube and Morava rivers. New flood protection is being built on both banks.

Climate data for Bratislava
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Source: Weatherbase

History

Main article: History of Bratislava

Even though Bratislava is one of Europe's newest capital cities (since 1993), the city has a long and rich history influenced by many tribes and nations.

An original Biatec and its replica on a modern 5-koruna coin.

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 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 formed part of the Limes Romanus, a border defence system. The Romans introduced grape growing to the area and began a tradition of winemaking, which survives to the present.

The Slavic ancestors of the modern Slovaks arrived between the 5th and 6th centuries 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 Slavic states the Principality of Nitra and Great Moravia. The first written reference to the city dates to 907 and is related to the fall of Great Moravia under the attacks of the Hungarians.

Bratislava (Pressburg) in the 17th century

In the 10th century, the territory of Bratislava became part of Hungary (called "the Kingdom of Hungary" since 1000) and became a key economic and administrative centre on the kingdom's frontier. This strategic position destined the city to be the site of frequent attacks and battles, but also brought it economic development and high political status. Bratislava was granted its first known town privileges in 1291 by Andrew III, and was declared a free royal town in 1405 by King Sigismund of Luxemburg, who also entitled the town to use its own coat of arms in 1436.

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. Owing to Ottoman advances into 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. Nevertheless, the 17th century was marked by anti-Habsburg uprisings, fighting with the Turks, floods, plagues and other disasters. The Reformation arrived in the second half of the 16th century and found supporters mainly in the urban class. As a result of frequent insurrections against the Catholic Habsburgs, the suburbs were ravaged. The city and the castle were conquered several times by insurgents, then reconquered by the Imperial troops. This period of uprisings ended in 1711 with the signing of the Peace of Szatmár.

Bratislava (Pressburg), in a drawing from 1787

Bratislava flourished during the 18th-century reign of Maria Theresa of Austria, becoming the largest and most important town in the territory of present-day Slovakia and Hungary. The population tripled; many new palaces, monasteries, mansions, and streets were built, and Bratislava was the centre of social and cultural life of the region. However Bratislava started to lose its importance under the reign of Maria Theresa's son Joseph II, especially when the crown jewels were taken to Vienna in 1783 in an attempt to strengthen the union between Austria and Hungary. Many central offices subsequently moved to Buda, followed by a large segment of the nobility. Bratislava became a centre for the Slovak national movement. In 1783, the first newspaper in Slovak, Presspurske Nowiny (Pressburg Newspaper), and the first Slovak novel were published.

The 19th-century history of Bratislava was closely tied to the major events in Europe. The Treaty of Pressburg between Austria and France was signed in Bratislava in 1805. Devín Castle was ruined by Napoleon's French troops in 1809, and Bratislava Castle destroyed by fire in 1811. As a reaction to the Revolutions of 1848, Ferdinand V signed the so-called March laws, which included the abolition of serfdom, at the Primate's Palace. The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 transferred political control to Hungary, resulting in a strong Magyarisation policy that ousted the Germans from their dominant civic position and doubled the number of declared Hungarians. Industry grew rapidly in the 19th century. The first horse-drawn railway in the territory of present-day Slovakia and Hungary, from Bratislava to Svätý Jur, was built in 1840. A new line to Vienna using steam locomotives was opened in 1848. Many new industrial, financial and other institutions were founded (Slovakia's first bank was founded in 1842). The city's first permanent bridge over the Danube, Starý most, 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. As the city was dominated by Hungarians and Germans, they tried to prevent annexation of Bratislava to Czechoslovakia and declared it a free city. The Czechoslovak Legions arrived in the city in January 1919, thereby making it part of Czechoslovakia. The city immediately became the seat of Slovakia's political organs and organizations. It won out over other candidates (Martin and Nitra) for Slovakia's capital because of its economic importance and its strategic position on the Danube. On March 27, 1919, the name Bratislava was officially adopted for the first time. Under the democracy of the First Czechoslovak Republic the number of self-declared Slovaks doubled and the Czech population increased, while the German and especially the Hungarian populations fell considerably in the city.

Allied ordnance damage at the Apollo company industrial plant in Bratislava, September 1944

In 1938 Nazi Germany annexed neighbouring Austria in the Anschluss; later that year it also annexed the still-independent Petržalka and Devín boroughs on ethnic grounds. Bratislava was declared the capital of the first independent Slovak Republic on 14 March 1939, but the new state quickly fell under influence of Nazi Germany. In 1941–1942 the new Slovak government expelled most of Bratislava's approximately 15,000 Jews, and the expulsions resumed in 1944–1945, when Bratislava was occupied by German troops. Most of the expelled Jews were sent to their deaths in concentration camps. Bratislava was bombarded by the Allies and eventually liberated by the Soviet Red Army on April 4, 1945. At the end of World War II, most Bratislava Germans were evacuated by German authorities; a few returned after the war, but were expelled under the Beneš decrees.

After the Communist Party seized power in Czechoslovakia in February 1948, the city became part of the Eastern Bloc. Hundreds of citizens were expelled during the communist repression of the 1950s, with the aim of replacing "reactionary" people with the proletarian class. The city annexed new land, and the population rose significantly, becoming 90% Slovak. Large residential areas consisting of high-rise prefabricated panel buildings, such as those in the Petržalka borough, were built. The Communist government also built several new grandiose buildings, such as the Nový Most bridge and the Slovak Radio headquarters, sometimes at the expense of the historical cityscape.

In 1968, the city became the capital of the Slovak Socialist Republic, one of two states of the newly federalized Czechoslovakia. Nevertheless, the citizens of Bratislava had to suffer Soviet occupation after Warsaw Pact troops invaded the country the very same year, ending the Czechoslovak attempt to liberalize the Communist regime. Bratislava's dissidents anticipated the fall of the Communism with the Bratislava candle demonstration in 1988, and the city became one of the foremost centres of the anti-Communist Velvet Revolution in 1989.

In 1993, the city became the capital of the newly formed Slovak Republic following the Velvet Divorce. In the 1990s and the early 21st century, the city's economy boomed due to foreign investment. The flourishing city also hosted several important cultural and political events, including the Slovakia Summit 2005 between George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin.

Cityscape and architecture

The cityscape of Bratislava, characterized by medieval towers and 20th-century grandiose buildings, has undergone profound changes due to the construction boom at the beginning of the 21st century.

City

The Old Town Hall, viewed from the Main Square

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. Michael's Gate is the only gate that has been preserved from the medieval fortifications, and it ranks among the oldest of the town's buildings; the narrowest house in Europe is located nearby. The University Library building, 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) was 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 Archiepiscopal Palace. In 1805, emperors Napoleon and Francis II signed the fourth Peace of Pressburg in the Primate's Palace. Some smaller houses are historically significant; composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel was born in an 18th-century house in the Old Town.

Notable cathedrals and churches include the Gothic St. Martin's Cathedral built in the 13th–16th centuries, which served as the coronation church of the Kingdom of Hungary between 1563 and 1830. The Franciscan Church, dating 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 at ground level) restored portion of the Jewish cemetery where 19th-century Rabbi Moses Sofer is buried, located at the base of the castle hill near the entrance to a tram tunnel. 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 (New 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. In the early 21st century, new edifices have transformed the traditional cityscape. The construction boom has spawned new public buildings, such as the Most Apollo and a new building of the Slovak National Theatre, as well as private real-estate development.

Bratislava Castle

Main article: Bratislava Castle

Bratislava Castle at night

One of the most prominent structures in the city is Bratislava Castle, situated on a plateau 85 metres (279 ft) above the Danube. The castle hill site has been inhabited since the transition period between the Stone and Bronze ages and has been 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 not constructed until the 10th century, when the area was part of the Kingdom of Hungary. The castle was converted into a Gothic anti-Hussite fortress under Sigismund of Luxemburg in 1430, became a Renaissance castle in 1562, and was reconstructed in 1649 in the baroque style. Under Queen Maria Theresa, the castle became a prestigious royal seat. In 1811, the castle was inadvertently destroyed and lay in ruins until the 1950s, when it was reconstructed mostly in its former Theresan style.

Devín Castle

Main article: Devín Castle

Another castle is Devín Castle, now in ruins, in Devín. It is situated on top of a rock at the point where the Morava River, which forms the border between Austria and Slovakia, enters the Danube. It is one of the most important Slovak archaeological sites, and contains a museum dedicated to its history. Due to its strategic location, Devín Castle was a very important frontier castle of Great Moravia and the early Hungarian state. It was destroyed by Napoleon's troops in 1809 and is an important symbol of Slovak and Slavic history.

Rusovce

Rusovce mansion, with its English park, is situated in the Rusovce borough. The house was originally built in the 17th century and was turned into an English neo-Gothic-style mansion in 1841–1844. The borough is also known for the ruins of the Roman military camp Gerulata, part of Limes Romanus, a border defence system. Gerulata was built and used between the 1st and 4th centuries AD.

Parks and lakes

Sad Janka Kráľa in Petržalka, the oldest public park in Europe.

Due to its location at the foothills of the Little Carpathians and its riparian vegetation on the Danubian floodplains, Bratislava has forests close to the city centre. The total amount of public green space is 46.8 square kilometres (18.1 sq mi), or 110 square metres (1,184 ft²) per inhabitant. The largest city park is Horský park (literally, Mountainous Park), in the Old Town. Bratislavský lesný park (Bratislava Forest Park) is located in the Little Carpathians and includes many locales popular among visitors, such as Železná studienka and Koliba. The Forest Park covers an area of 27.3 square kilometres (10.54 mi²), of which 96% is forested, and contains original flora and fauna such as European badgers, red foxes and mouflons. On the right bank of the Danube, in the borough of Petržalka, is Sad Janka Kráľa, the first public park in Europe, founded in 1774–76. A new city park is planned for Petržalka between the Malý Draždiak and Veľký Draždiak lakes.

Bratislava's zoological park is located in Mlynská dolina, near the headquarters of Slovak Television. The zoo, founded in 1960, currently houses 152 species of animals, including a rare white lion. The Botanical Gardens, which belong to Comenius University, can be found on the Danube riverfront, and house more than 120 species of domestic, foreign, and exotic origin.

The city has a number of natural and man-made lakes, most of which are used for recreation. Examples include Štrkovec lake in Ružinov, Kuchajda in Nové Mesto, Zlaté Piesky and the Vajnory lakes in the north-east, and Rusovce lake in the south, which is popular with nudists.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the city had 428,672 inhabitants (the estimate for 2005 is 425,459). The average population density was 1,157 inhabitants/km² (2,997/mi²). The most populous district is Bratislava V with 121,259 inhabitants, followed by Bratislava II with 108,139, Bratislava IV with 93,058, Bratislava III with 61,418 and Bratislava I with 44,798. The largest ethnic groups in 2001 were Slovaks with 391,767 inhabitants (91.37% of the city population), followed by Hungarians with 16,541 (3.84%) and Czechs with 7,972 (1.86%). Other ethnic groups are Germans (1200, 0.28%), Moravians (635, 0.15%), Croats (614, 0.14%), Ruthenes (461, 0.11%), Ukrainians (452, 0.11%), Roma (417, 0.08%), and Poles (339, 0.08%).

From the city's origin until the 19th century, Germans were the dominant ethnic group. However, after the Compromise of 1867, strong Magyarisation took place, and by the end of World War I Bratislava was a German-Hungarian town, with Slovaks as the biggest minority. After the formation of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918, Bratislava remained a multi-ethnic city, but with a different demographic trend. The proportion of Slovaks and Czechs increased, while the proportion of Germans and Hungarians fell. In 1938, 59% of population were Slovaks or Czechs, while Germans represented 22% and Hungarians 13% of the city's population. The creation of the first Slovak Republic in 1939 brought other changes, most notably the expulsion of many Czechs and Jews. In 1945, most of the Germans were evacuated, or after the restoration of Czechoslovakia, displaced from the city, along with the Hungarians accused of cooperation with the Nazis. The city thereby lost its multicultural character. Since the 1950s, the Slovaks have been the dominant ethnicity in the town, making up around 90% of the city's population.

According to a 2005 estimate, the average age in the city was 38.7 years, distributed as follows: 51,783 inhabitants of pre-productive age (0–14), 12.1%; 281,403 of productive age (15–59), 65.6%; and 92,273 of post-productive age (55+ for females, 60+ for males), 21.5%.

The 2001 census recorded 243,048 Roman Catholics (56.7%), 125,729 Atheists (29.3%), 24,810 Augsburg Confessional Lutherans (6%), 3,163 Greek Catholics (0.7%), 1,918 Reformed Christians, 1,827 Jehovah's Witnesses, 1,616 Eastern Orthodox, 737 Methodist Protestants, 748 Jews, and 613 Baptists.

Government

See also: Boroughs and localities of Bratislava and International relations of Bratislava

Bratislava is the seat of the Slovak parliament, presidency, ministries, supreme court (Slovak: Najvyšší súd), and central bank. It is the seat of the Bratislava Region and, since 2002, also of the Bratislava Self-governing Region. The city also has many foreign embassies and consulates.

Primate's Palace, the seat of the city government

The current local government (Mestská samospráva) structure has been in place since 1990. It is composed of a mayor (primátor), a city board (Mestská rada), a city council (Mestské zastupiteľstvo), city commissions (Komisie mestského zastupiteľstva), and a city magistrate's office (Magistrát).

The mayor, based at the Primate's Palace, is the city's top executive officer and is elected to a four-year term of office. The current mayor of Bratislava is Andrej Ďurkovský, who won the election in 2006 as a candidate of the KDH–SDKÚ coalition. He is serving his second term in the office. The city council is the city's legislative body, responsible for issues such as budget, local ordinances, city planning, road maintenance, education, and culture. The Council usually convenes once a month and consists of 80 members elected to four-year terms concurrent with the mayor's. Many of the council's executive functions are carried out by the city commission at the council's direction. The city board is a 28-member body composed of the mayor and his deputies, the borough mayors, and up to ten city council members. The board is an executive and supervisory arm of the city council and also serves in an advisory role to the mayor.

Administratively, Bratislava is divided into five districts: Bratislava I (the city centre), Bratislava II (eastern parts), Bratislava III (northeastern parts), Bratislava IV (western and northern parts) and Bratislava V (southern parts on the right bank of the Danube, including Petržalka, the most densely populated residential area in Central Europe).

For self-governance purposes, the city is divided into 17 boroughs, each of which has its own mayor (starosta) and council. The number of councillors in each depends on the size and population of the borough. Each of the boroughs coincides with the city's 20 cadastral areas, except for two cases: Nové Mesto is further divided into the Nové Mesto and Vinohrady cadastral areas and Ružinov is divided into Ružinov, Nivy and Trnávka. Further unofficial division in some cases recognizes additional quarters and localities.

	Bratislava's territorial divisions (districts and boroughs)
	Bratislava I	Bratislava II	Bratislava III	Bratislava IV	Bratislava V
	Staré Mesto	Ružinov	Nové Mesto	Karlova Ves	Petržalka
		Vrakuňa	Rača	Dúbravka	Jarovce
		Podunajské Biskupice	Vajnory	Lamač	Rusovce
				Devín	Čunovo
				Devínska Nová Ves
				Záhorská Bystrica

Economy

Main article: Economy of Bratislava

High-rise buildings at Nivy, one of Bratislava's main business districts

The Bratislava Region is the wealthiest and economically most prosperous region in Slovakia as of 2007, despite being the smallest by area and having the second smallest population of the eight Slovak regions. It accounts for about 26% of the Slovak GDP. The GDP per capita (PPP), valued at €27,802 (2004), is 129.3% of the EU average and is the second-highest level (after Prague) of all regions in the new EU member states.

The unemployment rate in Bratislava was 1.84% in July 2007. Many governmental institutions and private companies have their headquarters in Bratislava. More than 75% of Bratislava's population works in the service sector, mainly composed of trade, banking, IT, telecommunications, and tourism. The Bratislava Stock Exchange (BSSE), the organiser of the public securities market, was founded on 15 March 1991.

Automaker Volkswagen built a factory in Bratislava in 1991 and has expanded since. Currently, its production focuses on SUVs, which represent 68% of all production. The VW Touareg is produced in Bratislava, and the Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7 are partially built there.

In recent years, service and high-tech-oriented businesses have prospered in Bratislava. Many global companies, including IBM, Dell, Lenovo, AT&T, SAP, and Accenture, have built outsourcing and service centres here or plan to do so soon. Reasons for the influx of multi-national corporations include proximity to the Western Europe, skilled labour force and high density of universities and research facilities.

Other large companies and employers with headquarters in Bratislava include Slovak Telekom, Orange Slovensko, Slovenská sporiteľňa, Tatra banka, Doprastav, Hewlett-Packard Slovakia, Slovnaft, Henkel Slovensko, Slovenský plynárenský priemysel, Kraft Foods Slovakia, Whirlpool Slovakia, Železnice Slovenskej republiky, and Tesco Stores Slovak Republic.

The Slovak economy's strong growth in the 2000s has led to a boom in the construction industry, and several major projects have been completed or are planned in Bratislava. Areas attracting developers include the Danube riverfront, where two major projects already under construction: River Park in the Old Town, and Eurovea near the Apollo Bridge. Other locations under development include the areas around the main railway and bus stations, around the former industrial zone near the Old Town and in the boroughs of Petržalka, Nové Mesto and Ružinov. It is expected that investors will spend €1.2 billion on new projects by 2010.

The city has a balanced budget of almost six billion Slovak korunas (€182 million), as of 2007. One fifth is used for investment. Bratislava holds shares in 17 companies directly, for example, in the public transport company (Dopravný podnik Bratislava), the waste collection and disposal company, and the water utility. The city also manages municipal organisations such as the City Police (Mestská polícia), Bratislava City Museum and ZOO Bratislava.

Culture

Bratislava is the cultural heart of Slovakia. Owing to its historical multi-cultural character, local culture is influenced by various ethnic groups, including Germans, Slovaks, Hungarians, and Jews. Bratislava enjoys numerous theatres, museums, galleries, concert halls, cinemas, film clubs, and foreign cultural institutions.

The old Slovak National Theatre building on Hviezdoslav Square

Performing arts

Bratislava is the seat of the Slovak National Theatre, housed in two buildings. The first is a Neo-Renaissance theatre building situated in the Old Town at the end of Hviezdoslav Square. The new building, opened to the public in 2007, is on the riverfront. The theatre has three ensembles: opera, ballet and drama. Smaller theatres include the Bratislava Puppet Theatre, the Astorka Korzo '90 theatre, the Arena Theatre, L+S Studio, and the Naive Theatre of Radošina.

Music in Bratislava flourished in the 18th century and was closely linked to Viennese musical life. Mozart visited the town at the age of six. Among other notable composers who visited the town were Haydn, Liszt, Bartók and Beethoven, who played his Missa Solemnis for the first time in Bratislava. It is also the birthplace of the composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel. Bratislava is home to the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra. The city hosts several annual festivals, such as the Bratislava Music Festival and Bratislava Jazz Days. The Wilsonic Festival, held annually since 2000, brings dozens of international musical acts to the city each year. During the summer, various musical events take place as part of the Bratislava Cultural Summer. Apart from musical festivals, it is possible to hear music ranging from underground to the concerts of well known pop stars.

Museums and galleries

Main article: Museums and galleries of Bratislava

The Rococo-style "House of the Good Shepherd", home to the Museum of Clocks

The Slovak National Museum (Slovenské národné múzeum), founded in 1961, has its headquarters in Bratislava on the riverfront in the Old Town, along with the Natural History Museum, which is one of its subdivisions. The SNM is the highest institution focusing on scientific research and cultural education in the field of museological activity in Slovakia. The SNM manages 16 specialised museums in Bratislava and beyond.

The Bratislava City Museum (Múzeum mesta Bratislavy), established in 1868, is the oldest museum in continuous operation in Slovakia. The museum's primary goal is to chronicle Bratislava's history in various forms from the earliest periods using historical and archaeological collections. The museum offers permanent displays in eight specialised museums.

The Slovak National Gallery, founded in 1948, offers the most extensive network of galleries in Slovakia. Two displays in Bratislava are next to one another at Esterházy Palace (Esterházyho palác) and the Water Barracks (Vodné kasárne) on the Danube riverfront in the Old Town. The Bratislava City Gallery, founded in 1961, is the second-largest Slovak gallery of its kind. The gallery offers permanent displays at Pálffy Palace (Pálffyho palác) and Mirbach Palace (Mirbachov palác), in the Old Town. Danubiana Art Museum, one of the youngest art museums in Europe, is near Čunovo waterworks.

Media

Slovak Radio headquarters building

As the national capital, Bratislava is home to national and many local media outlets. Notable TV stations based in the city include Slovak Television (Slovenská televízia), Markíza, JOJ and TA3. Slovak Radio (Slovenský rozhlas) has its seat in the centre, and many Slovak commercial radio stations are based in the city. National newspapers based in Bratislava include SME, Pravda, Nový čas, Hospodárske noviny and the English-language Slovak Spectator. Two news agencies are headquartered there: the News Agency of the Slovak Republic (TASR) and the Slovak News Agency (SITA).

Sport

Main article: Sport in Bratislava

Various sports and sports teams have a long tradition in Bratislava, with many teams and individuals competing in Slovak and international leagues and competitions.

Tehelné pole stadium in Nové Mesto, home to the ŠK Slovan Bratislava football club

Football is currently represented by three clubs playing in the top Slovak football league, the Corgoň Liga. ŠK Slovan Bratislava, founded in 1919, has its home ground at the Tehelné pole stadium. ŠK Slovan is the most successful football club in Slovak history, being the only club from the former Czechoslovakia to win the European football competition the Cup Winners' Cup, in 1969. FK Inter Bratislava, founded in 1945, have their home ground at Štadión Pasienky. FC Artmedia Bratislava is the oldest of Bratislava's football clubs, founded in 1898, and is based at Štadión Petržalka in Petržalka.

Bratislava is home to three winter sports arenas: Ondrej Nepela Winter Sports Stadium, V. Dzurilla Winter Sports Stadium, and Dúbravka Winter Sports Stadium. The HC Slovan Bratislava ice hockey team represents Bratislava in Slovakia's top ice hockey league, the Slovak Extraliga. Samsung Arena, a part of Ondrej Nepela Winter Sports Stadium, is home to HC Slovan. The Ice Hockey World Championships in 1959 and 1992 were played in Bratislava, and the 2011 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships will be held in Bratislava and Košice, for which a new arena is being planned.

The Čunovo Water Sports Centre is a whitewater slalom and rafting area, close to the Gabčíkovo dam. The Centre hosts several international and national canoe and kayak competitions annually.

The National Tennis Centre, which includes Sibamac Arena, hosts various cultural, sporting and social events. Several Davis Cup matches have been played there, including the 2005 Davis Cup final. The city is represented in the top Slovak leagues in women's and men's basketball, women's handball and volleyball, and men's water polo. The Devín–Bratislava National run is the oldest athletic event in Slovakia, and the Bratislava City Marathon has been held annually since 2006. A race track is located in Petržalka, where horse racing and dog racing events and dog shows are held regularly.

Tourism

Tourist train Prešporáčik in the Old Town

In 2006, Bratislava had 77 commercial accommodation facilities (of which 45 were hotels) with a total capacity of 9,940 beds. A total of 686,201 visitors, 454,870 of whom were foreigners, stayed overnight. Altogether, visitors made 1,338,497 overnight stays. However, a considerable share of visits is made by those who visit Bratislava for a single day, and their exact number is not known. The top ten nationalities of foreign visitors were as follows: the Czech Republic, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Austria, France, the United States, Japan and Hungary. For a list of sights in the city, see cityscape and architecture above.

Among other factors, the growth of low-cost airline flights to Bratislava, led by SkyEurope, has led to the locally visible and controversial phenomenon of Bratislava stag parties, primarily from the UK. While a boon to the city's tourist industry, cultural differences and incidents of vandalism have led to concern on the part of local officials.

Education and science

Comenius University headquarters at Šafárikovo námestie

The first university in Bratislava and also in the territory of present-day Slovakia was Universitas Istropolitana, founded in 1465 by King Matthias Corvinus. It was closed in 1490 after his death.

Bratislava is the seat of the largest university (Comenius University), the largest technical university (Slovak University of Technology), and the oldest art schools (the Academy of Performing Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts and Design) in Slovakia. Other institutions of tertiary education are the public University of Economics and Bratislava Technical College and the first private college in Slovakia, City University of Seattle. In total, about 56,000 students attend university in Bratislava.

The Slovak Academy of Sciences is also based in Bratislava. However, the city is one of the few European capitals to have neither an observatory nor a planetarium. The nearest observatory is in Modra, 30 kilometres (19 mi) away, and the nearest planetarium is in Hlohovec, 70 kilometres (43 mi) away. CEPIT, the Central European Park For Innovative Technologies, is slated for development in Vajnory. This science and technology park will combine public and private research and educational institutions. Construction is expected to begin in 2007.

Transport

Main article: Transport in Bratislava

Duobus (a trolleybus combined with a bus)

The geographical position of Bratislava in Central Europe has long made it a natural crossroads for international trade traffic.

Public transport in Bratislava is managed by Dopravný podnik Bratislava, a city-owned company. The transport system is known as Mestská hromadná doprava (MHD, Municipal Mass Transit) and employs buses, trams, and trolleybuses. An additional service, Bratislavská integrovaná doprava (Bratislava Integrated Transport), links train and bus routes in the city with points beyond.

As a rail hub, the city has direct connections to Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and the rest of Slovakia. The motorway system provides direct access to Brno in the Czech Republic, Trnava and other points in Slovakia, and Budapest in Hungary. A motorway between Bratislava and Vienna is expected to be finished in November 2007. The Port of Bratislava provides access to the Black Sea via the Danube and to the North Sea through the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal. M. R. Štefánik Airport is 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north-east of the city centre. It served 1,937,642 passengers in 2006.

References

General references

• Horváth, V., Lehotská, D., Pleva, J. (eds.); et al. (1979). Dejiny Bratislavy (History of Bratislava) (in Slovak) (2nd edition ed.). Bratislava, Slovakia: Obzor. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); |last= has generic name (help); Explicit use of et al. in: |last= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Janota, Igor (2006). Bratislavské rarity (Rarities of Bratislava) (in Slovak) (1st ed. ed.). Bratislava, Slovakia: Vydavateľstvo PT. ISBN 80-89218-19-9. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
• Kováč, Dušan (2006). Bratislava 1939–1945 – Mier a vojna v meste (Bratislava 1939–1945 – Peace and war in the town) (in Slovak) (1st ed. ed.). Bratislava, Slovakia: Vydavateľstvo PT. ISBN 80-89218-29-6. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
• Kováč, Dušan; et al. (1998). Kronika Slovenska 1 (Chronicle of Slovakia 1). Chronicle of Slovakia (in Slovak) (1st ed. ed.). Bratislava, Slovakia: Fortuna Print. ISBN 80-71531-74-X. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Explicit use of et al. in: |first= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
• Kováč, Dušan; et al. (1999). Kronika Slovenska 2 (Chronicle of Slovakia 2). Chronicle of Slovakia (in Slovak) (1st ed. ed.). Bratislava, Slovakia: Fortuna Print. ISBN 80-88980-08-9. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Explicit use of et al. in: |first= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
• Lacika, Ján (2000). Bratislava. Visiting Slovakia (1st ed. ed.). Bratislava, Slovakia: DAJAMA. ISBN 80-88975-16-6. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
• Špiesz, Anton (2001). Bratislava v stredoveku (Bratislava in the Middle Ages) (in Slovak) (1st ed. ed.). Bratislava, Slovakia: Perfekt. ISBN 80-8046-145-7. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); External link in |publisher= (help)

External links

• Official website of the City of Bratislava
• Bratislava Culture and Information Centre
• Template:Wikitravelpar
• Travel guide to Bratislava
• Public urban transport in Bratislava

Images

• Contemporary Bratislava Photography

• Albums with historical and new photos
  • Bratislava on Flickr