Bratislava, the

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

, is situated in

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

and it is located in the extreme south-west within Slovakia. The city borders

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in the west and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

in the south making it the only national capital in the world to border two foreign countries. The state border with the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

is only distant. Bratislava lies on the foothills of the

Little Carpathians The Little Carpathians (also: ''Lesser Carpathians'', sk, Malé Karpaty; german: Kleine Karpaten; hu, Kis-Kárpátok) are a low, about 100 km long, mountain range, part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slov ...

mountains and the city straddles both banks of the

Danube River The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

. The city has a total area of , making it the second largest city in Slovakia by area (after the township of

Vysoké Tatry Vysoké Tatry (; hu, Magastátra, ; german: Höhe Tatra, ; pl, Wysokie Tatry, ; cs, Vysoké Tatry, ), formally Mesto Vysoké Tatry () is a town at the feet of the Slovak part of High Tatras in Slovakia including all the major resorts in that ...

). Geomorphologically the city covers the southern tip of the Záhorie Lowland, the entire range of the

Devín Carpathians Forest in Devín Carpathians Ruins of the Devín Castle Devín Carpathians ( sk, Devínske Karpaty, ) is a subdivision of the Little Carpathians mountain range, located entirely within Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is bordered by the ...

, small westernmost part of the Pezinok Carpahians and the northern tip of the Danubian Lowland. The Danube crosses the city from the west to the south-east. The

Middle Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

basin begins at

Devín Gate Devín Gate, Hainburger Gate or Hungarian Gates ( sk, Devínska brána, ; german: Hainburger Pforte) is a natural gate in the Danube valley at the border of Slovakia and Austria. It is one out of four geomorphological areas of the Devín Carpathi ...

in western Bratislava. Other rivers nearby are the

Morava River Morava may refer to: Rivers * Great Morava (''Velika Morava''; or only Morava), a river in central Serbia, and its tributaries: ** South Morava (''Južna Morava'') *** Binač Morava (''Binačka Morava'') ** West Morava (''Zapadna Morava'') * Mo ...

, which forms the north-western border of the city and flows into the Danube at

Devín Devín (, hu, Dévény, german: Theben) is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, located in the Bratislava IV district. Originally a separate village at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers, Devín maintained its rural cha ...

, the

Little Danube The Little Danube ( Slovak: ''Malý Dunaj'', Hungarian: ''Kis-Duna'', German: ''Kleine Donau'') is a branch of the river Danube in Slovakia. It splits from the main river near Bratislava, and flows more or less parallel to the Danube until it ...

, and the Vydrica, which flows into the Danube at the borough of Karlova Ves. Some parts of Bratislava, particularly

and

Devínska Nová Ves Devínska Nová Ves ( hu, Dévényújfalu, hr, Devinsko Novo Selo, german: Theben-Neudorf) is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Its western borders are formed by the Morava River, which also forms the national border between Slov ...

, are vulnerable to floods. New flood protection is being built on both banks. The Carpathian mountain range begins in city territory with the

(''Malé Karpaty''). The area includes

Bratislava Forest Park Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

, which is popular with many Bratislavans and is part of the

Little Carpathians Protected Landscape Area Little Carpathians Protected Landscape Area ( sk, Chránená krajinná oblasť Malé Karpaty) is one of the 14 protected landscape areas in Slovakia. The Landscape Area is situated in the Little Carpathians, part of the Carpathian Mountains, in ...

. The city's lowest point is at the Danube's surface, at

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. Th ...

, and the highest point is Devínska Kobyla at . The average altitude is . The

Záhorie Záhorie ( hu, Erdőhát) is a region in western Slovakia between by the Little Carpathians to the east and the Morava River to the west. Although not an administrative region, it is one of the 21 official tourism regions in Slovakia. Záhorie ...

and Danubian Lowlands are partly situated in the city. The nearest towns and villages are: to the north Stupava, Borinka and

Svätý Jur Svätý Jur (; german: Sankt Georgen; he, Yergen; hu, Szentgyörgy; formerly ''Jur pri Bratislave'') is a small historical town northeast of Bratislava, located in the Bratislava Region. The city is situated on the slopes of Little Carpathians ...

; to the east

Ivanka pri Dunaji Ivanka pri Dunaji ( hu, Pozsonyivánka) is a village and municipality in western Slovakia in Senec District in the Bratislava Region. History In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1209. In the centre of the village is a lar ...

and Most pri Bratislave; to the south-east Rovinka, Dunajská Lužná and

Šamorín Šamorín (; hu, Somorja, german: Sommerein) is a small town in western Slovakia, southeast of Bratislava. Etymology The name is derived from a patron saint of a local church Sancta Maria, mentioned for the first time as ''villa Sancti Marie'' ...

; to the south

Rajka Rajka (german: Ragendorf, sk, Rajka, hr, Rakindrof ) is a village in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, Hungary. The village has large Slovak and German minorities. Etymology The name comes from the Slavic personal name ''Rajko'', ''Rajka'' (derive ...

( HU); and to the west Kittsee ( AT),

Hainburg an der Donau Hainburg an der Donau (also referred to simply as Hainburg) is a town located in the Bruck an der Leitha district in the state of Lower Austria of eastern Austria. In 2021 it had a population of about 7,000. Geography Hainburg is located on the ri ...

( AT) and

Marchegg Marchegg ( cs, Marchek, hr, Muriek, Marhek, sk, Marchek) is a town in the district of Gänserndorf in the Austrian state of Lower Austria near the Slovak border formed by the Morava River Morava may refer to: Rivers * Great Morava (''Velika ...

( AT).

Distances from selected European cities

Bratislava is situated: 62 km from

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

; 196 km from

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

; 324 km from

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

; 532 km from

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

; 569 km from Belgrade; 769 km from

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

; 1005 km from

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

; 1266 km from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

; 1273 km from

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

; 1314 km from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

; 1473 km from

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

; 1602 km from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

; 1735 km from Stockholm; 1886 km from

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

; 2104 km from

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

and 2261 km from

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

Climate

Bratislava lies in the

north temperate zone In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

and has a continental climate with four distinct seasons. It is often windy with a marked variation between hot summers and cold, humid winters. Recently, the transitions from winter to summer and summer to winter have been rapid, with short autumn and spring periods and the weather is occasionally extreme, quickly changing its state. Snow occurs less frequently now than previously. *Annual sunshine: 1976.4 hours (5.4 hours/day) *Average annual temperature: 10 °C (50 °F)

Rivers and lakes in Bratislava

Twenty water streams originate in the area of Bratislava. Four rivers flow through the area of the city:

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

Morava river Morava may refer to: Rivers * Great Morava (''Velika Morava''; or only Morava), a river in central Serbia, and its tributaries: ** South Morava (''Južna Morava'') *** Binač Morava (''Binačka Morava'') ** West Morava (''Zapadna Morava'') * Mo ...

and partially Malina. In addition, 18 streams ( sk, potok) and 9

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

s ( sk, kanál) or canalized streams flow through the city. The following is their list in alphabetical order: * Antošov canal * Banský stream * Bystrický stream * Bystrička * Čierny stream * Dúbravský stream * Horná Sihoť * Chorvátske rameno * Jarovské rameno * Karloveské rameno * Mošonské rameno * Rusovské rameno * Dymolez * Chotárny stream * Kratina * Lamačský stream * Marianský stream * Mástsky stream * Mokrý potok (also called ''Mokrý jarok'') * Na Pántoch * Pieskový stream * Račiansky stream (also called ''Račiansky canal'') * Rakyta * Rusovský canal * Stará Mláka * Struha * Šúrsky canal * Uhliarka * Vajnorský canal * Vajnorský stream * Vápenický stream * Veľkolúcky stream * Vydrica

Panorama of the city

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geography Of Bratislava Geography of Slovakia

Distances from selected European cities

Climate

Rivers and lakes in Bratislava

Panorama of the city

See also

References