History of Bratislava
The first written document about Bratislava dates back to 907 A.D. and mentions the Bratislava Castle. The name of the Bratislava City has been used only since 1919 with the origin of the Czechoslovak Republic. Until then the city had been known under various names such as Possonium, Pressburg, Pozsony, and finally Presporok. In the past Bratislava was a part of Samoa’s Kingdom, the Principality of Nitra, Great Moravia, Kingdom of Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Bratislava earned a status of a free royal town in 1405. In 1436, King Sigismund of Luxembourg granted Bratislava the right of its own coat of arms. The Hungarian Diet declared Bratislava the capital of Hungary in 1536. At that time Bratislava, a part of Hungary, served as a coronation seat of Hungarian kings for almost 300 years. Eleven Hungarian kings and queens were crowned at St. Martin’s Cathedral.
The 18th century marks a new era of Bratislava’s prosperity. Back then Bratislava was the largest city in Hungary. The city, populated by Hungarian aristocracy, flourished when the new places of worship had been erected and the Bratislava Castle had been redesigned.
In the 19th century Bratislava became an industrialized city. For example, the first horse railroad started to operate in 1804. In 1891 the Old Bridge was open to traffic and pedestrians and four years later the city began its first trolley service.
Despite its era of prosperity, Bratislava had seen a series of unfortunate events. In 1811, for example, Bratislava Castle was destroyed by a fire. During WW2 Bratislava witnessed a few battles, and on April 4, 1945, the Soviet Red Army liberated the city. When the Slovak Republic was formed in 1939, Bratislava became the country’s capital for the first time in history. It remained the capital of Slovakia in the federal Czechoslovak Republic (1948-1960) with Prague as the capital of the federal republic. On January 1, 1993, a sovereign Slovak Republic was formed with Bratislava as its capital. Several settlements were added to the city’s boundaries in 1972. As a result, Bratislava has today a total area of 367.5 square kilometres (367.5 km2).
Things to Do In Bratislava/Sightseeing Suggestions
- Walking tours through Bratislava‘s historic centre
- Visiting the Bratislava Castle
- Visiting the Devin Castle
- Visiting the ZOO with the Dinopark
- A boat ride to the Devin Castle-Hungary-Austria
- Seeing a theatre performance
- Seeing the movie
- Gallery visit
- Fun at the shopping malls
- Strolling along the Danube River
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