Bratislava - The City
Bratislava (in German - Pressburg, in Hungarian - Pozsony ) is situated in the geographic heart of Europe, just at the intersection of main European cultures from the West to the East and from the North to the South. It rests in the middle of Europe just 1 hour by train from Vienna, 2 hours from Budapest and 4 hours from Prague. It is on highway E-75, which begins in Ostende (Belgium) and continues to Istanbul via Vienna and Budapest.
Bratislava is an exciting city with deep historical and cultural roots. Being situated on the Southwest of Slovakia, it lies on the left bank of the Danube river near the point where the borders of Slovakia, Austria, and Hungary meet. The area was settled as early as from the fifth millennium BC. More specific historical evidence, however, begins only in the fourth century BC, when a well-organized Celtic settlement with highly developed craft production arose here. The Roman conquest of the Danube Valley (Pannonia) by Druse and Tiberius signaled the end of Celtic culture and beginning of Romanization. In the course of the 10th and 11th centuries, the area became part of the rising Hungarian Kingdom spreading over the Carpathian Valley.
Available historical sources mentioned Bratislava for the first time in 907 on its old Latin name, Presalauspurch. Town privileges were received from King Andrew III. as early as in 1291, further privileges were granted in the 14th and 15th centuries, including the right to strike its own coins. The Academia Istropolitana, the first University in Slovakia and one of the first Universities in Central-Europe was founded here in 1456. After Louis II. of Hungary was defeated by the Ottomans in 1526, Bratislava was promoted to the second capital of the Habsburg empire, the capital of the Hungarian Kingdom, the coronation town of nineteen of its kings and queens and the site of its Parliament until the year 1848. In 1805, after the Battle of Austerlitz, the Peace of Pressburg between Austria and Napoleon’s France was signed in the Bishop’s Palace. From the 1830s and 1840s, Bratislava witnessed the unfolding of the Slovak national revival movement.
In 1919, the city became one of the two main administrative and business centers of the newly formed Czechoslovakia. Since January 1st, 1993 it has been the capital of the newly formed Slovak Republic and the seat of the country’s central institutions.
Bratislava - Culture
Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, with its round half a million inhabitants is the largest city in the country. The city lies on both sides of the river Danube and it is an important industrial, cultural, educational and science center in the region.
Bratislava is a European City offering a harmonious blend of modern life within the charming background of old-world architecture reflecting its rich history. The most important landmarks include the former Royal Seat at the Bratislava Castle and the gothic St. Martin’s Cathedral, the scene of 19 coronations including the crowning of Maria-Theresia, the Queen of Austria and Hungary. Many churches, narrow medieval lanes, Saint Michael’s Gate with the rest of the remains of the medieval town fortifications, Old Townhall and series of architecturally attractive palaces, sites and town houses of various styles, form the characteristic flavor of the city.
The influences of numerous European cultures encountered in Bratislava are reflected in the cultural development of Slovakia and of neighboring Central-European countries.
Bratislava's cultural pervasion is evident. Many of its significant citizens left for scientific or artistic careers to Vienna, Budapest or Prague (just to mention the outstanding scientist Matthias Bel, the famous composer Béla Bartók, the physicist Jan Andreas Segner, the inventor of the "Segner wheel", the constructor Wolf Kempelen, father of the theory on stress (Kempelen`s chess playing machine), Jan Selye and the Nobel-prize winner Filip Lenart), while numerous foreign teachers, scientists and artists were acting for some time in Bratislava. Their long and exceptional list includes the founder of the renowned Pressburger Yeshiva, rabbi Chatam Sofer (Moshe Schreiber), several outstanding composers, as Johann Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Hayden and Ferenc Liszt, a number of significant architects and sculptors as Georg Rafael Donner, Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, Franz Anton Hillebrand or Ödön Lechner, whose works one can admire also in Budapest or in Vienna, and many others.
The city has all the advantages of a medium sized multicultural town with long, colorful history and tolerant, cosmopolitan population. People in this city are very friendly; many of them speak English or German at some level and answer questions with politeness and courtesy.
Bratislava - the Lifestyle
There are many things to do in Bratislava. You might find out that there is not just something for everyone but also someone for everything. For those who enjoy arts and culture, the city offers outstanding museums, art galleries, theaters, concert rooms and excellent opera performances in the Slovak National Theatre. Those with a wilder streak will appreciate the numerous cinemas, nightclubs and bars. Bratislava is the town of young people, so there are many places, where you can spend evenings and enjoy yourself. You can taste our beers or wines in cosy taverns or spend your free time in many nightclubs or discos. There is also a bit of international flavor with many Greek, Italian, Chinese, and Japanese restaurants and spice shops.
Overall, Bratislava is a metropolitan city of European importance, offering a student all the comforts of a modern city at an affordable price.
More information you can find on Official web page of Bratislava.
