Bratislava

The medieval settlement Brezalauspurc (literally, 'Braslav's castle') was first mentioned in 907, is sometimes attributed to Bratislava, but the actual location of Brezalauspurc is under scholarly debate.

The name Pozsony was first mentioned in Establishing charter of the abbey of Pannonhalma [hu] in 1002. The linguist Ján Stanislav believed the city's Hungarian name, {{lang|hu|Pozsony}}, to be attributed to the surname Božan, likely a prince who owned the castle before 950. Although the Latin name was also based on the same surname, according to research by the lexicologist Milan Majtán, the Hungarian version is not found in any official records from the time in which the theorised prince would have lived. All three versions, however, were related to those found in Slovak, Czech and German: Vratislaburgum (905), Braslavespurch, and Preslavasburc (both 907).{{cite web |last1=Nagayo |first1=Susumu |title=A Reflection on the Names of a City in the Borderlands - Pressburg/Pozsony/Prešporok/Bratislava |url=http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/coe21/publish/no27_ses/Chapter1.pdf |website=Slavic-Eurasian Research Center |publisher=Hokkaido University |access-date=June 16, 2020}} This however was disproved by János Melich, explaining that contemporary sources prove, that Bozan actually comes from a germanisation by Otto von Freising from the name Hungarian name Poson, along with another etymological theory claiming the name traces its origins to Požúň. He, similarly to historian Nandor Knauz claims, attesting that the popularity of the name of Old Hungarian origin Poson in the era, that it is the personal name from which the cities name is derived.János Melich: On the Hungarian, Slovak and German names of Pozsony; Századok – 1923-1924,

https://real.mtak.hu/178746/1/717_cut_Szazadok_1923-1924.pdf Flóris Rómer and linguist Lajos Kiss also attributes the name Pozsony (originally spelled Posony) to the Hungarian name Poson, likely the first ispán of the castle.Flóris Rómer: Archeological Monuments of BratislavaKiss Lajos: Földrajzi nevek etimológiai szótára, Akadémiai, 1980. The name then evolved to Praslavia, Praslaburck, and to Preßburg.Theodore Ortvay: History of the city of Bratislava I.Samuel Borovszky: Hungarian Counties and Cities

After World War I, during the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, between the years 1918–1919, the name Wilsonov or Wilsonstadt was proposed by American Slovaks. The name was after President of the United States Woodrow Wilson, as he played a major role in the establishment of the new First Czechoslovak Republic.

The name Bratislava, which had been used only by some Slovak patriots, became official on 16 March 1919 with the aim that a Slavic name could support demands for the city to be part of Czechoslovakia.{{cite journal|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/austrian-history-yearbook/article/abs/making-of-a-slovak-city-the-czechoslovak-renaming-of-pressburgpozsonypresporok-191819/950D27008494E5A76C93A8B6BDC739B3|title=The Making of a Slovak City: The Czechoslovak Renaming of Pressburg/Pozsony/Prešporok, 1918–19|publisher=Cambridge University|language=English|date=27 March 2009|doi=10.1017/S0067237800020993 |accessdate=25 March 2023 |last1=Bugge |first1=Peter |journal=Austrian History Yearbook |volume=35 |pages=205–227 |s2cid=145074158 }}{{Cite book |last=Duin |first=Pieter C. van |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NswbG0Tso1gC&pg=PR11 |title=Central European Crossroads: Social Democracy and National Revolution in Bratislava (Pressburg), 1867-1921 |date=2009-05-01 |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=978-1-84545-918-5 |language=en}} Until then, it was Pozsony, mostly known in English as Pressburg (from its German name, {{lang|de|Preßburg}}), since after 1526, it was dominated mostly by the Habsburg monarchy and the city had a relevant ethnic German population. That is the term from which the pre-1919 Slovak ({{lang|sk|Prešporok}}) and Czech ({{lang|cs|Prešpurk}}) names are derived.

The city's modern name Bratislava is credited to Pavol Jozef Šafárik's misinterpretation of Braslav as Bratislav in his analysis of medieval sources, which led him to invent the term Břetislaw, which later became Bratislav.{{cite encyclopedia |entry-url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191751394.001.0001/acref-9780191751394-e-995 |entry-url-access=subscription |entry=Bratislava |title=The Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names |edition=3rd |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=9780191751394}}

Other alternative names of the city in the past include {{langx|el|Ιστρόπολις|Istropolis}} (meaning 'Danube City', also used in Latin), {{langx|la|Posonium}}, {{langx|ro|Pojon}}, {{langx|hr|Požun}}.

In older documents, confusion can be caused by the Latin forms Bratislavia, Wratislavia etc., which refer to Wrocław (Breslau), Poland, not Bratislava. The Polish city has a similar etymology despite spelling differences.{{Cite book |url=http://www.columbia.edu/acis/ets/Graesse/contents.html |last=Grässe |first=J. G. Th. |author-link=Johann Georg Theodor Grässe |title=Orbis latinus; oder, Verzeichnis der wichtigsten lateinischen Orts- und Ländernamen |orig-year=1861 |location=Berlin |year=1909 |edition=2nd |publisher=Schmidt |oclc=1301238 |via=Columbia University |language=de |access-date=2016-02-11}}

{{Main|History of Bratislava}}

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The first known permanent settlement of the area began with the Linear Pottery Culture, around 5000 B.C. in the Neolithic era. About 200 B.C., the Celtic Boii tribe founded the first significant settlement, a fortified town known as an oppidum. They also established a mint, producing gold and silver coins known as biatecs.{{cite web|publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1005&p1=1569 |title=History – Celtic settlements |access-date=May 15, 2007 |year=2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224024320/http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1005&p1=1569 |archive-date=February 24, 2007}}

The area fell under Roman influence from the 1st to the 4th century A.D. and was made part of the Danubian Limes, a border defence system.Kováč et al., "Kronika Slovenska 1", p. 73 The Romans introduced grape growing to the area and began a tradition of winemaking, which survives to the present.{{cite web|publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1006&p1=1570 |title=History – Bratislava and the Romans |access-date=May 15, 2007 |year=2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224051907/http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1006&p1=1570 |archive-date=February 24, 2007}}

The Slavs arrived from the East between the 5th and 6th centuries during the Migration Period.Kováč et al., Kronika Slovenska 1, p. 90 As a response to onslaughts by Avars, the local Slavic tribes rebelled and established Samo's Empire (623–658), the first known Slavic political entity. In the 9th century, the castles at Bratislava (Brezalauspurk) and Devín (Dowina) were important centres of the Slavic states: the Principality of Nitra and Great Moravia.Kováč et al., Kronika Slovenska 1, p. 95 Scholars have debated the identification as fortresses of the two castles built in Great Moravia, based on linguistic arguments and because of the absence of convincing archaeological evidence.{{cite book |editor-last=Kristó |editor-first=Gyula |title=Korai Magyar Történeti Lexikon – 9–14. század (Encyclopedia of the Early Hungarian History – 9–14th centuries)|publisher=Akadémiai Kiadó |year=1994 |location=Budapest |pages=128, 167|isbn=963-05-6722-9}}{{cite web|url=http://www.uni-bonn.de/~ntrunte/publikationen8.html#dowina_inhalt |title=Meine wissenschaftlichen Publikationen (Fortsetzung, 2002–2004) |publisher=Uni-bonn.de |date=October 31, 2006 |access-date=2009-05-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517152438/http://www.uni-bonn.de/~ntrunte/publikationen8.html |archive-date=May 17, 2008}}

The first written reference to a settlement named "Brezalauspurc" dates to 907 and is related to the Battle of Pressburg, during which a Bavarian army was defeated by the Hungarians. It is connected to the fall of Great Moravia, already weakened by its own inner decline{{cite book|last=Toma|first=Peter A.|title=Slovakia: from Samo to Dzurinda Studies of nationalities|year=2001|publisher=Hoover Institution Press|isbn=978-0-8179-9951-3}} and under the attacks of the Hungarians.Špiesz, "Bratislava v stredoveku", p. 9 The exact location of the battle remains unknown, and some interpretations place it west of Lake Balaton.{{cite book|last=Bowlus|first=Charles R.|title=The battle of Lechfeld and its aftermath |year=2006|page=83}}

In the 10th century, the territory of Pressburg (what would later become Pozsony county) became part of Hungary (called the "Kingdom of Hungary" from 1000). It developed as a key economic and administrative centre on the kingdom's frontier.{{cite web|publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1008&p1=1572 |title=History – Bratislava in the Middle Ages |year=2005 |access-date=May 15, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224024106/http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1008&p1=1572 |archive-date=February 24, 2007}} In 1052, German Emperor Henry III undertook a fifth campaign against the Kingdom of Hungary, and besieged Pressburg without success, as the Hungarians sank his supply ships on the river Danube. This strategic position destined the city to be the site of frequent attacks and battles, but also brought it economic development and high political status. It was granted its first known "town privileges" in 1291 by the Hungarian King Andrew III,Špiesz, "Bratislava v stredoveku", p. 43 and was declared a free royal town in 1405 by King Sigismund. In 1436, he authorized the town to use its own coat of arms.Špiesz, "Bratislava v stredoveku", p. 132

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The Kingdom of Hungary was defeated by the Ottoman Empire in the Battle of Mohács in 1526. The Ottomans besieged and damaged Pressburg, but failed to conquer it.Lacika, "Bratislava", p. 30 Owing to Ottoman advances into Hungarian territory, the city was designated the new capital of Hungary in 1536, after becoming part of the Habsburg monarchy and marking the beginning of a new era. The city became a coronation town and the seat of kings, archbishops (1543), the nobility and all major organisations and offices. Between 1536 and 1830, eleven Hungarian kings and queens were crowned at St. Martin's Cathedral.Lacika, "Bratislava", p. 62

The 17th century was marked by anti-Habsburg uprisings, fighting with the Ottomans, floods, plagues and other disasters, which diminished the population.Lacika, "Bratislava", pp. 31–34 Great epidemics were spreading in Bratislava in 1541–1542, 1552–1553, 1660–1665 and 1678–1681. A terrible outbreak of 1678–1681 left approximately 11,000 casualties among Bratislava’s residents (city population was in that time around 30,000 people). The last plague outbreak of Bratislava was between the years 1712–1713.{{Cite web |title=Epidemic diseases and their reminders in the City of Bratislava |url=https://www.krakow.pl/krakow_open_city/240606,artykul,epidemic_diseases_and_their_reminders_in_the_city_of_bratislava.html |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=krakow.pl |language=en}}

Pressburg flourished during the 18th-century reign of Queen Maria Theresa,{{cite web|last=Weinberger|first=Jill Knight|title=Rediscovering Old Bratislava|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E5D91138F93AA25752C1A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=|work=The New York Times|date=November 19, 2000|access-date=2008-07-27}} becoming the largest and most important town in the Kingdom of Hungary.Lacika, "Bratislava", pp. 34–36 The population tripled; many new palaces, monasteries, mansions, and streets were built, and the city was the centre of social and cultural life of the region.Lacika, "Bratislava", pp. 35–36 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart gave a concert in 1762 in the Pálffy Palace. Joseph Haydn performed in 1784 in the Grassalkovich Palace. Ludwig van Beethoven was a guest in 1796 in the Keglevich Palace.Slowakei, p.68, Renata SakoHoess, DuMont Reiseverlag, 2004. {{ISBN|978-3-7701-6057-0}}Sources of Slovac music, Slovenské národné múzeum, Ivan Mačák, Slovak National Museum, 1977.

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The city started to lose its importance under the reign of Maria Theresa's son Joseph II, especially after the crown jewels were taken to Vienna in 1783 in an attempt to strengthen the relations between Austria and Hungary. Many central offices subsequently moved to Buda, followed by a large segment of the nobility.{{cite web|publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1010&p1=1574 |title=History – Maria Theresa's City |year=2005 |access-date=May 15, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224051619/http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1010&p1=1574 |archive-date=February 24, 2007}} The first newspapers in Hungarian and Slovak were published here: Magyar hírmondó in 1780, and Presspurske Nowiny in 1783.Kováč et al., "Kronika Slovenska 1", pp. 350–351 In the course of the 18th century, the city became a centre for the Slovak national movement.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

The city's 19th-century history was closely tied to the major events in Europe. The Peace of Pressburg between the Austrian Empire and French Empire was signed here in 1805.Kováč et al., "Kronika Slovenska 1", p. 384 Devín Castle was ruined by Napoleon's French troops during an invasion of 1809.Kováč et al., "Kronika Slovenska 1", p. 385 In 1825 the Hungarian National Learned Society (the present Hungarian Academy of Sciences) was founded in Pressburg using a donation from István Széchenyi. In 1843 Hungarian was proclaimed the official language in legislation, public administration, and education by the Diet in the city.Erzsébet Varga, "Pozsony", p. 14 (Hungarian)

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As a reaction to the Revolutions of 1848, Ferdinand V signed the so-called April laws, which included the abolition of serfdom, at the Primate's Palace.{{cite web|publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1011&p1=1575 |title=History – Between the campaigns of the Napoleonic troops and the abolition of bondage |year=2005 |access-date=May 15, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224051732/http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1011&p1=1575 |archive-date=February 24, 2007}}
Kováč et al., "Kronika Slovenska 1", p. 444 The city chose the revolutionary Hungarian side, but was captured by the Austrians in December 1848.Kováč et al., "Kronika Slovenska 1", p. 457

Industry developed rapidly in the 19th century. The first horse-drawn railway in the Kingdom of Hungary,{{cite web|publisher=Železničná spoločnosť Cargo Slovakia |url=http://www.zscargo.sk/en/company-profile/history/ |title=History – Austro-Hungarian Empire |date=n.d. |access-date=May 28, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071129221223/http://www.zscargo.sk/en/company-profile/history/ |archive-date=November 29, 2007}} from Pressburg to Szentgyörgy (Svätý Jur), was built in 1840.Kováč et al., "Kronika Slovenska 1", pp. 426–427 A new line to Vienna using steam locomotives was opened in 1848, and a line to Pest in 1850.Kováč et al., "Kronika Slovenska 1", p. 451 Many new industrial, financial and other institutions were founded; for example, the first bank in present-day Slovakia was founded in 1842.Kováč et al., "Kronika Slovenska 1", p. 430 The city's first permanent bridge over the Danube, Starý most (Old Bridge), was built in 1891.Lacika, "Bratislava", p. 41 Between the years 1867-1918, the territory of Pressburg became part of Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Before World War I, the city had a population that was 42% German, 41% Hungarian and 15% Slovak (1910 census). The first post war census in 1919 declared the city's ethnic composition at 36% German, 33% Slovak and 29% Hungarian but this may have reflected changing self-identification, rather than an exchange of peoples. Many people were bi- or trilingual and multicultural.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

After World War I, the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire began. U.S. president Woodrow Wilson and the United States played a major role in the establishment of the new Czechoslovak state. American Slovaks proposed rename the city “Wilsonovo mesto” (Wilson City), after Woodrow Wilson.{{Cite web |title=The Czech invasion of 'Wilson City' |url=https://english.radio.cz/czech-invasion-wilson-city-8558742 |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=Radio Prague International |date=November 22, 2011 |language=en}}

On 28 October 1918, Czechoslovakia was proclaimed, but its borders were not settled for several months.{{Cite book |last=Simon |first=Attila |url=http://real.mtak.hu/14159/ |title=Minority Hungarian Communities in the Twentieth Century (East European Monographs, 774) |publisher=Columbia University Press, Atlantic Research and Publications, Inc., Institute for Ethnic and National Minority Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-88033-677-2 |editor-last=Bárdi |editor-first=Nándor |location=New York |translator-last=McLean |translator-first=Brian |chapter=I. Changes of Sovereignty and the New Nation States in the Danube Region 1918–1921 – 3. The Creation of Hungarian Minority Groups – Czechoslovakia: Slovakia |editor2-last=Szarka |editor2-first=Csilla |editor-last3=Szarka |editor3-first=László |translator-last2=Suff |translator-first2=Matthew}} The dominant Hungarian and German population tried to prevent annexation of the city to Czechoslovakia and declared it a free city,Lacika, "Bratislava", p. 42 while the Hungarian Prime Minister Károlyi protested against the Czech invasion. The Slovak National Assembly meanwhile called it a "defensive action of the Slovaks themselves, to end the anarchy caused by the flight of the Hungarians."{{cite book |last=Hronský |first=Marián |year=2001 |title=The Struggle for Slovakia and the Treaty of Trianon |location=Bratislava |publisher=Slovak Academy of Sciences|chapter=2. The Process of Occupation of the Territory of Slovakia by the Czecho-Slovak Army|page=133 |isbn=80-224-0677-5}} The Allies of World War I drew a provisional demarcation line, this was revealed to the Hungarian government on December 23, in the document known as the Vix Note. The Czechoslovak Legion arrived from Italy, began to advance on 30 December and by 2 January 1919, all important civil and military buildings were in Czechoslovak hands.{{cite book |last=Hronský |first=Marián |year=2001 |title=The Struggle for Slovakia and the Treaty of Trianon |location=Bratislava |publisher=Slovak Academy of Sciences|chapter=2. The Process of Occupation of the Territory of Slovakia by the Czecho-Slovak Army|page=149 |isbn=80-224-0677-5}} It was the beginning of the conflict, which later continued as the Hungarian–Czechoslovak War. The city became the seat of Slovakia's political organs and organizations and became Slovakia's capital on 4 February.{{cite book|author=Tibenský, Ján|title=Slovensko: Dejiny|publisher=Obzor|year=1971|location=Bratislava|display-authors=etal}}

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On March 27, 1919, the name Bratislava was officially adopted for the first time to replace the previous Slovak name Prešporok.{{cite web|publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1012&p1=1576 |title=History – First Czechoslovak Republic |year=2005 |access-date=May 15, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224051935/http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1012&p1=1576 |archive-date=February 24, 2007}}

At the beginning of August 1919, Czechoslovakia got permission to correct the borders for the strategic reasons, mainly to secure the port and to prevent a potential attack of the Hungarian Army on the town. On the night of 14 August 1919 barefoot Czechoslovak soldiers silently climbed to the Hungarian side of the Starý most (Old Bridge), captured the guards and annexed Petržalka (currently part of Bratislava's 5th district) without a fight.{{cite book| first1=Ľuboš| last1=Kačírek |first2=Pavol| last2=Tišliar| title=Petržalka v rokoch 1919 – 1946| publisher = Stimul | year = 2014b| location = Bratislava | page=9| language = sk}} The Paris Peace Conference assigned the area to Czechoslovakia with the aim of creating a bridgehead for the newly created Czechoslovak state for controlling the Danube.

Left without any protection after the retreat of the Hungarian army, many Hungarians were expelled or fled.{{cite web |url=http://www.tankonyv.sk/detail.php?chron=1&theme=4 |title=History of Hungarians in the first Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1919 section) |year=2008 |access-date=September 5, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227105935/http://www.tankonyv.sk/detail.php?theme=4&chron=1 |archive-date=December 27, 2008 |df=mdy-all }} Czechs and Slovaks moved their households to Bratislava. Education in Hungarian and German was radically reduced in the city.{{cite web |url=http://www.tankonyv.sk/detail.php?docid=93 |title=History of Hungarians in the first Czechoslovak Republic |year=2008 |access-date=June 22, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111200731/http://www.tankonyv.sk/detail.php?docid=93 |archive-date=January 11, 2009 |df=mdy-all }} By the 1930 Czechoslovak census, the Hungarian population of Bratislava had decreased to 15.8% (see the Demographics of Bratislava article for more details).

In 1938, Nazi Germany annexed neighbouring Austria in the Anschluss; on 10 October 1938 on the basis of the Munich Agreement it also annexed (still-separate from Bratislava) Petržalka and Devín boroughs on ethnic grounds, as these had many ethnic Germans.Kováč et al., "Bratislava 1939–1945", pp. 16–17 Petržalka was renamed as Engerau and Devín was renamed as Theben an der March. The Starý most (Old Bridge) became a border bridge between Czechoslovakia and Nazi Germany.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

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Bratislava was declared the capital of the first independent Slovak Republic on March 14, 1939, but the new state quickly fell under Nazi influence. In 1941–1942 and 1944–1945, the new Slovak government cooperated in deporting most of Bratislava's approximately 15,000 Jews;Lacika, "Bratislava", p. 43. Kováč et al., "Bratislava 1939–1945, pp. 174–177 they were transported to concentration camps, where most were killed or died before the end of the war in the Holocaust.

Bratislava, occupied by German troops, was many times bombarded by the Allies. Major air raid included the bombing of Bratislava and its refinery Apollo on June 16, 1944 by American B-24 bombers of the Fifteenth Air Force with 181 victims{{cite web |title=Bratislava in World War 2|date=August 23, 2016 |url=https://www.bratislavashootingclub.com/bratislava-in-world-war-2/|publisher=Bratislava Shooting Club|access-date=2020-07-21}} Bombardment group attacked in four waves with overall 158 planes. On 4 April 1945, Bratislava was liberated by the Soviet Red Army 2nd Ukrainian Front during the Bratislava–Brno offensive.{{cite web|publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1014&p1=1578 |title=History – Wartime Bratislava |year=2005 |access-date=May 15, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224024210/http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1014&p1=1578 |archive-date=February 24, 2007}}Kováč et al., "Kronika Slovenska 2", p. 300 The Czechoslovak government and president Edvard Beneš then moved to Bratislava on 8 May.{{cite web|title=Osvobozování Slovenska vyvrcholilo 4. dubna v Bratislavě|url=http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ct24/svet/1516254-osvobozovani-slovenska-vyvrcholilo-4-dubna-v-bratislave|website=Ceskatelevize .cz|publisher=CT 24|access-date=21 February 2016}}

At the end of World War II, most of Bratislava's ethnic Germans were evacuated by the German authorities. A few returned after the war, but were soon expelled without their properties under the Beneš decrees,Kováč et al., "Kronika Slovenska 2", pp. 307–308 part of a widespread expulsion of ethnic Germans from eastern Europe.

After World War II, Slovak Republic lost its so-called independence and was reunified again with the Czech Republic as Czechoslovak Republic. Engerau (currently part of Bratislava's 5th district) and Theben an der March (currently part of Bratislava's 4th district) was returned to Czechoslovakia and renamed back as Petržalka and Devín. Furthermore, after signing the Peace Treaty of Paris on 10 February 1947, three Hungarian villages, namely Horvátjárfalu (Jarovce), Oroszvár (Rusovce), and Dunacsún (Čunovo) situated south of Bratislava were transferred to Czechoslovakia, in order to form the so-called "Bratislava bridgehead" (currently all three of them are part of Bratislava's 5th district).

After the Communist Party seized power in Czechoslovakia in February 1948, the city became part of the Eastern Bloc. The city annexed new land, and the population rose significantly, becoming 90% Slovak.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

{{Multiple image

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|width =

|image1 = Bratislava 1968 2.jpg

|width1 = 205

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|caption1 = Soviet tank in Bratislava during the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968

|image2 = Memorial of Iron Curtain, Bratislava, 20220428 1104 5796.jpg

|width2 = 205

|alt2 =

|caption2 = Iron Curtain memorial in Bratislava, 400 people were killed trying to cross the border into the West during the communist era

}}

Large residential areas consisting of high-rise prefabricated panel buildings, such as those in the Petržalka or Dúbravka borough, were built. The Communist government also built several new grandiose buildings, such as the Slovak Radio Building, Slavín or Kamzík TV Tower. A quarter of Bratislava’s Old Town was demolished in the late 1960s for a single project: the bridge of the Slovak National Uprising. To make space for this development, much of the city’s centuries-old, historical Jewish quarter was razed, including the 19th-century Moorish-styled Neolog Synagogue.{{Cite web |title=The changing face of Bratislava |url=https://spectator.sme.sk/c/20050166/the-changing-face-of-bratislava.html |website=The Slovak Spectator |date=March 21, 2014 |language=en}}

In 1968, after the unsuccessful Czechoslovak attempt to liberalise the Communist regime, the city was occupied by Warsaw Pact troops. Shortly thereafter, it became capital of the Slovak Socialist Republic, one of the two states of the federalized Czechoslovakia.

Bratislava's dissidents anticipated the fall of Communism with the Bratislava candle demonstration in 1988, and the city became one of the foremost centres of the anti-Communist Velvet Revolution in 1989.Kováč et al., "Kronika Slovenska 2" p. 498

The end of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia in 1989 was followed once again by the country's dissolution, this time into two successor states. Czechoslovak Socialist Republic renamed as Czech and Slovak Federative Republic, the word "socialist" was dropped in the names of the two republics within the federation, the Slovak Socialist Republic renamed as the Slovak Republic.

In 1993, Bratislava once again became the capital of the newly formed independent Slovak Republic, following the Velvet Divorce.{{cite web|publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1016&p1=1580 |title=History – Capital city for second time |year=2005 |access-date=May 15, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224051742/http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1016&p1=1580 |archive-date=February 24, 2007}}

{{Main|Geography of Bratislava}}

File:OSM.Bratislava.2009-08-21.png

File:Bratislava, Slovakia Astronaut Imagery.JPG

Bratislava is situated in southwestern Slovakia, within the Bratislava Region. Its location on the borders with Austria and Hungary makes it the only national capital that borders two countries. It is only {{convert|18|km|mi|1}} from the border with Hungary and only {{convert|60|km|mi|1}} from the Austrian capital Vienna.{{cite map |publisher=Vojenský kartografický ústav a.s. |title=Autoatlas – Slovenská republika |url=http://www.vku.sk/index.php?newlang=english |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060118070749/http://www.vku.sk/index.php?newlang=english |url-status=dead |archive-date=2006-01-18 |edition=6th |year=2006 |isbn=80-8042-378-4 |access-date=2009-07-22 }}

The city has a total area of {{convert|367.58|km2|sqmi|1}}, making it the second-largest city in Slovakia by area (after the township of Vysoké Tatry).{{cite web|publisher=Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic |url=http://www.statistics.sk/mosmis/eng/prvav2.jsp?txtUroven=440706&lstObec=560103&Okruh=zaklad |title=Vysoké Tatry – Basic characteristics |date=December 31, 2005 |access-date=August 16, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927204355/http://www.statistics.sk/mosmis/eng/prvav2.jsp?txtUroven=440706&lstObec=560103&Okruh=zaklad |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy}} Bratislava straddles the Danube, along which it had developed and for centuries the chief transportation route to other areas. The river passes through the city from the west to the southeast. The Middle Danube basin begins at Devín Gate in western Bratislava. Other rivers are the Morava River, which forms the northwestern border of the city and enters the Danube at Devín, the Little Danube, and the Vydrica, which enters the Danube in the borough of Karlova Ves.

The Carpathian mountain range begins in city territory with the Little Carpathians (Malé Karpaty). The Záhorie and Danubian lowlands stretch into Bratislava. The city's lowest point is at the Danube's surface at {{convert|126|m}} above mean sea level, and the highest point is Devínska Kobyla at {{convert|514|m}}. The average altitude is {{convert|140|m}}.{{cite web |publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www4.bratislava.sk/en/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=2011414 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070731145341/http://www.bratislava.sk/en/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=2011414 |archive-date=July 31, 2007 |title=Basic Information – Position |date=February 14, 2005 |access-date=May 1, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}

Bratislava has recently shifted into the humid subtropical climate under Köppen–Geiger climate classification (Cfa), closely bordering on Dfa, and is classified as temperate oceanic climate under Trewartha climate classification (Doak), It is in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 7b{{cite web |url=http://www.plantsdb.gr/en/general-cultivation/hardiness-zones/273-hardiness-zones-europe |title=plantsdb |publisher=plantsdb.gr |access-date=2015-03-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013114608/http://www.plantsdb.gr/en/general-cultivation/hardiness-zones/273-hardiness-zones-europe |archive-date=October 13, 2012 |url-status=dead }} with a mean annual temperature of around {{convert|11.1|C|F}}, an average temperature of {{convert|22.0|C|F}} in the warmest month and {{convert|0.3|C|F}} in the coldest month, four distinct seasons{{cite web |date=March 14, 2007 |title=Bratislava Weather |url=http://visit.bratislava.sk/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700013&id=1109&p1=1996 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029231448/http://visit.bratislava.sk/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700013&id=1109&p1=1996 |archive-date=October 29, 2007 |access-date=November 1, 2007 |publisher=City of Bratislava |language=sk}} and precipitation spread rather evenly throughout the year. It is often windy with a marked variation between hot summers and cold, humid winters. There also can sometimes be a significant difference in weather, between the parts of the city. Bratislava, just like any other city, has an urban heat island effect, but there is no weather station directly in the urban core, so the temperature there can be slightly higher than the official weather station reports. The city is in one of the warmest and driest parts of Slovakia.Lacika, "Bratislava", p. 10

Recently, the transitions from winter to summer and summer to winter have been rapid, with short autumn and spring periods. Snow occurs less frequently than previously. Extreme temperatures (1981–2013) – record high: {{convert|39.4|C|F}},{{cite web |publisher=Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute |url=http://www.shmu.sk/sk/?page=1741&p=4 |title=Prvá augustová vlna horúčav zo štvrtka, 8 August 2013 |date=August 9, 2013 |access-date=December 1, 2013 |language=sk}} record low: {{convert|-24.6|C|F}}. Some areas, particularly Devín and Devínska Nová Ves, are vulnerable to floods from the rivers Danube and Morava.{{cite news |first=Nick |last=Thorpe |title=Defences hold fast in Bratislava |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2198850.stm |date=August 16, 2002 |access-date=2007-04-27 |publisher=BBC}} New flood protection has been built on both banks.{{cite news |first=Juraj |last=Handzo |title=Začne sa budovať protipovodňový systém mesta (Construction starts for city's flood protection) |url=http://www.bratislavskenoviny.sk/buxus/generate_page.php?page_id=12325 |date=January 24, 2007 |access-date=2007-04-28 |publisher=Bratislavské Noviny |language=sk}}

{{Weather box

|location = Bratislava Airport (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1951–present)

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|collapsed =

|Jan record high C = 19.8

|Feb record high C = 19.7

|Mar record high C = 25.0

|Apr record high C = 30.3

|May record high C = 33.4

|Jun record high C = 36.3

|Jul record high C = 38.2

|Aug record high C = 39.4

|Sep record high C = 34.0

|Oct record high C = 28.0

|Nov record high C = 21.6

|Dec record high C = 17.9

|year record high C =

|Jan high C = 3.1

|Feb high C = 5.8

|Mar high C = 11.1

|Apr high C = 17.5

|May high C = 21.7

|Jun high C = 25.6

|Jul high C = 28.0

|Aug high C = 27.9

|Sep high C = 21.9

|Oct high C = 15.6

|Nov high C = 9.3

|Dec high C = 3.7

|year high C = 15.9

|Jan mean C = 0.3

|Feb mean C = 1.9

|Mar mean C = 6.1

|Apr mean C = 11.7

|May mean C = 16.2

|Jun mean C = 20.2

|Jul mean C = 22.0

|Aug mean C = 21.5

|Sep mean C = 16.2

|Oct mean C = 10.7

|Nov mean C = 5.7

|Dec mean C = 1.1

|year mean C = 11.1

|Jan low C = -2.8

|Feb low C = -1.7

|Mar low C = 1.7

|Apr low C = 5.7

|May low C = 10.6

|Jun low C = 14.2

|Jul low C = 16.2

|Aug low C = 15.9

|Sep low C = 11.2

|Oct low C = 6.3

|Nov low C = 2.6

|Dec low C = -1.5

|year low C = 6.5

|Jan record low C = -24.6

|Feb record low C = -24.6

|Mar record low C = -16.4

|Apr record low C = -5.0

|May record low C = -1.6

|Jun record low C = 2.7

|Jul record low C = 4.4

|Aug record low C = 4.8

|Sep record low C = -1.7

|Oct record low C = -7.6

|Nov record low C = -12.5

|Dec record low C = -20.3

|year record low C = -24.6

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 37.4

|Feb precipitation mm = 32.9

|Mar precipitation mm = 36.8

|Apr precipitation mm = 35.9

|May precipitation mm = 58.6

|Jun precipitation mm = 59.2

|Jul precipitation mm = 61.8

|Aug precipitation mm = 60.5

|Sep precipitation mm = 58.6

|Oct precipitation mm = 43.6

|Nov precipitation mm = 46.2

|Dec precipitation mm = 42.7

|year precipitation mm = 574.3

|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 13.2

|Feb precipitation days = 11.4

|Mar precipitation days = 11.7

|Apr precipitation days = 9.2

|May precipitation days = 11.3

|Jun precipitation days = 10.9

|Jul precipitation days = 11.5

|Aug precipitation days = 10.0

|Sep precipitation days = 9.6

|Oct precipitation days = 11.2

|Nov precipitation days = 12.5

|Dec precipitation days = 13.6

|year precipitation days = 136.1

|Jan snow days = 11.2

|Feb snow days = 8.7

|Mar snow days = 5.8

|Apr snow days = 1.3

|May snow days = 0.0

|Jun snow days = 0.0

|Jul snow days = 0.0

|Aug snow days = 0.0

|Sep snow days = 0.0

|Oct snow days = 0.2

|Nov snow days = 4.1

|Dec snow days = 8.6

|year snow days = 39.8

|Jan humidity = 80.9

|Feb humidity = 74.7

|Mar humidity = 67.5

|Apr humidity = 61.0

|May humidity = 62.8

|Jun humidity = 62.0

|Jul humidity = 60.5

|Aug humidity = 62.3

|Sep humidity = 69.2

|Oct humidity = 76.8

|Nov humidity = 81.9

|Dec humidity = 83.2

|year humidity = 70.2

|Jan sun = 65.5

|Feb sun = 99.3

|Mar sun = 153.7

|Apr sun = 218.6

|May sun = 258.1

|Jun sun = 269.4

|Jul sun = 286.5

|Aug sun = 273.3

|Sep sun = 194.5

|Oct sun = 134.6

|Nov sun = 69.5

|Dec sun = 51.9

|year sun = 2074.9

|source 1 = World Meteorological Organisation{{cite web

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230807225448/https://worldweather.wmo.int/en/city.html?cityId=41

|archive-date = 7 August 2023

|url = https://worldweather.wmo.int/en/city.html?cityId=41

|title = World Weather Information Service – Bratislava

|publisher = World Meteorological Organization

|access-date = 7 August 2023}}{{cite web

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230807225724/https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Slovakia/CSV/BRATISLAVA_AIRPORT_11816.csv

|archive-date = 7 August 2023

|url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Slovakia/CSV/BRATISLAVA_AIRPORT_11816.csv

|title = Bratislava Airport Climate Normals 1991–2020

|work = World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020)

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|access-date = 7 August 2023}}

|source 2 = SHMI (extremes, 1951-present){{cite web

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230830001456/http://climaintoscana.altervista.org/europa/slovacchia/bratislava-ivanka/

|archive-date = 30 August 2023

|url = http://climaintoscana.altervista.org/europa/slovacchia/bratislava-ivanka/

|title = Bratislava Ivanka

|access-date = 30 August 2023

|publisher = {{ill|Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute|sk|Slovenský hydrometeorologický ústav}}

|language = it}}

}}

{{Geographic location

|title = Destinations from Bratislava

|Northwest = {{flagicon|CZE}} Prague

|North = {{flagicon|CZE}} Brno

|Northeast = {{flagicon|POL}} Kraków

|West = {{flagicon|AUT}} Vienna

|Centre = Bratislava

|East = {{flagicon|SVK}} Košice

|Southwest = {{flagicon|AUT}} Graz

|South = {{flagicon|HUN}} Győr

|Southeast = {{flagicon|HUN}} Budapest

}}

{{See also|List of palaces in Bratislava}}

{{multiple image

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| caption1 = Hviezdoslav Square

| image2 = Hlavné námestie-The napoleonic soldier, Old Town Hall and Roland Fountain-Bratislava.JPG

| caption2 = Main Square

}}

The cityscape of Bratislava is characterized by medieval towers and grandiose 20th-century buildings, but it underwent profound changes in a construction boom at the start of the 21st century.{{cite journal|title=City to cut tall buildings down to size|journal=The Slovak Spectator|date=April 23, 2007|first=Zuzana|last=Habšudová|url=http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok.asp?vyd=2006010&cl=22734|access-date=2006-03-13|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930160431/http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok.asp?vyd=2006010&cl=22734|archive-date=September 30, 2007|df=mdy-all}}

Most historical buildings are concentrated in the Old Town. Bratislava's Town Hall is a complex of three buildings erected in the 14th–15th centuries and now hosts the Bratislava City Museum. Michael's Gate is the only gate that has been preserved from the medieval fortifications, and it ranks among the oldest of the town's buildings;{{cite web |publisher=Bratislava Culture and Information Centre |url=http://www.bkis.sk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37&Itemid=28 |title=Michael's Gate |access-date=June 10, 2007 |year=2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172621/http://www.bkis.sk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37&Itemid=28 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |df=mdy-all }} the narrowest house in Europe is nearby.{{cite web|publisher=Bratislava Culture and Information Centre |url=http://www.bkis.sk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=29 |title=Narrowest house in Europe |access-date=June 10, 2007 |year=2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927001619/http://www.bkis.sk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=29 |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy}} The University Library building, erected in 1756, was used by the Diet of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1802 to 1848.{{cite web|publisher=University Library in Bratislava |url=http://phobos.ulib.sk/univerzitna_kniznica.pdf |title=University Library in Bratislava – The Multifunctional Cultural Centre |pages=34–36 |year=2005 |access-date=June 14, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607031815/http://phobos.ulib.sk/univerzitna_kniznica.pdf |archive-date=June 7, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy}} Much of the significant legislation of the Hungarian Reform Era (such as the abolition of serfdom and the foundation of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) was enacted there.

The historic centre is characterized by many baroque palaces. The Grassalkovich Palace, built around 1760, is now the residence of the Slovak president, and the Slovak government now has its seat in the former Archiepiscopal Palace.Lacika, "Bratislava", p. 147 In 1805, diplomats of emperors Napoleon and Francis II signed the fourth Peace of Pressburg in the Primate's Palace, after Napoleon's victory in the Battle of Austerlitz.Lacika, "Bratislava", p. 112 Some smaller houses are historically significant; composer Johann Nepomuk Hummel was born in an 18th-century house in the Old Town.

{{Multiple image

|align = left

|direction = horizontal

|width =

|image1 = Bratislava - Katedrála svätého Martina 20180510-03.jpg

|width1 = 135

|alt1 =

|caption1 = St. Martin's Cathedral

|image2 = Kościół Świętej Elżbiety w Bratysławie, 20210727 1251 0364.jpg

|width2 = 170

|alt2 =

|caption2 = Church of St. Elisabeth

}}

Notable cathedrals and churches include the Gothic St. Martin's Cathedral built in the 13th–16th centuries, which served as the coronation church of the Kingdom of Hungary between 1536 and 1830.{{cite web |publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www4.bratislava.sk/en/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=2009114 |title=St. Martin's Cathedral |year=2005 |access-date=June 8, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070731145705/http://www.bratislava.sk/en/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=2009114 |archive-date=July 31, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }} The Franciscan Church, dating to the 13th century, has been a place of knighting ceremonies and is the oldest preserved sacral building in the city.{{cite web|publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700013&id=1122&p1=2001 |title=Františkánsky kostol a kláštor |access-date=June 10, 2007 |date=February 14, 2005 |language=sk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070529011431/http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700013&id=1122&p1=2001 |archive-date=May 29, 2007}} The Church of St. Elizabeth, better known as the Blue Church due to its colour, is built entirely in the Hungarian Secessionist style. Bratislava has one surviving functioning synagogue, out of the three major ones existing before the holocaust.

A curiosity is the underground (formerly ground-level) restored portion of the Jewish cemetery where 19th-century Rabbi Moses Sofer is buried, located at the base of the castle hill near the entrance to a tram tunnel.Lacika, "Bratislava", p. 179 The only military cemetery in Bratislava is Slavín, unveiled in 1960 in honour of Soviet Army soldiers who fell during the liberation of Bratislava in April 1945. It offers a view of the city and the Little Carpathians.{{cite web |publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700013&id=1129&p1=2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927201151/http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700013&id=1129&p1=2001|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 27, 2007|title=Turistické informácie – Slavín |access-date=May 6, 2007 |year=2005 |language=sk}}Lacika, "Bratislava", p. 135

File:Kościół franciszkański Zwiastowania Pańskiego w Bratysławie, 20210727 1313 0383.jpg

Other prominent 20th-century structures include the Most Slovenského národného povstania (Bridge of the Slovak national uprising) across the Danube featuring a UFO-like tower restaurant, Slovak Radio's inverted-pyramid-shaped headquarters, and the uniquely designed Kamzík TV Tower with an observation deck and rotating restaurant. In the early 21st century, new edifices have transformed the traditional cityscape. At the beginning of the 21st century, a construction boom has spawned new public structures,{{cite web|url=https://www.alwayswanderlust.com/one-day-bratislava-beauty-danube/|title=A DAY IN BRATISLAVA: THE BEAUTY ON THE DANUBE|website=Alwayswanderlust.com|access-date=January 30, 2017|archive-date=December 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216091715/https://www.alwayswanderlust.com/one-day-bratislava-beauty-danube/|url-status=dead}} such as the Most Apollo and a new building of the Slovak National Theatre,{{cite journal|title=New Slovak National Theatre opens after 21 years|journal=The Slovak Spectator |date=April 23, 2007 |first=Jana |last=Liptáková |url=http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok.asp?vyd=2007016&cl=27432|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927215958/http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok.asp?vyd=2007016&cl=27432|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 27, 2007|access-date=August 16, 2007}} as well as private real-estate development.{{cite journal|title=Bratislava's mayors lay out real estate plans|journal=The Slovak Spectator|date=January 29, 2007|first=Ela|last=Nahálková|url=http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok.asp?vyd=2007004&cl=26445|access-date=August 16, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930155720/http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok.asp?vyd=2007004&cl=26445|archive-date=September 30, 2007|df=mdy-all}}

{{Main|Bratislava Castle}}

File:Bratislava - Burg (c).JPG

One of the most prominent structures in the city is Bratislava Castle (Bratislavský hrad), situated on a plateau {{convert|85|m|ft|0}} above the Danube. The castle hill site has been inhabited since the transitional period between the Stone and Bronze agesLacika, "Bratislava", pp. 11–12 and has been the acropolis of a Celtic town, part of the Roman limes Romanus, a huge Slavic fortified settlement, and a political, military and religious centre for Great Moravia.Lacika, "Bratislava", p. 121 A stone castle was not constructed until the 10th century, when the area was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, however, in the 9th century a pre-romanesque stone basilica, was standing in the area of the hillfort.

The castle was converted into a Gothic anti-Hussite fortress under Sigismund of Luxemburg in 1430, became a Renaissance castle in 1562,Lacika, "Bratislava", p. 124 and was rebuilt in 1649 in the baroque style. Under Queen Maria Theresa, the castle became a prestigious royal seat. In 1811, the castle was inadvertently destroyed by fire and lay in ruins until the 1950s,Lacika, "Bratislava", p. 128 when it was rebuilt mostly in its former Theresian style. In the 1940s, it was planned to demolish the castle ruins and replace them with a new university complex. However, it was never realised, and in the 1960s, reconstruction began. Nowadays, it serves ceremonial purposes and as a historical museum of the Slovak National Museum.

{{Main|Devín Castle}}

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The ruined and recently renovated Devín Castle is in the borough of Devín, on top of a rock where the Morava River, which forms the border between Austria and Slovakia, enters the Danube. It is one of the most important Slovak archaeological sites and contains a museum dedicated to its history.{{cite web |publisher=Bratislava City Museum |url=http://www.muzeum.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700016&id=1025&p1=52 |title=Bratislava City Museum: Museums: Devín Castle – National Cultural Monument |author=Beáta Husová |year=2007 |access-date=June 21, 2007 |archive-date=June 23, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070623150216/http://www.muzeum.bratislava.sk/EN/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700016&id=1025&p1=52 |url-status=dead }} Due to its strategic location, Devín Castle was a very important frontier castle of Great Moravia and the early Hungarian state. It was destroyed by Napoleon's troops in 1809. It is an important symbol of Slovak and Slavic history.Lacika, "Bratislava", p. 191

Rusovce mansion, with its English park, is in the Rusovce borough. The house was originally built in the 17th century and was turned into an English neo-Gothic-style mansion in 1841–1844.{{cite web|publisher=Rusovce |url=http://www.bratislava-rusovce.sk/rusovce/architektura_kastiel.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012135757/http://bratislava-rusovce.sk/rusovce/architektura_kastiel.html |archive-date=October 12, 2007 |title=Pamiatkové hodnoty Rusoviec – Rusovský kaštieľ (Historical landmarks of Rusovce – Rusovce mansion) |date=May 6, 2004 |access-date=June 1, 2007 |language=sk |url-status=dead |df=mdy}} The borough is also known for the ruins of the Roman military camp Gerulata, part of limes Romanus, a border defence system. Gerulata was built and used between the 1st and 4th centuries AD.{{cite web|publisher=Rusovce |url=http://www.bratislava-rusovce.sk/kultura/kultura_gerulata.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012135750/http://bratislava-rusovce.sk/kultura/kultura_gerulata.html |archive-date=October 12, 2007 |title=Múzeum Antická Gerulata (Ancient Gerulata Museum) |date=May 6, 2004 |access-date=June 1, 2007 |language=sk |url-status=dead |df=mdy}}

{{further|Parks and gardens in Bratislava}}

File:KUCHAJDA Z KOLOSEA - panoramio.jpg

Due to its location in the foothills of the Little Carpathians and its riparian vegetation on the Danubian floodplains, Bratislava has forests close to the city centre. The total amount of public green space is {{convert|46.8|km2|sqmi|1}}, or {{convert|110|m2|sqft}} per inhabitant.{{cite web|publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1039&p1=1816 |title=Natural Environment |year=2007 |access-date=May 1, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070305050141/http://visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1039&p1=1816 |archive-date=March 5, 2007}}

The largest city park is Horský park (literally, Mountainous Park), in the Old Town. Bratislavský lesný park (Bratislava Forest Park) is located in the Little Carpathians and includes many locales popular among visitors, such as Železná studienka and Koliba. The Forest Park covers an area of {{convert|27.3|km2|sqmi}}, of which 96% is forested mostly with oak and mixed oak/hornbeam forest, and contains original flora and fauna such as European badgers, red foxes, wild boar and red and roe deer. On the right bank of the Danube, in the borough of Petržalka, is Janko Kráľ Park founded in 1774–76.{{cite web|publisher=Borough of Petržalka |url=http://www.petrzalka.sk/buxus/generate_page.php?page_id=934 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928212102/http://www.petrzalka.sk/buxus/generate_page.php?page_id=934 |archive-date=September 28, 2007 |title=Environment: Sad Janka Kráľa (Životné prostredie: Sad Janka Kráľa) |date=January 29, 2007 |access-date=April 25, 2007 |language=sk |url-status=dead |df=mdy}} A new city park is planned for Petržalka between the Malý Draždiak and Veľký Draždiak lakes.

Bratislava's zoological park is located in Mlynská dolina, near the headquarters of Slovak Television. The zoo, founded in 1960, currently houses 152 species of animals, including the rare white lion and white tiger. The Botanical Gardens, which belong to Comenius University, can be found on the Danube riverfront and house more than 120 species of domestic and foreign origin.{{cite web |publisher=Bratislava Culture and Information Centre |url=http://www.bkis.sk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=30 |title=Bratislava Culture and Information Centre – Botanical gardens |year=2007 |access-date=July 28, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927001546/http://www.bkis.sk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=30 |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |df=mdy-all }}

The city has a number of natural and human-made lakes, most of which are used for recreation. Examples include Štrkovec lake in Ružinov, Kuchajda in Nové Mesto, Zlaté Piesky and the Vajnory lakes in the north-east, and Rusovce lake in the south, which is popular with nudists.{{cite web |publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www4.bratislava.sk/en/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=2005914 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070716222338/http://www.bratislava.sk/en/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=2005914 |archive-date=July 16, 2007 |title=Rusovce |date=February 14, 2005 |access-date=May 1, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}

{{Main|Demographics of Bratislava}}

File:TRI VEŽE Z DOUBLE TREE BY HILTON - panoramio.jpg

From the city's origin until the 19th century, Germans were the dominant ethnic group.{{cite journal|author=Peter Salner |title=Ethnic polarisation in an ethnically homogeneous town |journal=Czech Sociological Review |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=235–246 |year=2001 |url=http://sreview.soc.cas.cz/upl/archiv/files/171_235SALNE.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227082043/http://sreview.soc.cas.cz/upl/archiv/files/171_235SALNE.pdf |archive-date=February 27, 2008 |url-status=dead |df=mdy}} By the end of World War I, 42% of the population of Pressburg spoke German as their native language, 40% Hungarian, and 15% Slovak.{{Historical populations|1950|194,225|1960|238,519|1970|305,932|1980|380,259|1991|442,197|2001|428,672|2011|411,228|2021|475,503|align=right|source={{cite web |title=Bratislava Population|url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/bratislava-population}}{{cite web |title=Statistical lexikon of municipalities 1970-2011|url=https://slovak.statistics.sk/wps/wcm/connect/cd33d897-7314-41d0-a12b-a95e537d7a39/Statisticky_lexikon_obci_Slovenskej_republiky_2011.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy&CVID=kRHTpsy|language=sk}}{{cite web |title=Census 2021 - Population - Basic results|url=https://www.scitanie.sk/obyvatelia/zakladne-vysledky/pocet-obyvatelov/|publisher=Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic|date=2021-01-01}}}}After the formation of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918, Bratislava remained a multi-ethnic city, but with a different demographic trend. Due to Slovakization,{{cite web|author=Iris Engemann|publisher=European University Viadrina|location=Frankfurt|title=The Slovakization of Bratislava 1918–1948. Processes of national appropriation in the interwar-period|date=7 March 2008|url=http://web.ceu.hu/urbanstudiesworkshop/documents/iris_engemann.pdf|access-date=December 30, 2008|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232607/http://web.ceu.hu/urbanstudiesworkshop/documents/iris_engemann.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.foruminst.sk/publ/szemle/2007_2/szemle_2007_2_lovisek-julia.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027115910/http://www.foruminst.sk/publ/szemle/2007_2/szemle_2007_2_lovisek-julia.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Name Changes of the Street in Bratislava From Political Reasons After the Creation of the First Czechoslovak Republic, The disintegration of the Austria–Hungarian Monarchy (In Hungarian)|archive-date=October 27, 2007}} the proportion of Slovaks and Czechs increased in the city, while the proportion of Germans and Hungarians fell. In 1938, 59% of the population were Slovaks or Czechs, while Germans represented 22% and Hungarians 13% of the city's population.Lacika, "Bratislava", p. 43 The creation of the first Slovak Republic in 1939 brought other changes, most notably the expulsion of many Czechs and the deportation or flight of the Jews during the Holocaust.[https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/communities/bratislava/deportations.asp The Story of the Jewish Community in Bratislava] - an online exhibition at Yad Vashem website In 1945, most of the Germans were evacuated. After the restoration of Czechoslovakia, the Beneš decrees (partly revoked in 1948) collectively punished ethnic German and Hungarian minorities by expropriation and deportation to Germany, Austria, and Hungary for their alleged collaborationism with Nazi Germany and Hungary against Czechoslovakia.{{cite web |website=Epa.oszk.hu|url=http://epa.oszk.hu/00000/00033/00020/pdf/szemle_2005_1_vadkerty.pdf |title=Germans and Hungarians in Pozsony |year=2008 |access-date=June 22, 2008}}{{cite web|url=http://www.shp.hu/hpc/web.php?a=commorakozigaz&o=SzMCfBlp4x|title=A Beneš-dekrétum és a reszlovakizáció hatása|website=Shp.hu|access-date=December 15, 2017}}

The city thereby obtained its clearly Slovak character. Hundreds of citizens were expelled during the communist oppression of the 1950s, with the aim of replacing "reactionary" people with the proletarian class.{{cite web|publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1015&p1=1579 |title=History – Post-war Bratislava |year=2005 |access-date=May 15, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224024348/http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1015&p1=1579 |archive-date=February 24, 2007}} Since the 1950s, the Slovaks have been the dominant ethnicity in the city, making up around 90% of the city's population.

{{See also|Mayor of Bratislava|Boroughs and localities of Bratislava|International relations of Bratislava}}

File:Grassalkovich Palace (2).jpg, seat of the president of Slovakia]]

Bratislava is the seat of the Slovak parliament, presidency, ministries, supreme court ({{langx|sk|Najvyšší súd}}), and central bank. It is the seat of the Bratislava Region and, since 2002, also of the Bratislava Self-Governing Region. The city hosts 41 foreign embassies and 22 consulates.{{cite web|url=https://embassies.net/slovakia/bratislava|title=Embassies in Bratislava|date=14 December 2024|website=Embassies.net}}

File:Bratislava, Parlament, Slovensko.jpg of the Slovak Republic]]

The current local government (Mestská samospráva){{cite web |title=Samospráva |url=http://www.bratislava.sk/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700000&id=74366&p1=76031 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011031841/http://www.bratislava.sk/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700000&id=74366&p1=76031 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 11, 2007 |year=2007 |access-date=November 21, 2007 |publisher=City of Bratislava |language=sk }} structure has been in place since 1990.{{cite web |title=Historický vývoj samosprávy |url=http://www.bratislava.sk/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=74365&p1=52000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927200534/http://www.bratislava.sk/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=74365&p1=52000 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |year=2005 |access-date=June 6, 2007 |publisher=City of Bratislava |language=sk }} It is composed of a mayor (primátor),{{cite web |publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www.bratislava.sk/vismo5/o_osoba.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id_o=1097&p1=52000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070602230728/http://www.bratislava.sk/vismo5/o_osoba.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id_o=1097&p1=52000 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 2, 2007 |title=Primátor |year=2005 |access-date=April 29, 2007 |language=sk }} a city board (Mestská rada),{{cite web |title=Mestská rada |url=http://www.bratislava.sk/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=74369&p1=52000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927201419/http://www.bratislava.sk/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=74369&p1=52000 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |access-date=April 29, 2007 |publisher=City of Bratislava |language=sk }} a city council (Mestské zastupiteľstvo),{{cite web |title=Mestské zastupiteľstvo |url=http://www.bratislava.sk/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=74368&p1=52000 |year=2005 |access-date=April 29, 2007 |publisher=City of Bratislava |language=sk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930165114/http://www.bratislava.sk/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=74368&p1=52000 |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }} city commissions (Komisie mestského zastupiteľstva),{{cite web |title=Komisie mestského zastupiteľstva |url=http://www.bratislava.sk/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=74370&p1=52000 |year=2005 |access-date=April 29, 2007 |publisher=City of Bratislava |language=sk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121224195204/http://www.bratislava.sk/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=74370&p1=52000 |archive-date=December 24, 2012 |df=mdy-all }} and a city magistrate's office (Magistrát).{{cite web |title=Magistrát |url=http://www.bratislava.sk/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=74377&p1=52000 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120526035336/http://www.bratislava.sk/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=74377&p1=52000 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 26, 2012 |year=2005 |access-date=April 29, 2007 |publisher=City of Bratislava |language=sk }}

File:Bratislava, Letný arcibiskupský palác, Slovensko.jpg, the seat of the government of Slovakia]]

The mayor, based at the Primate's Palace, is the city's top executive officer and is elected to a four-year term of office. The current mayor of Bratislava is Matúš Vallo, who won the election held on October 29, 2022, as an independent candidate. The city council is the city's legislative body, responsible for issues such as budget, local ordinances, city planning, road maintenance, education, and culture.{{cite web|publisher=theparliament.com |url=http://www.eupolitix.com/EN/Forums/City+of+Bratislava/a1801f57-40bd-4caf-9749-21724bc3a1f5.htm |title=Bratislava – Local Government System |year=2007 |access-date=April 30, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061112165350/http://www.eupolitix.com/EN/Forums/City%2Bof%2BBratislava/a1801f57-40bd-4caf-9749-21724bc3a1f5.htm |archive-date=November 12, 2006 }}

File:Архиепископский дворец - panoramio.jpg at Primate's Square, the seat of the city's mayor]]

File:Bratislava Magistrat.JPG

The Bratislava City Council is the legislature of the City of Bratislava. It has 45 members. The Council usually convenes once a month and consists of 45 members elected to four-year terms concurrent with the mayor's. Many of the council's executive functions are carried out by the city commission at the council's direction. The city board is a 28-member body composed of the mayor and his deputies, the borough mayors, and up to ten city council members. The board is an executive and supervisory arm of the city council and also serves in an advisory role to the mayor.

File:Bratislava, Hlavné námestie, Slovensko.jpg. There are 41 embassies and 22 honorary consulates in Bratislava.]]

Administratively, Bratislava is divided into five districts: Bratislava I (the city centre), Bratislava II (eastern parts), Bratislava III (north-eastern parts), Bratislava IV (western and northern parts) and Bratislava V (southern parts on the right bank of the Danube, including Petržalka, the most densely populated residential area in Central Europe).{{cite web|publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1074&p1=1852 |title=Petržalka City |date=March 1, 2007 |access-date=January 29, 2008 |quote=Petržalka City will transform the largest and most densely populated housing estate in Central Europe from a monotone cement-panel housing scheme into a fully-fledged town with autonomous multipurpose centre. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012191006/http://visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1074&p1=1852 |archive-date=October 12, 2007}}

For self-governance purposes, the city is divided into 17 boroughs, each of which has its own mayor (starosta) and council. The number of councillors in each depends on the size and population of the borough.{{cite web|title=Local Government |url=http://visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1044&p1=1811 |year=2005 |access-date=April 29, 2007 |publisher=City of Bratislava |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070305050254/http://visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1044&p1=1811 |archive-date=March 5, 2007}} Each of the boroughs coincides with the city's 20 cadastral areas, except for two cases: Nové Mesto is further divided into the Nové Mesto and Vinohrady cadastral areas and Ružinov is divided into Ružinov, Nivy and Trnávka. Further unofficial division recognizes additional quarters and localities.

{{Main|Economy of Bratislava}}

{{See also|List of tallest buildings in Bratislava}}

File:Nbs.jpg]]

The Bratislava Region is the wealthiest and most economically prosperous region in Slovakia, despite being the smallest by area and having the third smallest population of the eight Slovak regions. It accounts for about 26% of the Slovak GDP.{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/7962764/1-30032017-AP-EN.pdf/4e9c09e5-c743-41a5-afc8-eb4aa89913f6|format=PDF|title=2015 GDP per capita in 276 EU regions : Four regions over double the EU average… and still nineteen regions below half of the average|website=Ec.europa.eu|access-date=15 December 2017}} According to GDP per capita, Bratislava is the 19th-richest region in the European Union in 2023.{{Cite web |last=a.s |first=Petit Press |date=2016-03-02 |title=Bratislava is the sixth richest region of EU, but… |url=https://spectator.sme.sk/c/20106220/bratislava-is-the-sixth-richest-region-of-eu-but.html |access-date=2022-10-31 |website=spectator.sme.sk |language=en}} The unemployment rate in Bratislava was 2,38% in June 2023.{{cite web |publisher=Dlznik.sk |url=https://dlznik.zoznam.sk/nezamestnanost/bratislavsky-kraj |title=Nezamestnanosť - Bratislavský kraj |date=June 2023 |access-date=August 7, 2023 |language=sk}} The average monthly salary in the Bratislava region in 2024 was €2,150.{{cite web|url=https://www.platy.sk/partner/region/bratislavsky-kraj|title=Platy, benefity, top pozície - Bratislavský kraj - Platy.sk|website=Platy.sk|access-date=May 19, 2024}}

File:Bratislava z Dunaja 3.jpg, the tallest building in Slovakia]]

Many governmental institutions and private companies have their headquarters in Bratislava. More than 75% of Bratislava's population works in the service sector, mainly composed of trade, banking, IT, telecommunications, and tourism.{{cite web |publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www4.bratislava.sk/en/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=2018019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701043743/http://www.bratislava.sk/en/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=2018019 |archive-date=July 1, 2007 |title=Economy and employment |date=February 23, 2006 |access-date=June 8, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }} The Bratislava Stock Exchange (BSSE), the organiser of the public securities market, was founded on 15 March 1991.{{cite web |publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www.bsse.sk/Content/EN/StockExchange/Basic%20information.htm?LANG=EN |title=Basic Information |year=2007 |access-date=May 3, 2007}}

Companies operating predominantly in Bratislava with the highest value added according to the 2018 Trend Top 200 ranking, include the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant, Slovnaft refinery (MOL), Eset (software developer), Asseco (software company), PPC Power (producer of heat and steam) and Trenkwalder personnel agency.{{cite web |title=TREND Top 200 |url=https://www.etrend.sk/rebricky-firiem/trend-top-200-3.html |website=Trend |access-date=4 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404040230/https://www.etrend.sk/rebricky-firiem/trend-top-200-3.html |archive-date=4 April 2019 |language=sk |date=2018}}

Volkswagen Group took over and expanded the BAZ factory in 1991, and has since considerably expanded production beyond original Skoda Auto models.{{cite news|newspaper=The Slovak Spectator |author=Jeffrey Jones |url=http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok-7923.html |title=VW Bratislava expands production |date=August 27, 1997 |access-date=April 25, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927220118/http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok-7923.html |archive-date=September 27, 2007}} Currently,{{clarify timeframe|date=April 2019}} 68% of production is focused on SUVs: Audi Q7; VW Touareg; as well as the body and under-chassis of the Porsche Cayenne. Since 2012, production has also included the Volkswagen up!, SEAT Mii and Skoda Citigo.{{cite web |publisher=Volkswagen |url=http://www.volkswagen.com/vwcms_publish/vwcms/master_public/virtualmaster/en2/unternehmen/geschichte.html |title=A brief journey through a long history: 2000–2003 |year=2007 |access-date=April 25, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070421125709/http://www.volkswagen.com/vwcms_publish/vwcms/master_public/virtualmaster/en2/unternehmen/geschichte.html |archive-date=April 21, 2007 }}. {{cite web |publisher=Global Auto Systems Europe |url=http://www.globalautoindex.com/maker.plt?no=2082 |title=Volkswagen (Slovak Republic) |year=2006 |access-date=April 25, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070416104939/http://www.globalautoindex.com/maker.plt?no=2082 |archive-date=April 16, 2007 |df=mdy-all }}. {{cite news |newspaper=The Slovak Spectator |url=http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok-27262.html |title=Volkswagen sales up to a record Sk195.5 billion |date=April 2, 2007 |access-date=April 25, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930160521/http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok-27262.html |archive-date=September 30, 2007 }}

In recent years, service and high-tech-oriented businesses have prospered in Bratislava. Many global companies, including IBM, Dell, Lenovo, AT&T, SAP, Amazon, Johnson Controls, Swiss Re and Accenture, have built outsourcing and service centres here.{{cite web |date=April 20, 2006 |title=Lenovo invests in Slovakia with new jobs |url=http://www.sario.sk/?news&novinka=58 |access-date=April 25, 2007 |publisher=Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency}}. {{cite web |year=2007 |title=Dell in Bratislava |url=http://www.job.dell.sk/buxus/generate_page.php?page_id=398 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927191504/http://www.job.dell.sk/buxus/generate_page.php?page_id=398 |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |access-date=April 25, 2007 |publisher=Dell}} Reasons for the influx of multi-national corporations include proximity to Western Europe, skilled labour force and the high density of universities and research facilities.{{cite journal |title=Regional Polarization under Transition: The Case of Slovakia |first=Vladimír |last=Baláž |year=2007 |journal=European Planning Studies |volume=15 |issue=5 |pages=587–602 |doi=10.1080/09654310600852639|s2cid=154927365 }} Also Slovak IT companies including ESET, Sygic and Pixel Federation have headquarters in Bratislava.

File:Slovakia bratislava Starý most 2.jpg, Eurovea City and New Nivy, 2024]]

Other large companies and employers with headquarters in Bratislava include Slovak Telekom, Orange Slovensko, Slovenská sporiteľňa, Tatra banka, Doprastav, Hewlett-Packard Slovakia, Slovnaft, Henkel Slovensko,{{Cite web |title=Slovenské online kasína s oficiálnou licenciou a bonusmi |url=https://slovenskekasina.sk/ |access-date=2022-03-08 |website=slovenskekasina.sk}} Slovenský plynárenský priemysel, Kraft Foods Slovakia, Whirlpool Slovakia, Železnice Slovenskej republiky, AeroMobil, and Tesco Stores Slovak Republic.

The Slovak economy's strong growth in the 2000s has led to a boom in the construction industry, and several major projects have been completed or are planned in Bratislava. Areas attracting developers include the Danube riverfront, where two major projects are already finished: River Park in the Old Town, and Eurovea near the Apollo Bridge.{{cite web |publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1072&p1=1850 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930154646/http://visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1072&p1=1850 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |title=River Park |year=2007 |access-date=June 6, 2007}}{{cite web |publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1072&p1=1849 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070718204450/http://visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1072&p1=1849 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 18, 2007 |title=EUROVEA International Trade Centre |year=2007 |access-date=June 6, 2007}} Other locations under development include the areas around the main railway and bus stations, the former industrial zone near the Old Town and in the boroughs of Petržalka, Nové Mesto and Ružinov.{{cite web |publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1073&p1=1851 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927200755/http://visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1073&p1=1851 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |title=Regeneration of Central Railway Station Square Area |year=2007 |access-date=June 3, 2007}}{{cite news |newspaper=The Slovak Spectator |url=http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok.asp?vyd=2007004&cl=26446 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930155632/http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok.asp?vyd=2007004&cl=26446 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |title=Twin City to upgrade bus station |date=January 29, 2007 |access-date=June 6, 2007 |author=Tom Nicholson}} In 2010, the city had a balanced budget of €277 million, with one fifth used for investment.{{cite web|publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1034&p1=1812 |title=Budget |year=2010 |access-date=December 30, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703233306/http://visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1034&p1=1812 |archive-date=July 3, 2009}} Bratislava holds shares in 17 companies directly, including the city's public transport company Dopravný podnik Bratislava, the waste collection and disposal company named OLO (Odvoz a likvidácia odpadu), and the water utility.{{cite web |publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www.bratislava.sk/vismo/o_utvar.asp?id_org=700000&id_u=987&p1=52000 |title=Obchodné spoločnosti mesta |year=2005 |access-date=April 29, 2007 |language=sk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215021847/http://www.bratislava.sk/vismo/o_utvar.asp?id_org=700000&id_u=987&p1=52000 |archive-date=February 15, 2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }} The city also manages municipal organisations such as the city police (Mestská polícia), Bratislava City Museum and ZOO Bratislava.{{cite web |publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www.bratislava.sk/vismo/o_utvar.asp?id_org=700000&id_u=988&p1=52000 |title=Mestské organizácie |year=2005 |access-date=April 29, 2007 |language=sk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118223728/http://www.bratislava.sk/vismo/o_utvar.asp?id_org=700000&id_u=988&p1=52000 |archive-date=January 18, 2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}

{{See also|Tourism in Slovakia}}

In 2022 a total of 927,950 people came to visit Bratislava and spent there 1,719,409 nights.{{Cite web |title=Tourism statistics in Bratislava - for the year 2022 |url=https://www.visitbratislava.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Statistiky-za-rok-2022_final-ENG.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=2023-02-09 |website=Visit Bratislava |publisher=Bratislava Tourist Board |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230902185047/https://www.visitbratislava.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Statistiky-za-rok-2022_final-ENG.pdf|archive-date=Sep 2, 2023}} These were most commonly 65% foreigners. Bratislava attracts predominantly visitors from the neighboring and nearby countries - Czech Republic, Germany, Austria and Poland. The top 5 is closed by visitors from the UK. Bratislava offered 272 accommodation facilities with 10,338 rooms in 2022. A considerable share of visits is made by those who visit Bratislava for a single day, but their exact number is not available.

Among other factors, the growth of low-cost airline flights to Bratislava, led by Ryanair, has led to conspicuous stag parties, primarily from the UK. While these are a boom to the city's tourism industry, cultural differences and vandalism have led to concern by local officials.{{cite news|url=http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok-23460.html |title=Bratislava wearies of stag tourism |access-date=April 28, 2007 |author=Zuzana Habšudová |date=May 29, 2006 |newspaper=The Slovak Spectator |quote=We hope the number of British tourists visiting Slovakia will continue to increase, but we want it to be responsible tourism. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060905222128/http://www.slovakspectator.sk/clanok-23460.html |archive-date=September 5, 2006}} Reflecting the popularity of rowdy parties in Bratislava in the early to mid-2000s, the city was a setting in the 2004 comedy film Eurotrip, which was actually filmed in the city of Prague, the Czech Republic.

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Bratislava has eight major shopping centres: Aupark, Avion Shopping Park, Bory Mall, Central, Eurovea Galleria, Nivy Centrum, Vivo! (formerly Polus City Center) and Shopping Palace.

A month before Christmas, the Main Square in Bratislava is illuminated by a Christmas tree and the Christmas market stalls are officially opened. Around 100 booths are opened every year. It is opened most of the day as well as in the evening.

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Bratislava is the cultural heart of Slovakia. Owing to its historical multi-cultural character, local culture is influenced by various ethnic and religious groups, including Germans, Slovaks, Hungarians, and Jews.Pressburg_Yeshiva_(Austria-Hungary) Bratislava enjoys numerous theatres, museums, galleries, concert halls, cinemas, film clubs, and foreign cultural institutions.{{cite web |publisher=Bratislava Culture and Information Centre |url=http://www.bkis.sk/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=52&Itemid=140 |title=Cultural Institutions |year=2007 |access-date=July 26, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120703120901/http://www.bkis.sk/index.php?option=com_content |archive-date=July 3, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}

Bratislava is the seat of the Slovak National Theatre, housed in two buildings.{{cite web |url=http://www.bratislava-city.sk/slovak-national-theatre |title=Slovak National Theatre |last=BratislavaCity.Sk |work=bratislava-city.sk |year=2011 |access-date=2 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929024346/http://www.bratislava-city.sk/slovak-national-theatre |archive-date=September 29, 2011 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }} The first is a Neo-Renaissance theatre building situated in the Old Town at the end of Hviezdoslav Square. The new building, opened to the public in 2007, is on the riverfront. The theatre has three ensembles: opera, ballet and drama. Smaller theatres include the New Scene Theatre, the Astorka Korzo '90 Theatre, the Arena Theatre, the L+S Studio, the Naive Theatre of Radošina and the Bratislava Puppet Theatre.

Music in Bratislava flourished in the 18th century and was closely linked to Viennese musical life. Mozart visited the town at the age of six. Among other notable composers who visited or lived in the town were Haydn, Liszt,{{Cite web|url=https://www.visitbratislava.com/whats-on/classical-bratislava/|title = Classical Bratislava | What to do?}} Bartók and Beethoven. It is also the birthplace of the composers Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Ernő Dohnányi, and Franz Schmidt. Bratislava is home to both the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra and the chamber orchestra, Capella Istropolitana. The city hosts several annual festivals, such as the Bratislava Music Festival and Bratislava Jazz Days.{{cite web|publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1036&p1=1817 |title=Visit Bratislava – Culture |access-date=May 1, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070305050032/http://visit.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700014&id=1036&p1=1817 |archive-date=March 5, 2007}} During the summer, various musical events take place as part of the Bratislava Cultural Summer at Bratislava Castle. Apart from musical festivals, it is possible to hear music ranging from underground to well known pop stars.{{cite web|publisher=Welcome to Bratislava |url=https://www.welcometobratislava.eu/musical-bratislava/ |title=Musical Bratislava|date=May 18, 2021 }}

Bratislava is home to two of Slovakia's national folk dance ensembles, Lúčnica and Slovenský ľudový umelecký kolektív (SĽUK).{{Cite web|title=www.sluk.sk {{!}} Slovenský ľudový umelecký kolektív|url=http://www.sluk.sk/sk|website=www.sluk.sk|access-date=2020-05-19|archive-date=September 22, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922013422/http://www.sluk.sk/sk|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|title=Lúčnicu čaká obrovská zmena. Po rokoch sa tanečníkom splnil vytúžený sen|url=https://glob.zoznam.sk/lucnicu-caka-obrovska-zmena-po-rokoch-bude-subor-skusat-vo-svojom/|date=2020-04-24|website=Glob.sk|language=sk-SK|access-date=2020-05-19}}{{Cite news|last=Burda|first=Michal|date=2020-05-14|title=Vystoupení SĽUKu ve Vsetíně se ruší, zasáhlo slovenské ministerstvo|language=cs|work=Valašský deník|url=https://valassky.denik.cz/zpravy_region/vystoupeni-sluku-ve-vsetine-se-rusi-zasahlo-slovenske-ministerstvo-20200514.html|access-date=2020-05-19}}

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{{Main|Museums and galleries of Bratislava}}

The Slovak National Museum (Slovenské národné múzeum), founded in 1961, has its headquarters in Bratislava on the riverfront in the Old Town, along with the Natural History Museum, which is one of its subdivisions. It is the largest cultural institution in Slovakia, and manages 16 specialized museums in Bratislava and beyond.{{cite web |publisher=Slovak National Museum |url=http://www.snm.sk/?lang=eng§ion=expo&org=1&show |title=Slovak national museum – SNM office |year=2007 |access-date=October 7, 2007}} The Bratislava City Museum (Múzeum mesta Bratislavy), established in 1868, is the oldest museum in continuous operation in Slovakia.{{cite web |publisher=Bratislava City Museum |url=http://www.muzeum.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700016&id=1004&p1=51 |title=Profile of the museum |author=Beáta Husová |date=January 19, 2007 |access-date=May 4, 2007 |archive-date=September 20, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070920222524/http://www.muzeum.bratislava.sk/en/vismo/dokumenty2.asp?id_org=700016&id=1004&p1=51 |url-status=dead }} Its primary goal is to chronicle Bratislava's history in various forms from the earliest periods using historical and archaeological collections. It offers permanent displays in eight specialised museums.

The Slovak National Gallery, founded in 1948, offers the most extensive network of galleries in Slovakia. Two displays in Bratislava are next to one another at Esterházy Palace (Esterházyho palác) and the Water Barracks (Vodné kasárne) on the Danube riverfront in the Old Town. The Bratislava City Gallery, founded in 1961, is the second-largest Slovak gallery of its kind. The gallery offers permanent displays at Pálffy Palace (Pálffyho palác) and Mirbach Palace (Mirbachov palác), in the Old Town.{{cite web |publisher=Bratislava City Gallery |url=http://www.gmb.sk/en/ |title=Bratislava City Gallery – about us – buildings |year=2007 |access-date=May 17, 2007}} Danubiana Art Museum, one of the youngest art museums in Europe, is near Čunovo waterworks.{{cite web|publisher=Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum |url=http://www.danubiana.sk/eng |title=Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum – About us |year=2007 |access-date=June 21, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071208132538/http://www.danubiana.sk/eng/ |archive-date=December 8, 2007}}

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{{See also|Television in Slovakia|List of radio stations in Slovakia|List of newspapers in Slovakia}}

File:Upside down Pyramid, Bratislava 02.jpg]]

As the national capital, Bratislava is home to national and many local media outlets. Notable TV stations based in the city include Slovak Television and Radio (Slovenská televízia a rozhlas), Markíza, JOJ and TA3. STVR radio's headquarters has its seat in the centre, and many Slovak commercial radio stations are based in the city. National newspapers based in Bratislava include SME, Pravda, Nový čas, Hospodárske noviny and the English-language The Slovak Spectator. Two news agencies are headquartered there: the News Agency of the Slovak Republic (TASR, Tlačová agentúra Slovenskej republiky) and the Slovak News Agency (SITA, Slovenská tlačová agentúra).

{{Main|Sport in Bratislava}}

Various sports and sports teams have a long tradition in Bratislava, with many teams and individuals competing in Slovak and international leagues and competitions.

File:Slovakia bratislava Národný futbalový štadión.jpg]]

Football is currently represented by the only club playing in the top Slovak football league, the Fortuna Liga. ŠK Slovan Bratislava, founded in 1919, has its home ground at the Tehelné pole stadium. ŠK Slovan is the most successful football club in Slovak history, being the only club from the former Czechoslovakia to win the European football competition the Cup Winners' Cup, in 1969.{{cite web|publisher=Slovan Bratislava |url=http://www.slovanfutbal.com/sk/?go=sien_naj_uspechy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080108060109/http://www.slovanfutbal.com/sk/?go=sien_naj_uspechy |archive-date=January 8, 2008 |title=Slovan Bratislava – najväčšie úspechy (Slovan Bratislava – greatest achievements) |year=2006 |access-date=May 15, 2007 |language=sk |url-status=dead |df=mdy}}. {{cite web|publisher=Slovan Bratislava |url=http://www.slovanfutbal.com/sk/?go=klub_historia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024190426/http://www.slovanfutbal.com/sk/?go=klub_historia |archive-date=October 24, 2007 |title=Slovan Bratislava – História (History) |year=2006 |access-date=May 15, 2007 |language=sk |url-status=dead |df=mdy}}

FC Petržalka akadémia is the oldest of Bratislava's football clubs, founded in 1898, and is based at Stadium FC Petržalka 1898 in Petržalka (formerly at Pasienky in Nové Mesto and Štadión Petržalka in Petržalka). They are currently the only Slovak team to win at least one match in the UEFA Champions League group stage, with a 5–0 win over Celtic FC in the qualifying round being the most well-known, alongside a 3–2 win over FC Porto. Before then FC Košice in the 1997–98 season lost all six matches, despite being the first Slovak side since independence to play in the competition.{{cite web |url=https://tipovanie24.sk/historia/futbal-bratislava/ |title=História a súčasnosť futbalu v Bratislave |last=Kováč |first=Jan |year=2024 |website=tipovanie24 |access-date=September 3, 2024 |quote=}}

In 2010 Artmedia were relegated from the Corgon Liga under their new name of MFK Petržalka, finishing 12th and bottom. FC Petržalka akadémia currently competes in 5. liga after bankruptcy in summer 2014. Another known club from the city is FK Inter Bratislava. Founded in 1945, they have their home ground at Stadium ŠKP Inter Dúbravka in Dúbravka, (formerly at Štadión Pasienky) and currently plays in the 3. liga. There are many more clubs with long tradition and successful history despite the lack of success in last years, e.g. LP Domino Bratislava currently playing in 4. liga; FK Rača Bratislava competing in the 3. liga as well as Inter; FK ŠKP Inter Dúbravka Bratislava, following ŠKP Devín (successful team from the 1990s) and partially following the original Inter (original Inter bankrupted in 2009, sold the Corgoň Liga license to FK Senica and legally merged with FC ŠKP Dúbravka; current Inter has taken over the tradition, name, colours, fans, etc., but legally is no successor of the original Inter); FC Tatran Devín, the club that was successful mostly at youth level and merged with ŠKP Bratislava in 1995; MŠK Iskra Petržalka, playing under the name ŠK Iskra Matadorfix Bratislava in the former 1st League (today 2nd) in 1997/98.

File:Ondrej nepela arena 2019 2.jpg, ice-hockey and mixed use arena]]

Bratislava is home to three winter sports arenas: Ondrej Nepela Winter Sports Stadium, V. Dzurilla Winter Sports Stadium, and Dúbravka Winter Sports Stadium. The HC Slovan Bratislava ice hockey team has represented Bratislava from the 2012–13 season in the Kontinental Hockey League. Slovnaft Arena, a part of Ondrej Nepela Winter Sports Stadium, is home to HC Slovan. The Ice Hockey World Championships in 1959 and 1992 were played in Bratislava, and the 2011 World Championship were held in Bratislava and Košice, for which a new arena was built.{{cite news |newspaper=The Slovak Spectator |url=http://slovakspectator.sk/clanok.asp?vyd=online&cl=23434 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927215944/http://slovakspectator.sk/clanok.asp?vyd=online&cl=23434 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |title=Slovakia to host ice hockey World Championships in 2011 |author=Marta Ďurianová |date=May 22, 2006 |access-date=April 27, 2007}} The city also played host to the World Championship in 2019.

The Čunovo Water Sports Centre is a whitewater slalom and rafting area, close to the Gabčíkovo dam. It hosts several international and national canoe and kayak competitions annually.

In 1966, Bratislava named its new multi-sports stadium after tennis player Ladislav Hecht.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n_j1DwAAQBAJ&dq=hecht+stadium+bratislava&pg=PA228 | isbn=9781496201881 | title=Jewish Sports Legends: The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame | date=August 2020 | publisher=U of Nebraska Press }}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/10/sports/ladislav-hecht-94-a-tactician-on-the-tennis-courts-in-the-30-s.html|title=Ladislav Hecht, 94, a Tactician On the Tennis Courts in the 30's|first=Frank|last=Litsky|work=The New York Times |date=June 10, 2004 }}

The National Tennis Centre, which includes Aegon Arena, hosts various cultural, sporting and social events. Several Davis Cup matches have been played there, including the 2005 Davis Cup final. The city is represented in the top Slovak leagues in women's and men's basketball, women's handball and volleyball, and men's water polo. The Devín–Bratislava National run is the oldest athletic event in Slovakia,{{cite web|publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www.bratislava.sk/soubory/700000/3089784_TwincityApril2006Web.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20070614183400/http://www.bratislava.sk/soubory/700000/3089784_TwincityApril2006Web.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 14, 2007 |title=Twin City Journal – The Oldest Athletic Event in Slovakia |page=7 |date=April 2006 |access-date=April 28, 2007 }} and the Bratislava City Marathon has been held annually since 2006. A race track is located in Petržalka, where horse racing and dog racing events and dog shows are held regularly.

Bratislava is also the centre of rugby union in Slovakia and motorcycle speedway previously existed at several venues throughout the city.{{cite web |url=https://www.speedwaya-z.cz/?p=28385 |title=They call him Efa or Jozef Toth left the flat track at the top |website=Speedway A - Z |date=February 9, 2018 |access-date=29 March 2024}}

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The first university in Bratislava, in the Kingdom of Hungary (and also in the territory of present-day Slovakia) was Universitas Istropolitana, founded in 1465 by King Matthias Corvinus. It was closed in 1490 after his death.{{cite web |publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://www4.bratislava.sk/en/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=2009414& |title=Academia Istropolitana |date=February 14, 2005 |access-date=January 5, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930154657/http://www.bratislava.sk/en/vismo5/dokumenty2.asp?u=700000&id_org=700000&id=2009414& |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |df=mdy }}

Bratislava is the seat of the largest university (Comenius University, 27,771 students),{{cite web|url=http://www.uips.sk/statis/pdf/VS_P01.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227082041/http://www.uips.sk/statis/pdf/VS_P01.PDF |archive-date=February 27, 2008 |title=Univerzita Komenského |access-date=2008-02-15 |publisher=Ústav informácií a prognóz školstva |language=sk |url-status=dead |df=mdy}} the largest technical university (Slovak University of Technology, 18,473 students),{{cite web|url=http://www.uips.sk/statis/pdf/VS_P21.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227082113/http://www.uips.sk/statis/pdf/VS_P21.PDF |archive-date=February 27, 2008 |title=Slovenská technická univerzita |access-date=2008-02-15 |publisher=Ústav informácií a prognóz školstva |language=sk |url-status=dead |df=mdy}} and the oldest art schools (the Academy of Performing Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts and Design) in Slovakia. Other institutions of tertiary education are the public University of Economics and the first private college in Slovakia, City University of Seattle.{{cite web|publisher=City University of Seattle |url=http://www.cityu.edu/loc_bratislava.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212140409/http://www.cityu.edu/loc_bratislava.htm |archive-date=February 12, 2008 |title=Bratislava, Slovakia: Vysoka Skola Manazmentu (VSM) |year=2005 |access-date=June 1, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy}} In total, about 56,000 students attend university in Bratislava.{{cite web|publisher=City of Bratislava |url=http://visit.bratislava.sk/en/VismoOnline_ActionScripts/File.aspx?id_org=700014&id_dokumenty=1041 |title=Visit Bratislava – Facts and Figures |year=2007 |access-date=April 30, 2007 |format=PDF |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070305044446/http://www.visit.bratislava.sk/en/VismoOnline_ActionScripts/File.aspx?id_org=700014&id_dokumenty=1041 |archive-date=March 5, 2007}}

There are 65 public primary schools, nine private primary schools and ten religious primary schools.{{cite web|title=Prehľad základných škôl v školskom roku 2006/2007 |year=2006 |publisher=Ústav informácií a prognóz školstva |url=http://www.uips.sk/statis/pdf/ZS_P1.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227082059/http://www.uips.sk/statis/pdf/ZS_P1.PDF |archive-date=February 27, 2008 |access-date=2008-02-15 |language=sk |url-status=dead |df=mdy}} Overall, they enroll 25,821 pupils. The city's system of secondary education (some middle schools and all high schools) consists of 39 gymnasia with 16,048 students,{{cite web|url=http://www.uips.sk/statis/pdf/GYM_P1.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227082105/http://www.uips.sk/statis/pdf/GYM_P1.PDF |archive-date=February 27, 2008 |title=Prehľad gymnázií v školskom roku 2006/2007 |access-date=2008-02-15 |publisher=Ústav informácií a prognóz školstva |language=sk |url-status=dead |df=mdy}} 37 specialized high schools with 10,373 students,{{cite web|url=http://www.uips.sk/statis/pdf/SOS_P1.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227082051/http://www.uips.sk/statis/pdf/SOS_P1.PDF |archive-date=February 27, 2008 |title=Prehľad stredných odborných škôl v školskom roku 2006/2007 |access-date=2008-02-15 |publisher=Ústav informácií a prognóz školstva |language=sk |url-status=dead |df=mdy}} and 27 vocational schools with 8,863 students (data {{As of|2007|lc=y}}).{{cite web|url=http://www.uips.sk/statis/pdf/ZSS_P1.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227082121/http://www.uips.sk/statis/pdf/ZSS_P1.PDF |archive-date=February 27, 2008 |title=Prehľad združených stredných škôl v školskom roku 2006/2007 |access-date=2008-02-14 |publisher=Ústav informácií a prognóz školstva |language=sk |url-status=dead |df=mdy}}{{cite web|url=http://www.uips.sk/statis/pdf/SOU_P1.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227082128/http://www.uips.sk/statis/pdf/SOU_P1.PDF |archive-date=February 27, 2008 |title=Prehľad stredných odborných učilíšť a učilíšť v školskom roku 2006/2007 |access-date=2008-02-15 |publisher=Ústav informácií a prognóz školstva |language=sk |url-status=dead |df=mdy}}

The Slovak Academy of Sciences is also based in Bratislava. However, the city is one of the few European capitals to have neither an observatory nor a planetarium. The nearest observatory is in Modra, {{convert|30|km|mi|0}} away, and the nearest planetarium is in Hlohovec, {{convert|70|km|mi|0}} away.

{{Main|Transport in Bratislava|Public Transport in Bratislava}}

{{See also|List of bridges in Bratislava city}}

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| caption3 = Bratislava is also served by the Vienna International Airport, located {{convert|49|km|mi|1}} west of the city centre.

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The geographical position of Bratislava in Central Europe has long made it a natural crossroads for international trade traffic.{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9357955/Bratislava |title=Bratislava |year=2007 |access-date=April 30, 2007 |archive-date=December 8, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071208151849/http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9357955/Bratislava |url-status=dead }}

Public transport in Bratislava is managed by Dopravný podnik Bratislava, a city-owned company. The transport system is known as Mestská hromadná doprava (MHD, Municipal Mass Transit) and employs buses, trams, and trolleybuses.{{cite web|publisher=Dopravný podnik Bratislava |url=http://www.dpb.sk/trasy/trasy.htm |title=Trasy liniek (routes) |year=2007 |access-date=May 17, 2007 |language=sk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070506025027/http://www.dpb.sk/trasy/trasy.htm#Vlaky |archive-date=May 6, 2007}} Most of the Bratislava public transport is coated in a typical color combination of red and black.

Bratislava is also part of an integrated system, IDS BK, connecting city public transport with other transport companies in the Bratislava region. Traveling with a single ticket is possible throughout the system network, both in Bratislava and to the nearby villages and cities, including three other districts of Senec, Malacky, and Pezinok.

As a rail hub, the city has direct connections to Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Croatia, Slovenia and the rest of Slovakia. Bratislava-Petržalka railway station and Bratislava Main station are the principal railway stations.

Daily trains and buses from Bratislava to Vienna run multiple times every hour, with the Wien Hbf train station serving Bratislava as well, with more connections throughout Europe, opening possibilities for a travel to Italy and France with a quick change of trains in Vienna.

The main bus station (Autobusová stanica or Autobusová stanica Nivy) is located at Mlynské Nivy, east of the city centre, and offers both bus connections to cities in Slovakia and international bus lines. A new bus station attached to a shopping mall, administration centre, and Bratislava's tallest skyscraper, Nivy Tower, was opened on the 30th of September 2021.{{cite web | url=https://spectator.sme.sk/c/22753588/new-bus-station-opened-to-public-together-with-roundabout-and-bike-tower.html | title=New bus station opened to public, together with roundabout and bike tower | date=September 30, 2021 }} The bus station lies underground and its design was inspired by airport terminals. The waiting area offers enough space and comfort to wait for the bus.

The motorway system provides direct access to Brno in the Czech Republic, Vienna in Austria, Budapest in Hungary, Trnava, and other points in Slovakia. The A6 motorway between Bratislava and Vienna was opened in November 2007.{{cite news |title=Vienna-Bratislava in 50 Minutes (Wien – Bratislava in 50 Minuten) |language=de |publisher=ORF |date=October 19, 2007 |url=http://burgenland.orf.at/stories/229622/ |access-date=2007-10-19 |archive-date=July 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706093610/http://burgenland.orf.at/stories/229622/ |url-status=dead }}

The Port of Bratislava is one of the two international river ports in Slovakia. The port provides access to the Black Sea via the Danube and to the North Sea through the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal. Additionally, tourist lines operate from Bratislava's passenger port, including routes to Devín, Vienna, and elsewhere. In Bratislava there are currently six bridges standing over the Danube (ordered by the flow of the river): Most Lafranconi (Lafranconi Bridge), Most SNP (Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising, previously called Nový most or New bridge) with the famous UFO Tower, Starý most (The Old Bridge), Most Apollo (Apollo Bridge), Prístavný most (The Harbor Bridge) and Lužný most (The Floodplain bridge).

Bratislava's M. R. Štefánik Airport is the main international airport in Slovakia. The airport is located {{convert|9|km|mi|1}} north-east of the city centre, with fast connections served by the city public transport. It serves civil and governmental, scheduled and unscheduled domestic and international flights. The current runways support the landing for all common types of aircraft. It served 2,024,000 passengers in 2007.{{cite web |publisher=TASR, published in Bratislavské Noviny |url=http://www.bratislavskenoviny.sk/73806/cestovny-ruch/letisko-vybavilo-vlani-viac-ako-2-miliony-pasazierov |title=Airport served more than 2 million passengers last year (Letisko vybavilo vlani viac ako 2 milióny pasažierov) |language=sk |date=January 13, 2008 |access-date=January 13, 2008}} Bratislava is also served by the Vienna International Airport located {{convert|49|km|mi|1}} west of the city centre. It is common for Bratislava residents to use the Vienna airport often, as it offers more variety and can be reached under 60 minutes from Bratislava with a car.

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File:Paparazzi.jpg

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Slovakia}}

Bratislava is twinned with the towns and cities:

{{div col|colwidth=15em}}

• {{flagicon|CZE}} Brno, Czech Republic{{cite web |title=Partnerské mestá|url=https://www.bratislava.sk/mesto-bratislava/sprava-mesta/medzinarodna-spolupraca/partnerske-mesta|publisher=Bratislava|language=sk|access-date=2022-10-17}}
• {{flagicon|HUN}} Székesfehérvár, Hungary
• {{flagicon|POL}} Kraków, Poland
• {{flagicon|POL}} Warsaw, Poland
• {{flagicon|ITA}} Perugia, Italy (1962)
• {{flagicon|SVN}} Ljubljana, Slovenia (1967)
• {{flagicon|ARM}} Yerevan, Armenia (2001){{cite web |title=Partner (twin) towns of Bratislava|url=https://bratislava-city.sk/bratislava-twin-towns/|website=bratislava-city.sk|access-date=2019-09-02}}
• {{flagicon|CYP}} Larnaca, Cyprus (1989)
• {{flagicon|FIN}} Turku, Finland (1976)
• {{flagicon|GER}} Bremen, Germany (1989)
• {{flagicon|EGY}} Alexandria, Egypt
• {{flagicon|UKR}} Kyiv, Ukraine
• {{flagicon|USA}} Cleveland, United States

{{div col end}}

* Numbers in parentheses list the year of twinning. The first agreement was signed with the city of Perugia in Italy on 18 July 1962.

{{main|List of people from Bratislava}}

People who have received the honorary citizenship of Bratislava are:

File:Hviezdoslavovo námestie (10267450433).jpg|Hviezdoslav Square

File:Bratislava14Slovakia65.JPG|The Old Town Hall, the oldest city hall in the country

File:Michael's Gate and tower (10267681486).jpg|Michael's Gate

File:Laurinc Gate-Bratislava Slovakia.JPG|Laurinc Gate

File:Bratislava14Slovakia86.JPG|Reformed church

File:Church of Saint Stephen.jpg|Church of Saint Stephen

File:Trinitarian Church of Bratislava (10267484535).jpg|Trinitarian Church

File:The Old Town of Bratislava (10267450365).jpg|The Old Town of Bratislava

File:Bratislava, Panská a Rybárska.jpg|Streets of the Old Town

File:Bratislava Old Town (10267673226).jpg|Bratislava Old Town

File:Bratislava-dom u dobrého pastiera.jpg|The Rococo-style "House of the Good Shepherd", home to the Museum of Clocks

File:Laurinská ul..JPG|Laurinská Street

File:Stara Tržnica - panoramio.jpg|Stará Tržnica Market Hall, the oldest indoor market in Bratislava

File:Einsteinova.jpg|Einsteinova street

File:Bratislava12Slovakia5.JPG|Embankment

File:Polus City Center 5.jpg|VIVO! Shopping Center

File:6681 train-to-bratislava (90451358).jpg|CityShuttle train connects Bratislava with Austria's capital Vienna.

File:Refinery of Slovnaft, view from Nový most viewpoint in Bratislava, Bratislava II District.jpg|Refinery of Slovnaft in Bratislava

File:Zimný prístav (Bratislava) 2019.jpg|Port of Bratislava

File:Manhole cover Bratislava.jpg|Manhole cover in Bratislava

• List of municipalities and towns in Slovakia
• List of streets in Bratislava
• List of fountains in Bratislava

{{Portal bar|Europe|Slovakia|European Union}}

{{Notelist}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Cite book |title=Dejiny Bratislavy (History of Bratislava)|year=1979 |url=http://www.obzor.sk/|location=Bratislava, Slovakia |language=sk |edition=2nd |editor=Horváth, V. |editor2=Lehotská, D. |editor3=Pleva, J. |display-editors=etal}}
• {{Cite book

|last=Janota

|first=Igor

|title=Bratislavské rarity (Rarities of Bratislava)

|edition=1st

|year=2006

|publisher=Vydavateľstvo PT

|location=Bratislava, Slovakia

|language=sk

|isbn=80-89218-19-9

}}

• {{Cite book

|last=Kováč

|first=Dušan

|title=Bratislava 1939–1945 – Mier a vojna v meste (Bratislava 1939–1945 – Peace and war in the town)

|edition=1st

|year=2006

|publisher=Vydavateľstvo PT

|location=Bratislava, Slovakia

|language=sk

|isbn=80-89218-29-6

}}

• {{Cite book

|last=Kováč

|first=Dušan

|title=Kronika Slovenska 1 (Chronicle of Slovakia 1)

|edition=1st

|year=1998

|publisher=Fortuna Print

|location=Bratislava, Slovakia

|language=sk

|isbn=80-7153-174-X

|display-authors=etal}}

• {{Cite book

|last=Kováč

|first=Dušan

|title=Kronika Slovenska 2 (Chronicle of Slovakia 2)

|edition=1st

|year=1999

|publisher=Fortuna Print

|location=Bratislava, Slovakia

|language=sk

|isbn=80-88980-08-9

|display-authors=etal}}

• {{Cite book

|last=Lacika

|first=Ján

|title=Bratislava

|edition=1st

|series=Visiting Slovakia

|year=2000

|publisher= DAJAMA

|location=Bratislava, Slovakia

|isbn=80-88975-16-6

}}

• {{Cite book

|last=Špiesz

|first=Anton

|title=Bratislava v stredoveku (Bratislava in the Middle Ages)

|edition=1st

|year=2001

|publisher= Perfekt

|location=Bratislava, Slovakia

|language=sk

|isbn=80-8046-145-7

}}

• {{Cite book

|last=Varga

|first=Erzsébet

|title=Pozsony

|edition=1st

|year=1995

|publisher=Madách-Posonium

|location=Pozsony

|language=hu

|isbn=80-7089-245-5

}}

• {{Cite book

|last=Jankovics

|first=Marcell

|title=Húsz esztendő Pozsonyban (Twenty years in Bratislava)

|edition=2nd

|year=2000

|publisher=Méry Ratio

|location=Pozsony

|language=hu

|isbn=80-88837-34-0

}}

The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive "Statny Archiv in Bratislava, Slovakia"

• Roman Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1601–1897 (parish A)
• Lutheran church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1606–1919 (parish A)

{{Sister project links|voy=Bratislava}}

• [https://bratislava.sk/en Official website of the City of Bratislava]
• [http://www.visitbratislava.com/ Official Tourism and Travel Guide to Bratislava]
• [http://slovakia.travel/en Official Slovak National Tourism Portal]

• [http://imhd.sk/ba/public-transport Public urban transport in Bratislava]

{{Slovakia topics}}

{{Bratislava Region}}

{{Boroughs of Bratislava by district}}

{{Slovak Seats}}

{{Danube}}

{{List of European capitals by region}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Capitals in Europe

Category:Cities and towns in Slovakia

Category:Populated places on the Danube

Category:907 establishments

Category:Populated places established in the 10th century