Pressburg
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and the country's largest city, with a
population of some 430,000. Bratislava lies on the River Danube, at Slovakia's
borders with Austria
and Hungary, and
relatively close to the border with the Czech Republic.
It is only 60 km (45-65 minutes by train) from Vienna. The city is the most
densely populated in Central Europe. The Carpathian mountain range begins within
the territory of the city with the Malé Karpaty (or Little Carpathians) mountains (part
of the Carpathians).
Bratislava is the seat of the Slovak presidency, parliament and
government. The city is home to universities, a relatively large
number of museums, and to theatres and other cultural institutions
(for example, the famous Slovak
Philharmonic Orchestra).
Historically, the town has been influenced by several nations
(among others, Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia). As is common for
former cities of Austria-Hungary, Bratislava had other names,
out of which the following ones were the only used or official
forms before the end World War I (1919) :
The Old Town Hall viewed from the Main Square
- Pressburg, the German name (today still the official
alternative German name)
- Pozsony, its name in Hungarian (today still the official
alternative Hungarian name)
- Prešporok, its old Slovak name
Basic data
Location: on both banks of the Danube, at the foot of and
in the Little Carpathians, directly at the Austrian and Hungarian
borders
Climate: mild; annual mean temperature: 9.9 °C, annual
hours of sunshine 1976.4, average annual rainfall 527.4 mm
(1993)
History
See also: History of Bratislava (includes the
development of the ethnic structure and important
personalities)
- 623-658: part of King Samo's Empire
- 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 (see the
picture))
- since the 18th century: a center of the Slovak national movement
- 1969-1992: the capital of the Federal State of
Slovakia within Czechoslovakia
Names of the city
The main known names of the town were as follows:
- 805/7 (maybe): Wratisslaburgium,
Pisonium (Latin)
- late 9th
century(?): Braslava (?)(assumed medieval Slavic form,
probably after a Slav prince Braslav)
- around 850 : Istropolis (Greek, stems from the christianisation period, has been later used
by king Matthias Corvinus)
- 907: Brezalauspurc(h) (the first sure name; found in the
Salzburg Annals; according to some sources derived from
Braslava—see above; according to newer sources: derived from
the name Predslav, the 3rd son of Svätopluk - see also after 1001; note that
"P" and "B" are very often interchanged in Austrian and Bavarian
local and family names as Bavarian accent does not differentiate
between them)
- after 1001: Preslav(v)a Civitas (Latin) (this name has been found only recently on
coins)
- 1002: Poson (Hungarian form, probably after the
9th century
Slav prince Božan)
- 1042: Brezesburg
- 1045: Bosenburg
- 1048: Brecesburg
- 1052: Poson, Brezisburg, Bresburc, Preslawaspurch
- 1098: Prespurch
- 1107: Bosan
- 1108: Preburch, Bosania, Prespurch, Bresbruch, Prespuerch,
Brespurg, Posonia, Possen
- 1109: Bosan, Presburch
- 1142: Poson
- 1143: Bosonium
- 1146: Bosan
- 1147: Prespurch
- 1151 and 1163/4: Posonium (Latin, origin like Poson above)
- 1172 and 1194: Poson
- 1189: Bosonium, Brezburc, Bosonium quod Prespurc teutonice
nuncupatur, Brisburc, Posonium
- 1197: Posony
- 1217: Posonia
- ...
- later also:
- - German: Pressburg, Preßburg
- - Greek: Istropolis (meaning "the Danube
City")
- - Latin: Posonium
- - Hungarian: Pozsony
- - Slovak: Pressporek (1773), Prešporok
(later) – stems from the German form
- - Czech: Prešpurk
- - French: Pressbourg, later: Presbourg –
see e. g. the corresponding street name in Paris : rue de
Presbourg
- - English: Pressburg(h), Pressborough; e.g.
there is a Pressburg street in the south west of Greater
London
- 1918 temporarily: Wilsonovo mesto (i. e. "Wilson City", after
US-president Woodrow Wilson)
- since 1919: Bratislava (official name, origin
disputed:according to older sources it is a mutilation of the old
Slavic form Braslava, other say it is an invention by the
US-president Wilson, according to newer sources it was created in
the early 19th century by members of the Slovak movement and is
derived (by mistake) from the name of the Bohemian ruler Bretislav)
Old Town(Staré mesto) of Bratislava viewed from Bratislava
Castle
Sights
Bratislava is picturesquely situated on both banks of the
Danube, at the base of
the outlying spurs of the Little Carpathians, in a position of
strategic importance near the Devín Gate (earlier called Hainburger Pforte
or Porta Hungarica), and the area includes a picturesque old
town.
One of the most conspicuous buildings of the town is the
Bratislava Castle situated on a plateau 270
ft. above the Danube. The castle exists since time immemorial, has
been the acropolis
of a Celtic town, a part of
the Roman Limes Romanus, a huge Slav fortified
settlement and a political, military and religious center of
Great
Moravia. A castle of stone was built only in the 10th century
(part of Hungary), it was turned to a Gothic anti-Hussite fortress under Sigismund of Luxemburg in 1430, in
1562 to 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 to a
school for Catholic clergy, and later in 1802 to barracks. In 1811,
the castle was inadvertently destroyed by fire by the soldiers of
the barracks and was in ruins till the 1950s, when it was
reconstructed mostly in its former Maria Theresa style.
The Good Shepherd's House below the Bratislava Castle, housing the
Museum of Clocks
The
Devin Castle at the
cofluence of the
Danube
and the
Morava viewed
from Austria - an old picture
Another castle is the Devín Castle (still in ruins) in
the city part 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, falls into 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 deliberately destroyed by Napoleon troops in 1809 and is an
important symbol of Slovak and Slavic history.
Yet another castle, built in 1813 and turned to English Gothic style castle in the late
19th century, is situated in the city part
Bratislava-Rusovce, otherwise known for ruins of Roman "Gerulata" settlements.
Other noteworthy buildings are:
- the 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
- 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
- the Primate´s Palace (erected in 1781) in which the
(4th) Peace of Pressburg has been signed
- the beautiful Slovak National Theatre (built in
1886), and
- the Michael's Gate (early 17th century), the only
still existing tower of the town wall
- the narrowest house in central (or maybe in whole)
Europe (just behind the Michael's Gate)
- 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
In general, the historic center is characterized by many
baroque palaces. The
Grassalkovich palace
(built around 1760), for example, is now the residence of the
Slovak president, and the former Archiepiscopal palace (1614-1765,
the former summer residence of the archbishop of Esztergom) is now the seat
of the Slovak government.
Economy
The economy of Bratislava is based mainly on services,
engineering (Volkswagen) and electrical industry; there is also
an important international road and railroad junction, Milan Rastislav Štefánik
international airport, and a river port. The GDP per capita (PPP) reaches 119% of the EU average, which is the second highest
level (behind Prague) of
all regions in all recent and expected aceeding countries (Eurostat, data as of 2002;
for data of 2000 see for example:
[1] (http://www.eu-datashop.de/download/EN/sta_kurz/thema1/dn_03_02.pdf))
Territorial division
- 5 districts (for the purpose of national administrative
division):
- Bratislava I (covers the city)
- Bratislava II (covers the east and southeast)
- Bratislava III (covers the north and northeast)
- Bratislava IV (covers the west)
- Bratislava V (covers the right river bank, i.e. the south, esp.
the largest city part Petržalka)
- 17 "city parts" (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), the number in brackets shows the corresponding
district:
- 1 Staré Mesto (I) ["Old Town"]
- 2 Ružinov
(II)
- 3 Vrakuňa (II)
- 4 Podunajské Biskupice (II)
- 5 Nové Mesto (III) ["New Town"]
- 6 Rača (III)
- 7 Vajnory (III)
- 8 Karlova Ves (IV)
- 9 Dúbravka (IV)
- 10 Lamač (IV)
- 11 Devín (IV)
- 12 Devínska Nová Ves (IV)
- 13 Záhorská Bystrica (IV)
- 14 Petržalka (V)
- 15 Jarovce (V)
- 16 Rusovce (V)
- 17 Čunovo (V)
- 20 "cadastral areas" (townships): they are
identical with the above city parts, except that:
- Nové Mesto is split in Nové Mesto + Vinohrady, and
- Ružinov is split into Ružinov + Nivy + Trnávka
Population
Bratislava has 428 672 inhabitants with an average age of 38.7 y
[2001 census], out of which:
- in Districts: Bratislava I 44 798, Bratislava II 108
139, Bratislava III 61 418, Bratislava IV 93 058, Bratislava V 121
259
- Nationality: Slovaks 391 761, Hungarians 16 451, Roma
417, Czechs 7 972, Moravians 635, Ruthenes 461, Ukrainians 452,
Germans 1 200, Poles 339, Croats 614
- Religion: Roman Catholics 243 048, Lutherans of Augsburg
Confession 24 810, Greeks Catholics 3 163, Reformed Christians 1
918, Orthodox 1 616, Jehovah's Witnesses 1 827, Methodist
Protestants 737, Jews 700, Baptists 613
- Age: 0 – 5 : 4.1 %, 6 – 14: 9.8 %,
Productive Age: 62.9 %, Post-productive Age: 19%
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