Explore the adorable capital city of Slovakia!
Bratislava has an interesting and complicated history. For much of its history, the city was part of the kingdom of Hungary and ruled by the Austrian Hapsburgs. In fact, Bratislava wasn’t even known as Bratislava until after WWI (previous name was Pressburg/Prešporok), when it was incorporated into the new country of Czechoslovakia. The ethnic makeup of Bratislava at that time was mostly ethnic Germans and Hungarians. They tried to make Bratislava a free state, but they failed, and Bratislava was made the seat of government for Slovakia. The Hungarians fled after the Hungarian army left the city in 1919. Slovakian and Czech families would replace them. In 1993, Bratislava would be named the capital of the new Slovak Republic after separation from the Czech Republic (Czechia).
Situated on the Danube, Bratislava is right on the border with Austria and very close to the country’s border with Hungary. It’s a subdued capital city, even though it has over 400,000 inhabitants in the metro region. There are quite a few medieval buildings in the old town, including towers, churches and even a castle. There is also a sprinkling of 20th-21st century building scattered around the city center but the character of the center of Bratislava is still pretty much intact. Everything is also super colorful, making even a cold February day feel cheery.
Jana Irving I stayed within two blocks of the Presidential Palace. It’s a former aristocrat’s palace that was turned into a children’s center during the Communist era. Much restoration was needed after its ransacking by children before it was turned into Slovakia’s version of a White House. It’s also right across the street from a casino.
Jana Irving Old Cathedral of Saint John of Matha and Saint Felix of Valois, quite a name.
Jana Irving I think I see a castle!
Jana Irving I love that old style tram. Bratislava also has some modern, sleek ones, too.
Jana Irving The old town of Bratislava is adorable and very pedestrian friendly.
Jana Irving Church of the Elevation of the Holy Cross and there’s that castle again!
Jana Irving The Knights of Malta making another appearance on this trip.
Jana Irving Little door in a big door. Common in European buildings but I’ve never seen have a door frame like that. They usually blend into the bigger door.
Jana Irving St. Martin’s Cathedral. Hard to get a photo of this one. There is a major road right in front of the church.
Jana Irving It is a very Gothic cathedral.
Jana Irving Very lovely.
Jana Irving I love the carved animals on the choir seats. One is even reading a book.
Jana Irving Not a car in sight. Oh, look, there’s the Embassy of Spain. Embassies are very randomly located around the old city.
Jana Irving Very cute.
Jana Irving The light-colored building with the extra duty security on the left is the American Embassy.
Jana Irving The American Embassy is on a very nice plaza, ending with the Slovak National Theater.
Jana Irving Very cute and colorful.
Jana Irving The Main Square of Bratislava features the Old Town Hall, with its attached church and bell tower.
Jana Irving The courtyard of the Old Town Hall, now a museum.
Jana Irving That was the first car I had seen in a while.
Jana Irving Michael’s Gate, a 14th century gate that used to be part of the city walls.
Jana Irving Church of Our Lady of Loreto with its interesting steeple.
Jana Irving The 18th century Primate’s Palace, former home of the archbishop.
Jana Irving More cute.
Jana Irving I’m not quite sure what this building is used for. I just thought it looked cool.
Jana Irving The Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary. I think it is part of a convent or monastery.
Jana Irving This one just looks very cool. Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary.
Jana Irving Some of the modern buildings though are questionable.
Jana Irving Bratislava’s very unique Church of St. Elizabeth, a.k.a. the Blue Church.
Jana Irving The area around the church has a lot of neat late 19th century-early 20th century buildings.
Jana Irving That is one frilly building.
Jana Irving The way up to the castle is super neat.
Jana Irving So colorful.
Jana Irving There the cathedral again.
Jana Irving A bit of the old city walls still exist.
Jana Irving Love all the cobblestone up here.
Jana Irving Bratislava’s UFO bridge.
Jana Irving Bratislava’s modern business district way out there. I’m so glad that it was built somewhere else, instead of tearing down the buildings in the old city.
Jana Irving The very white Bratislava Castle, a reconstructed Baroque castle that started its life all the way back in 900 CE. There is a museum inside, but I had an early bus to catch.
Jana Irving Near the castle is the Slovak Parliament.
Jana Irving Of course, I found a cemetery on the way back to the hotel to grab my backpack. Cemetery at Goat Gate, what a name.
Jana Irving I just walked around for a bit checking out the tombs to the chorus of dual construction projects nearby.
Jana Irving It’s amazing how green this cemetery was considering it was February when I visited.
Jana Irving Awesome tombstone.
Bratislava was amazing. It was so pleasant to just walk around and explore. You can easily spend a couple days here, exploring and going to museums. There are also castle ruins not far outside of town. I was just so impressed with Bratislava. Plus, they have a good pizza place near Michael’s Gate.
Check out my next update where I head to Brno, Czechia!
or
Start at the beginning of this adventure in Zurich!
