The Old Town of Bratislava (, , ) is the historic center and one of the boroughs 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. ...

, in the

Bratislava Region The Bratislava Region (, ; (until 1919); ) is one of the Regions of Slovakia, administrative regions of Slovakia. Its capital is Bratislava. The region was first established in 1923 and its present borders exist from 1996. It is the smallest of ...

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 is coextensive with the smallest Slovak administrative district by area, Bratislava I. It contains the small, but preserved medieval city center, Bratislava Castle and other important landmarks. Bratislava's Old Town is known for its many churches, the Bratislava Riverfront and cultural institutions, it is also the location of most of the foreign states embassies and important Slovak institutions including the National Council of the Slovak Republic; the Summer Archbishop's Palace, seat of the Government of Slovakia; and Grassalkovich Palace, seat of the President of Slovakia.

Location

The Old Town is bordered by the river

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

to the west, Karlova Ves to the north, the New Town to the north and east, and Ružinov to the east and south.

Division

The Old Town is divided into several local parts: the historical center, Vydrica, Zukermandel, Blumentál, and others. Some of the local parts were demolished by the Communist government after World War II, including Vydrica and Zukermandel.

Characteristics

As its name suggests, the district houses many historic monuments and Bratislava's central institutions. It also contains many Slovak governmental offices and institutions, such as the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of Justice. The western part of the district is a hilly area (technically part of the Small Carpathians mountain range) featuring Bratislava Castle, the Slavín monument, Horský park (literally Mountain(ous) Park), many detached houses, and most of the foreign embassies in Slovakia. The hilly area ends in the south at the

with the Chatam Sofer Memorial and the Bratislava Castle hill, and in the west at the D2 Motorway. This part of Bratislava is more quiet than the other parts of the city's Old Town and, apart from the castle, it is seldom visited by tourists. The eastern section is the historical and administrative center. Notable buildings and spaces include the Grassalkovich Palace, Trinity Church, Bratislava's Town Hall, St. Martin's Cathedral, Michael's Gate, the Primate's Palace, Comenius University, the main railway station (''Hlavná stanica''), the Slovak National Theatre (both the old and new sites), SNP Square, the Main Square (''Hlavné námestie''), Hviezdoslav Square (''Hviezdoslavovo námestie''), Kamenné námestie ('Stone Square'), Obchodná ulica ('Shop Street' equivalent to High Street), Pharmacy Salvator, Zochova Street from the 14th century and many other old churches and

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

s. There are still some remnants of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Bratislava city walls, although not open to the public for the time being.

Demographics

According to the 2021 census, 80% of inhabitants of the Old Town were Slovaks, 2% Hungarians, 1% Czechs and remaining 17% belonged to other nationalities, including those, who did not indicate their nationality. 33% of inhabitants indicated belonging to the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, 5% to Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia, 1% to the Slovak Greek Catholic Church. The plurality 43% indicated not belonging to any religion.

Mayors

* 1990–1994 – Miloslava Zemková ( DS) * 1994–1998 – Andrej Ďurkovský ( KDH) * 1998–2002 – Andrej Ďurkovský ( KDH) * 2002–2006 – Peter Čiernik ( KDH) * 2006–2010 – Andrej Petrek (independent, later SDKÚ-DS, expelled in 2008) * 2010–2014 – Tatiana Rosová ( SDKÚ-DS) * 2014–2018 – Radoslav Števčík (independent) * 2018–2022 – Zuzana Aufrichtová * 2022–2026 – Matej Vagač (coalition Progressive Slovakia , Team Bratislava)

Twin towns

* Obrenovac,

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 ...

References

External links

Gallery

File:Bratislava - 52119321317.jpg, Old Town from the castle hill File:Bratislava Panorama R01.jpg, Old Town from the Nový Most bridge File:Bratislava Castle 2010.jpg, Main entrance of the Bratislava Castle File:Hviezdoslavovo námestie (10267450433).jpg, Hviezdoslav Square File:Pozsony - középen a régi városháza, balra a prímási palota.JPG, Primate's 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 Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

-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 {{Authority control Boroughs of Bratislava Tourist attractions in Bratislava