98. Bratislava

Posted byskiptondiariesPosted inEurope

In June 2022, while staying in Vienna, I went on a 75-minute ferry ride with Twin City Liner to Bratislava. I took the 08.30 there and the 14.30 back. Although you are required to take a passport there were no customs or border checks…

You can get to Bratislava in 59 minutes by train from Vienna’s central station (Hauptbahnhoff) and 65 minutes by bus but the ferry is more fun…

The city changed its name from Pressburg to Bratislava in 1919 following the end of WW1 and the emergence of a newly independent state of the Czecho-Slovak Republic. A communist coup in 1948 saw Czechoslovakia come under Soviet rule until November 1989. On January 1st, 1993 the Czech and Slovak republics separated, becoming independent states and members of the UN. Slovakia joined the EU in 2004, the Schengen in 2007 and the European Monetary Union (euro) in 2009.

About 5,000BC, the first farmers settled in what is now Slovakia and built their settlements. The Romans invaded parts of Slovakia and it formed part of the empire’s frontier. During the 5th century Slavs crossed the Carpathians and settled here. From 623-658, Samo assumed leadership of the Slav tribe union. He founded and headed Samo`s Dominion – the first state of the Western Slavs. In 833, the Moravian Prince Mojmír I founded the Great Moravian Empire. Further upheaval came in 907, when the territory was invaded by the Hungarians.

What follows next is something completely new to me: the former Hungarian territories were taken over by the Hussites in 1458. I’d not heard of either the Hussites or John Wycliffe…

Jan Hus was a professor at the Charles University in Prague and was a firm believer in the ideas of English philosopher John Wycliffe (c1330-1384). Jan Hus believed that faith should be based on the Bible and not church hierarchy. He further believed that all Christians should be allowed communion and not just the clergy. He was campaigning for reform of the church a century before Martin Luther. In particular he wanted an end to the practice of buying absolution (forgiveness/redemption) from the church. This made him unpopular as the buying & selling of absolution was extremely lucrative business for the church. For his troubles, Jan Hus was found guilty of heresy and burned at the stake in 1415. This galvanised the Hussite movement and, in 1419, led to a series of wars. A Hussite king, George of Poděbrady, was crowned in 1458. When he died in 1471 he was succeeded by a Polish nobleman Vladislav II who in turn was replaced in 1490 by Ferdinand of Habsburg. The Habsburg dynasty reigned until 1918. The period from 1490 – 1918 was not without problems as between 1604-1711 the Kingdom of Hungary was swept by a series of six anti-Habsburg rebellions.

In 1787, Anton Bernolák codified the first literary form of the Slovak language. However, it did not catch on. The second codification of the Slovak literary language authored by Ľudovít Štúr, in 1843, was more successful and it became the basis of the current Slovak literary language.

Sources: http://www.prague.fm/23151/the-hussites/ http://www.myczechrepublic.com and http://www.slovakia.com

The Castle:

The first written reference to the city appears in the Annals of Salzburg of 907, but the castle hill was populated as early as the late Stone Age; its first known inhabitants were Celts, who founded a fortified settlement here called ‘Oppidum’. During the Roman Empire, the ‘Limes Romanus’, (border) ran through the area. During the Great Moravian Empire (830-907), Slavs built a fortress that became a significant centre for the time. In the 10th century, Bratislava became an integral part of the growing Hungarian state; a stone palace and the church of St Saviour and its chapter were built on the castle hill in the 11th century. In the 15th century, Sigismund of Luxembourg built a castle in a Gothic style with 7-metre-thick fortifications. In the 16th century, King Ferdinand ordered the rebuilding of the castle in the Renaissance style, while in the 17th century it was rebuilt in the baroque style. Since independence, the castle has served as a venue for the Slovak Parliament and houses collections of the Slovak National Museum – http://www.visitbratislava.com

Churches:

The 15th century St Martin’s Cathedral
The Franciscan Church and Monastery
The Franciscan Church of the Annunciation and Monastery
The Church of St Elizabeth of Hungary, but known as the Blue Church. It was designed by Budapest architect Edmund Lechner and consecrated in October, 1913).
A christening was underway
The church of Saint John of Matha and Saint Felix of Valois was originally a Trinitarian monastery and is usually referred to as the Holy Trinity Church. Building of the present church began in 1717 and was consecrated in 1727.  In 1782 Emperor Joseph II closed the monastery during his “storm against the monasteries“ (Klostersturm)
The Holy Trinity Catholic Church
Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary (Brothers of Mercy) was founded in 1672 although construction wasn’t finished until 1692. It was part of the hospital – monastery of the Hospitaller Order of the Merciful Brothers
It is now a Catholic church
The Capuchin Church
A wedding was underway
Bratislava seems sadly shabby and run down in places. The church tower is that of the equally shabby Church of the Annunciation

Starý Mesto:

Along the tree-lined Hviezdoslavovo Námestie
Michael’s Gate undergoing restoration
The Old Town Hall built in 1868
The main square
The bronze sculpture of a man peeping out of the manhole is Čumil (watcher) and a popular photo opportunity
The Primate’s Palace, 1778-81, was built for Archbishop Estzergom and is now an art gallery. It is regarded as one of the finest buildings in Slovakia. Curiously, the gallery features a series of rare 17th century English tapestries that were produced at the Royal Tapestry Works in Mortlake – see http://www.visitbratislava.com and http://www.rct.uk
Bratislava’s opera house – known officially as the Slovak National Theatre – is a Neo-Renaissance-style building opened in 1886 as the City Theatre, designed by Viennese architects Fellner and Helmer.
The Slovak Philharmonic
Grassalkovich Palace – an 18th century former summer palace it now serves as the presidential palace

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