Bratislava hlavná stanica (abbreviated as ''Bratislava hl.st.''; ; ) is the main
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
of the city of
Bratislava
Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
,
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
. It averages about 60,000 passengers per day.
Apart from domestic routes, international routes from this station include trains to
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
,
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
(summer only), the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much 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 south, Croatia and ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
,
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
, and
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.
Etymology
Prior to 1919 the city was part of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
, and was known as "Pressburg", in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, and "Pozsony", in
Hungarian. The station was named ''Pressburg Hauptbahnhof'' and ''Pozsony főpályaudvar'' in those languages.
History

The first station building, a two-storey building at Šancová 1, now serves as the headquarters of the railway police. It was built in 1848 as the terminus for the
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
–
Gänserndorf – Bratislava (Pressburg) and
Břeclav
Břeclav (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 25,000 inhabitants. Located at the Czech-Austrian state border and near the Czech–Slovak state border, it is an important railway hub.
Administrative divis ...
– Bratislava (Pressburg) lines. The second building, which is used to this day, was built after the completion of the
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
–
Párkány (Štúrovo) – Bratislava line in 1905 to the design of
Ferenc Pfaff
Ferenc Pfaff (born Franz Pfaff; 19 November 1851 – 21 August 1913) was a Hungarian chief architect of the MÁV and professor at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. Early life and education
Pfaff was born on 19 November 1851 in ...
, who was the
Hungarian State Railways
The Hungarian State Railways (, , formally MÁV Magyar Államvasutak Zártkörűen Működő Részvénytársaság (MÁV Zrt.). The full official name of the company is MÁV-csoport () now commonly known as MÁV) is the Hungary, Hungarian natio ...
's main architect at the time. Originally it was built in
eclectic style
Eclecticism is a kind of mixed style in the fine arts: "the borrowing of a variety of styles from different sources and combining them" . Significantly, Eclecticism hardly ever constituted a specific style in art: it is characterized by the fact t ...
, however in 1960 it underwent a major reconstruction, when the exterior was completely changed to be more "socialist" in nature. The
fresco
Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
s were added to the interior at the same time. The foyer, colloquially called "Skleník" (meaning "greenhouse"), was added to the second building in 1987 as an extension, which was meant only as a temporary solution already during its construction. This extension was scheduled to be demolished during the reconstruction of the Franz Liszt Square, which, though, has never been started by the investor, what led into a lawsuit by the city and the state-owned railway company. That caused a stall to any changes for many years. Newest plans by the railway company are just to renew the foyer and surrounding area, until a new station will be built.
In 1883, a connection was added to the Bratislava-
Rača station, which was connected to the line to
Žilina
Žilina (; ; ; ; Names of European cities in different languages: U-Z#Z, names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the List of cities ...
. The line to the
Nové Mesto station is the most recently added line, and it was built in 1962
At first, the station also had freight loading and unloading facilities. One unique feature was the "vínovod" ("wine transport system"), which consisted of tubing from the station to the Palugyay family's wine cellars.
Gravity flow drew wine from trains into barrels in the cellars. The station also had a
ropeway conveyor
A material ropeway, ropeway conveyor (or aerial tramway in the US) is a subtype of gondola lift, from which containers for goods rather than passenger cars are suspended.
Description
Material ropeways are typically found around large mining co ...
to ''
Patrónka
Patrónka is an area in the western part of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, it is also the name of a major transport junction within the area and an important bus stop. Patrónka is located at the boundary of Bratislava I Old Town and Brati ...
'' (cartridge factory) which produced ammunition cartridges, colloquially known as "patróny". As passenger traffic increased, freight operations were progressively relocated to other stations in the city.
The station's engine house by the
stabling yard was built after the removal of the old stabling yard, which was formerly in the space occupied by platforms 3-5.
On January 1, 1919, as Czechoslovak troops were about to enter the city, negotiations between representatives of the Pressburg population, led by
Paul Wittich, and ''
Entente'' officers, led by the Italian Colonel Barreca, took place at the Pressburg railway station.
Current situation
Current rail traffic exceeds the station's track capacity, which occasionally becomes evident in a
domino effect
A domino effect is the cumulative effect produced when one event sets off a series of similar or related events, a form of chain reaction. The term is an analogy to a falling row of dominoes. It typically refers to a linked sequence of events ...
caused by delayed trains. One suggested solution is to transfer some of the trains to the
Nové Mesto and
Petržalka
Petržalka (; ; ) is the largest borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Situated on the right bank of the river Danube, the area shares a land border with Austria, and is home to around 100,000 people.
Names and etymology
The German name ...
stations, which currently have unused track capacity.
Future reconstruction
Since 2000, there have been plans to reconstruct not only the station but also the surrounding area, most importantly the Franz Liszt Square.
The investor is the company I.P.R. Slovakia and the cost was estimated at €232,357,432 in 2008. In 2003, the Bratislava City Magistrate agreed with the project. In 2006, the
Old Town
In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...
district of Bratislava and the Regional Environment Office decided to allow I.P.R. Slovakia to cut down 630 trees worth €230,000 and shrubs worth of €14,000. The decision is final and according to experts, when executed it will forever change the micro-climate of the area.
Since 1 September 2007 a new City plan came into effect in Bratislava and in 2008 the
Old Town
In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...
district informed the investor that he needs another agreement from the Bratislava City Magistrate.
Access
Bratislava main station serves as the hub for the local public transport service (MHD). It can thus be conveniently accessed from all parts of
Bratislava
Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
. Many buses and trolleybuses terminate here as well as almost all of the
night buses for which station serves as the hub.
Tram routes number 1 and 7 commence at the station and serve both the old town and the new town. In 2012 the government allocated part of a €420m transport funding package towards the construction of a segregated light rail line from the main station to the Šafárik Square and Janíkov Dvor, and modernisation of the existing tram route to Dúbravka.
Military shelter
Bratislava main station features one of the city's major war shelters built during the communist era, to protect citizens from air raids or attacks with weapons of mass destruction. As with many other similar structures in Bratislava, it is inaccessible and not widely known to the public. Built in the 1950s, it is located underneath the Jaskový rad Street and nearby houses and its designed capacity is 1,500 people. The main entrance can be found at the very end of the tunnel leading to platforms, after leaving the tunnel, the entrance is behind a small metal door built into the massive rock wall.
The shelter features several hallways, rooms, a command centre, air filtering and power generating machinery and toilets. There are two emergency exits, one behind Hotel Spirit and the other behind the building known as U Matúša, which in the past featured a pub with the same name, both on private property. The shelter belongs to the
Railways of Slovak Republic
Railways of the Slovak Republic (, acronym: ''ŽSR'') is the state-owned railway infrastructure company of Slovakia.
The company was established in 1993 as the successor to the Czechoslovak State Railways () in Slovakia following the dissolut ...
.
Services
See also
*
Transport in Bratislava
*
Bratislava-Petržalka railway station
References
Further reading
*
External links
Railway station Bratislava hlavná stanica
Station Reconstruction Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bratislava hlavna stanica
Buildings and structures in Bratislava
Railway stations in Bratislava
Ferenc Pfaff railway stations
Railway stations in Slovakia opened in 1848