Bratislava

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Bratislava
Bratislava Old Town at night from Petržalka
Bratislava Old Town at night from Petržalka
Official flag of Bratislava
Official seal of Bratislava
Flag Seal
Nickname: "Beauty on the Danube"
Location of Bratislava within Slovakia
Location of Bratislava within Slovakia
Coordinates: 48°08′41″N, 17°06′46″E
Country Slovakia
Region (kraj) Bratislava Region
Districts Bratislava I-V
First mentioned 907
Mayor Andrej Ďurkovský
Area  
 - City 367.584 km²
Elevation 126 - 514 m  (382.5 - 1560.4 ft)
Population  
 - City (31/12/2005) 425,155
 - Density 1157/km²
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal Code 8XX XX
Website: www.bratislava.sk

Bratislava is the capital city of Slovakia. About 450,000 people live there. It used to be called Pressburg (German) or Pozsony (Hungarian) and by a number of other names. It has a nice small Old Town. The Danube river goes through Bratislava. There is a nice castle called Bratislava Castle. Bratislava is seat of national government, presidency, parliament, of several museums, galleries and of other educational, cultural and economic institutions.

Contents

[edit] Etymology

Bratislava had many names through its history. Here are some of them:

  • German: Preßburg (now spelled Pressburg)
  • Slovak: Prešporok, from German name
  • Hungarian: Pozsony (still used today by Hungarians)
  • Greek (medieval): Istropolis (meaning the Danube City)
  • Latin: Posonium
  • English: Pressburg(h)/Pressborough

and many others.

[edit] Geography

Bratislava lies at an extreme south-west of Slovakia, near the borders with Austria and Hungary, and not far from the Czech Republic border. It lies on the Morava and Danube rivers.

[edit] History

People have lived here since the Neolithic age. The Celts inhabited this area from 400 BC-50 BC. The Roman Empire set up border military camps near Bratislava from the 1st century until the 5th century, for example "Gerulata". The Slavs started moving here from the 6th century. Bratislava was part of the Slavic empire called Great Moravia in the 9th century. From the second half of the 10th century until 1918, it was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, with some exceptions. It was even capital of the Kingdom between 1524 and 1830/1848. After the World War I ended in 1918, it was part of newly founded Czechoslovakia until 1939, when it became capital of World War II Slovak Republic until 1945. After 1945, it was part of Czechoslovakia again, becoming capital of Slovak Soviet Republic (which was still part of Czechoslovakia) in 1968. After the event called Velvet Divorce, when the Czechoslovakia broke up, Bratislava became capital of Slovakia.

[edit] Sightseeing

Main square in the Old Town
Main square in the Old Town

List of notable structures:

  • Bratislava Castle
  • St. Martin's Cathedral
  • Primate's Palace
  • Bratislava town hall
  • Michael's Gate
  • Grassalkovich Palace
  • Nový Most (New Bridge)
  • Kamzík TV Tower
  • Devín Castle

[edit] Economy

Economy of Bratislava is prosperous and based on automobile industry, chemical industry and services. The unemployment (people without work) is lowest in Slovakia (around 3%, compared to the national average 11.5%). Approximately 150,000 people from all over the Slovakia travel to Bratislava for work.

[edit] Transport

Motorway D1 in Bratislava
Motorway D1 in Bratislava

Position of Bratislava made it a natural crossroads for international traffic. It is a motorway junction, rail junction, has its own airport. The international river traffic passes along the Danube through Bratislava, with its own river port.

Bratislava has its own public transport system, with buses, trams and trolleybuses.

[edit] Territorial division

Bratislava is divided into 5 national districts and 17 city parts:

  • District I: Staré mesto (Old Town)
  • District II: Ružinov, Vrakuňa, Podunajské Biskupice
  • District III: Rača, Nové mesto (New Town), Vajnory
  • District IV: Karlova Ves, Dúbravka, Devín, Devínska Nová Ves, Záhorská
  • District V: Petržalka, Jarovce, Rusovce, Čunovo

Further it is divided into 20 cadastral areas, which are identical with the city parts with 2 exceptions:

  • Nové mesto = Nové mesto + Vinohrady
  • Ružinov = Ružinov + Nivy + Trnávka

[edit] Twin towns

Bratislava districts
Bratislava districts

[edit] Pictures

[edit] External links

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