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Bratislava (see below for name alternatives), is the capital of Slovakia and the country's largest city, with a population of some 450,000. 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 national 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, and Jews. Bratislava still retains its cosmopolitan spirit. It hosts many festivals and trade shows and it is famous for its nightlife and leisure facilities.

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 Malé Karpaty (or Little Carpathians). It is only 50 km distant from the Austrian capital Vienna.

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)

History

main article: History of Bratislava (includes the development of the Ethnic Structure and Important Personalities)

Prehistory and early Middle Ages

- 623-658: part of King Samo's Empire

907-1918

Post WWI (1919-present)

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

Important events held in Bratislava

City name

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.

Historical city name alternatives

Today, young Slovaks commonly call their capital 'Blava.' But in the past multiple forms were common to many Central European city names.
The following are Bratislava's names most commonly used before 1919:

  • Preßburg - German (before the 19th century occasionally and since the 1996 German orthography reform regularly spelled Pressburg)
  • Prešporok - old Slovak name; stems from German (one of the many variants was Pressporek in 1773)
  • Prešpurk - Czech
  • Pressburg(h) - English
  • Presburgo - Spanish
  • Pressbourg, later Presbourg - French (rue de Presbourg in Paris)

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

Demographics

All data derived from 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 %, Productive Age: 62.9 %, Post-productive Age: 19%

  • Religion: Roman Catholics 243 048, Lutherans of the Augsburg Confession 24 810, Greek Catholics 3 163, Reformed Christians 1 918, Orthodox 1 616, Jehovah's Witnesses 1 827, Methodist Protestants 737, Jews 700, Baptists 613

Landmarks

Bratislava is picturesquely situated on both banks of the Danube, at the base of the outlying spurs of the Small 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. A 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 center 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 soldiers of the barracks 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
  • 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

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 Slovak government now has its seat in the former Archiepiscopal palace (1614-1765, the former summer residence of the archbishop of Esztergom).

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

Economy

The economy of Bratislava is prosperous and mainly based on services, engineering (Volkswagen), chemical and electrical industry.

The GDP per capita (PPP), which was valued at €25,531 (2002), reaches 120% 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: *)

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

Transport

Its geographical position has always made Bratislava a natural crossroads for trade traffic. There is a large international road and railroad junction, International Airport of Milan Rastislav Štefánik with rapidly growing traffic, and a busy river port.

Public transportation in Bratislava is run by Dopravny podnik Bratislava, a.s., the city-owned company. There are three types of transport vehicles used in Bratislava including buses (covering the most of the city and the largest district of Petrzalka), trams (covering the most frequent commuter trips and connecting city centre with suburbs) and trolleybuses (connecting city centre with suburbs and serving as a complementary mean of transport).

Territorial division

  • 5 districts (for the purpose of national administrative division):

  • 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" : they coincide with the "city parts", except that: Nové Mesto is further split into Nové Mesto + Vinohrady, and Ružinov is split into Ružinov + Nivy + Trnávka

Administrative and Teritorial 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

Twin towns

Bratislava is twinned with:

Images

Image:Ba-altesrathaus.jpg|The Old Town Hall viewed from the Main Square.

Image:Devin.jpg|The Devín Castle at the cofluence of the Danube and the Morava viewed from Austria - an old picture. Image:Bratislava.jpg|Bratislava on the river Danube Image:Bratislava old town from castle hill.jpg|Old Town (Staré mesto) of Bratislava viewed from Bratislava Castle. Image:Bratislava_divadlo.jpg|Slovak National Theatre. Image:Bratislava Danube.jpg|Bratislava on the river Danube Image:Ba-palais grassalkovich front.jpeg|The Grassalkovich Palace - the seat of the President. Image:SKcastleBA.jpg|The Bratislava Castle viewed from the south-west. Image:NovyMost.jpg|The Nový Most (New Bridge). Image:Ba-michaelertor.jpeg|Michael's Gate. Image:Bratislava-Dom-sv-Martina.jpg|St. Martin's Cathedral - the coronation cathedral. Image:Petržalka apartment blocks in Bratislava.jpg|Apartment blocks of Petržalka, across the Danube and the Nový Most Image:Bratislava_Town_Centre.jpg|A typical paved street in Bratislava's Old Town district

External links

City Information

Public Transport

Photo Galleries

Maps

Capitals in Europe | Cities and towns in Slovakia | Bratislava | Cities on the Danube

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Bratislava".

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