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TOURISM
The outstanding location of
Bratislava provides conditions for tourism and recreational sports in the
area of the town and its near surroundings. The wide network of sport
facilities serves not only the citizens but also visitors to the town.
Summer tourism
The Bratislava Forest Park is
accessible by public transport. It is a grouping of leafy forests serving
for recreation; its area is about 17,056 ha. It includes forests in the
southern part of the Low Carpathians and some marshy forests on both banks
of the Danube River from the confluence with the Morava up to Cunovo. It
has a hilly character at 200 - 400 m above sea level and only sporadically
with higher hills such as Devinska Kobyla (514 m) and Kamzík (440
m). A wide network of quiet, dustless roads and tourist paths connecting
the most frequently visited recreational facilities and distant towns cut
through the forests.
Cyclo-tourism
The most sought after places
for cyclo-tourism are the routes along the Danube branches from Devinska
Nova Ves up to Devin. The routes in Petrzalka are linked with cycle paths
in Austria leading to the small town of Hainburg, a crossroad of two
interesting long-distance European tourist routes.
Riding
The riding area in Old Grove (Stary
haj) attracts horse lovers. There is an indoor riding school, training and
racecourse there. Horse racing has a long tradition; the first classical
racing event took place here in 1868. The town of Samorin, 24 km from
Bratislava, is known from breeding race and stud horses. Horse race
international championships take place here on three racecourses.
Golf
Golf is one of the youngest
sports in Slovakia. In Bernolakovo - 5 km from Bratislava - there is a
9-hole course in the historic manor house park.
Skiing
Near Bratislava there are
favourable slopes for downhill and slalom skiers. The Kamzik Hill in
Bratislava´s Forest Park, and the ground above Raca, then the
surroundings in Svaty Jur, Baba and Zochova chata provide the best
possibilities for skiing. The Low Carpathians offer excellent conditions
for tourist walks and cross-country skiing.
Summer Bobsleigh Track
360 m long, 140 m in the
forest and 220 m in meadowland, height difference 40.8 m, 10 turns, 1
jump, 1 bridge. Transport capacity 300 persons per hour.
Koliba, Cvicna luka (skiing training ground)
Mon. - Sun.: 10.00 a.m.-1.00 p.m., 2.00 p.m.-7.00 p.m.
Gorkeho Street
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BRATISLAVA
- the Capital of the Slovak Republic
Bratislava
is the seat of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, the Government
of the Slovak Republic, national ministries and the other central bodies of
the state administration of the Slovak Republic. It is situated in the
centre of Europe in the south-western part of Slovakia. It borders with
Hungary in the south and with Austria in the west. The town spreads like a
fan on the territory of 367,9 km2, on both banks of the Danube River at the
foot of the Low Carpathians at the height of 127-514 m a.s. l. Thanks to
its position on the border between the mild and warm climatic zones, it
ranks among the warmest spots in Slovakia with an average temperature of 9,9°C.
It has 1976,4 hours of sunshine a year and an annual total rainfall is
527,4 mm. Bratislava is the largest town in Slovakia with its population of
450 000.
 Bratislava Castle
With its rich history dominates
the town. The earliest settlements on the hill date back to the Late Stone
Age. Later it became part of the Celtic Oppidum and after of the Roman
fortification Limes Romanus. With the arrival of the Slavs in the area
extensive fortified settlements were built here and the hill became an
important political and spiritual centre of the Great Moravian Empire. In
the 10th century, when the region was incorporated into the recently
established Hungarian state, a new defensive castle, built of stone, was
erected on the hill. This castle became the seat of district administration
- a "comitate" castle. In the 15th century, during the reign of
Sigismund of Luxembourg, the castle was rebuilt in the Gothic style as an
anti-Hussite fortress with its walls on the foundations of the earlier
Great Moravian structure. The castle has preserved its quadrilateral layout
from the 15th century. In each succeeding century the castle has been
altered or rebuilt. In the 18th century it was remodelled and became a
royal residence. During the reign of Joseph II the castle was adapted to
become a general seminary for the education of Catholic clergy. Anton
Bernolák, who laid the foundations for the first codification of the
Slovak language, studied here. Later the castle served as military barracks
and in 1811 was accidentally burnt down by the soldiers. In 1953 the last
reconstruction began. Now in the castle are staterooms of the National
Council of the Slovak Republic, Government of the Slovak Republic and
exhibitions of the Slovak National Museum.
 Slovak National Theatre
Today's
Slovak National
Theatre was built in 1886 based on the designs of the Viennese architects
F. Fellner and H. Helmer who specialised in theatres throughout Central
Europe. They designed for Bratislava a Neo-Renaissance building with a
stone sculpture group of Thalia above the cupola. Artists such as F. Šaľjapin,
P. Mascani, Richard Strauss and G. Filip performed here. Currently, the
opera and ballet are hosted there. Its soloists P. Dvorský, J. Galla,
E. Jenisová perform on the world’s most prestigious stages. The
First Savings Bank financed the Ganymede Fountain in front of the theatre
in 1888. It recalls a scene from Greek mythology.
 Blue Church
The church together with the
parish and nearby High School formed whole complex built in 1909-1913 in
Art Nouveau according to the project by a Budapest architect Edmund Lechner.
The church is interested for its blue colour of plaster, blue mosaic and
blue-glazed majolica of rooting. The church is consecrated to Saint
Elisabeth oh Hungary, daughter of Andrew II and she was born in the
Bratislava Castle. On the facade of the church there is a mosaic of Saint
Elisabeth with roses, according to the legend of her life. Painting of
Saint Elisabeth is also on the main altar.
 Church and Monastery of the
Sisters of Order of St. Elisabeth
A hospital of Saint Elisabeth,
where women were treated was mentioned already in year 1420 but later it
disappeared. Thanks to archbishop of Esztergom Imrich Esterházy they
built in years 1739-1745 monastery with hospital and single nave church of
Saint Elisabeth according to the project of the Viennese architect F. A.
Pilgram. Saint Elisabeth was daughter of king Andrew II and she was
born in the Bratislava Castle in 1207. The church is built in Baroque style
with the statues of Saint Stephen and Saint Ladislav (Hungarian kings) and
Saint Elisabeth with the begger on the front. Inside in the vaults there
are paintings of Viennese painter Pavol Troger that also proposed painting
of Saint Elisabeth on main altar as well as paintings on side altars (Holy
Family, Mourning).
Franciscan Church
Walking along St. Ursula Street
(Uršulínska ulica) we come to the Gothic Franciscan Church,
consecrated in the presence of the Hungarian king Andrew III (Ondrej III)
who granted municipal privileges to Bratislava in 1291. The church was
several times altered; the Chapel of St. John the Evangelist has been
preserved. This two-floor chapel, dating from the 14th century, which
belonged to the mayor of Bratislava, is one of the most beautiful examples
of Gothic architecture in Slovakia.
 St. Martin's Cathedral
The street between the parcan
and the castle wall leads to St. Martin's Cathedral, a three-aisle Gothic
church built on the site of a Romanesque church. Its construction started
at the beginning of the 14th century but the church was not consecrated
until 1452 due to unfavourable political circumstances. The interior of the
church was completed over the centuries and culminated in the 18th century
when, on the invitation of Imrich Eszterházy, Archbishop of
Esztergom, the famous Austrian sculptor Georg Rafael Donner arrived in
Bratislava. He designed the main altar and the Baroque Chapel of St. John
Mendicant.
The church tower was built at the same as the three-aisle construction of
the church and performed the role of a defensive fortification, because it
was part of the municipal fortification. It got its present shape after
several alterations in the first half of the 19th century. On the
85-meter-high steeple there is a golden pillow (2x2 m) which carries a copy
of the Hungarian royal crown as a sign that St. Martin's Cathedral was the
coronation church of Hungarian kings in the 16th century. From 1563 to
1830, 11 Hungarian kings and 8 royal wives were crowned here.
The Church of Merciful
Brothers
In the second half of the 17th
century the Merciful Brothers arrived in Bratislava at the invitation of
the Archbishop of Esztergom. They built their monastery, church and
hospital in the free space. The mother Monastery of the Order of Merciful
Brothers in Vienna served as the model for it. The hospital played an
important role during the plague in 1710 -1713. In the first half of the
20th century the markets successively disappeared.
 Church of the Order of the
Holy Trinity
In front of the entrance gate
to the town stands the Baroque Church of the Order of the Holy Trinity
built in the first third of the 18th century. It is the most beautiful
Baroque building in the town. The interior is a copy of St. Peter's Cathedral in Vienna. The church and the monastery were built by the Order
of the Holy Trinity. The former monastery standing in the neighbourhood of
the church was rebuilt for the needs of the district administration house
in the middle of the 19th century.
 Michael's
Gate
Along Baštová
Street we reach Michael's Street (Michalská ulica). This
street, one of the oldest in the town, originates in the long-distance road
leading from the North Sea to the Danube ford where people settled long
before the foundation of the town. It leads to the only preserved gate from
the medieval fortifications - Michael's Gate (Michalská brána).
Its Gothic tower was built in the first half of the 14th century, it was
raised in the 16th century and the present day shape dates to the 18th
century. In the tower there is the Exhibition of Arms and Municipal
Fortification. Built in the barbican of Michael's Gate stands a
Baroque house dating from the second half of the 18th century. The Museum
of Pharmacy is situated in it. In the historic rooms of the former pharmacy
known as Pharmacy "At the Red Crayfish", one can find a unique
exhibition of equipment of genuine historical pharmacies.
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