BRATISLAVA

Bratislava (until 1919 Pressburg) has always been one of the cultural centres of Central Europe and known as the city on the Danube. It is a beautiful city situated in the south – west part of Slovakia. Now it has a population of 450,000 people and is the capital city of the Slovak Republic.
Most of Bratislava’s sights and attractions are located in the Old Town and Castle Hill area. In the historic Old Town you are traditional cafes, cosy courtyards, old wine cellars, and many hotels and restaurants.
Some of the famous sights in the Old Town are:
St Martin’s Cathedral – during the centuries 10 members of the Habsburg’s dynasty have been crowned there
Old Town Hall – from 13th century
Primate’s Palace – is a magnificent pink palace; today part of the Bratislava City Hall
Franciscan Church – the oldest church in the Old Town
St Michael Gate
Universitas Istropolitana
Grassalkovich Palace - was built in 18th century in Baroque style; today the Palace serves as the residence of the President; Grassalkovich Garden is open to the public
Palffy Palace – today it’s the Austrian Embassy; it was built for Palffy, Marshall in the Austrian army; the building has one of the most beautiful gates in the town; in 1762 the six-year-old Mozart gave here one of his first public concert
Keglevich Palace – in 1796 Ludwig van Beethoven gave here a concert
Redoute – the concert hall of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra
Slovak National Theatre
Cumil – the statue conceived by (vymyslena) artist Viktor Hulik is one of the favourite attractions of the pedestrian zone
The Main square (Hlavne namestie) – is famous for the town’s oldest fountain the Maximilian Fountain
Blue Church
Slovak National Museum
Slovak National Gallery
New Bridge – on the top of it is the restaurant with a great view on the city and its surroundings

The most typical symbol of the capital is Bratislavsky castle, towering on the Castle Hill 85 metres above the Danube. It looks like a table upside – down. Today the Castle houses are the States Rooms of the Slovak National Council and exhibitions of the Slovak National Museum.
Quite close to this is situated the second castle called Devin and it’s the symbol of Slovak mutuality.

In Bratislava you can also find many universities, cinemas (Tatra, Slovan, Dukla, Hviezda, Mier) and theatres (The Small Stage, The New Stage, The Studio S). It’s the city with a lot of opportunities for entertainment.