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P. O. Box 35974 05 Banská Bystrica 5Slovak RepublicTel.:
00421/48/413 61 46-8Fax: 00421/48/413 61 49E-mail:
[email protected]://www.slovakiatourism.sk
Branch office BratislavaP. O. Box 76850 05 Bratislava 55Slovak
RepublicTel.: 00421/2/5342 1023-5Tel./Fax: 00421/2/5342 1021E-mail:
[email protected]
S L O V A K I A – P A R T O F E U R O P E W O R T H S E E I N
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From left to right: • Grassalkovich Palace residence of the
President of the Slovak
Republic• Slovak National Theatre• Shopping and entertainment
centres are on an increase• Modern gallery Danubiana is blended
with the scenery of the
Danube River• Historic ”dom U dobrého pastiera” is housing the
”Historic
Clocks Exhibition”• One of the modern landmarks of the city•
Trip down memory lane on the most authentic carriage• Unique
atmosphere of the Old Town
Although Bratislava belongs among the youngest ca-pital cities
of the world, its history dates back to the OldAges. During the
course of the centuries it changed itsname several times: from the
German Pressburg, LatinPossonium, Hungarian Pozsony, to the Slovak
folk ver-sion Prešporok.
The city lies at the foot of the Small CarpathianMountain Range
and is inextricably linked to theDanube River, the second longest
European river. ThisEuropean waterway was also at the birth of the
first sett-lement in Bratislava and the river served as a
thorough-fare for nations, as well as for cultural trends.
Suitablegeographic position was a pre-determining factor
forBratislava’s famous past and present.
In the meantime the metropolis on the Danube Riverbecame a
modern city, attracting visitors with a multitu-de of cultural
offering, congress and shopping centres,as well as international
standard hotels, together with adiverse culinary offer.
Capital city of the Slovak Republic Bratislava, withpopulation
of almost 500,000 people is today political,economic, cultural,
scientific and social hub of Slovakia.
Accept this invitation to Bratislava, with its roots deep in the
past, lively present and ambitious outlook tothe future.
St. Martin’s Dome
Bratislava Castle
St. Elisabeth Church
Michael’s Gate
Church of Merciful Brethren
Grassalkovich palace(President’s residence)
St. Elisabeth Church, known as the Blue Church
Old Town Hall
Slovak National Museum
Reduta
Slovak National Theatre
St. Trinity Church
Metropolis on the Danube River
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•Bratislava
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Streets of Bratislava are brimmingwith history. Archaeologists
are still fin-ding reminders of the life in the past, theCelts,
Romans but also our Slavonic for-bears from the days of the
GreatMoravian Empire.
Archives are housing valuable deedsdocumenting the glory of a
mediaeval ci-ty, witnessing the coronation of 11Hungarian kings and
8 regal wives.Gothic Dome of St. Martin was also a ve-nue for the
coronation of Maria Therese.Looking up from the banks of theDanube
River you will be charmed bythe majesty of Bratislava Castle,
whichbears features of several architecturalstyles.
Today the historic centre contains anumber of beautiful,
renovated town-houses in baroque and rococo style withromantic
courtyards, several churchesand monasteries, statutes and
fountainsand old town houses. They form narrowstreets and small
squares with a specialcharm of revived history. Events of
the”Cultural Summer Festival” fill every cor-ner of the Old Town,
together withEaster and Christmas markets and othercultural events.
Unique atmosphere ofthe days when Bratislava was the coro-nation
seat of Hungarian Kings are revi-ved every year for the people and
visi-tors of Bratislava during the coronationfestivities.
From left to right:• Ruins of an ancient Castle Devín
towering over the confluence of riversMorava and Danube
• Exhibition of traditional crafts in thecourtyard of the Old
Town Hall
• Gothic arch of the St. Martin’s Domepresbyterium
• Ceramics from excavations of Romansettlement Gerulata (mid-
1st century– mid- 5th century AD) Bratislava-Rusovce
• Jewel of the classical architecture isthe Primaciálny
Palace
• revival of coronation festivities • Coin Biatec dating back
to
1st century BC• Veduta of Bratislava from Franz
Hogenberg from 1593
Charm of revivied history
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Bratislava and music, two inseparablephenomena. Although musical
life of thecity progressed through various periods,it never
abandoned the lives of its peo-ple. Bratislava was a concert venue
formusic giants such as W. A. Mozart, J.Haydn, L. van Beethoven, F.
Liszt, A. G.Rubinstein and others. This rich musicalheritage is
well preserved and kept alivealso by the modern musical life
ofBratislava.
Music resonates throughout the con-temporary Bratislava. In
autumn thehighlight is the Bratislava Music Festival –international
festival of classical music,or for jazz fans there are the
BratislavaJazz Days, during the summer, events ofthe Cultural
Summer Festival are fillingwith their art courtyards of old
palaces,squares, streets and parks.
Bratislava is a home to a number oftheatres. Slovak National
Theatre is hou-sing the opera theatre, P. O. Hviezdoslavand Malá
scéna are drama theatres,Nová scéna is the home of musical the-atre
and many others, such as Štúdio S,Astorka Korzo’ 90, the State
PuppetTheatre and the Radošinské naivné diva-dlo.
From left to right:• City’s rich night life• Pantomime theatre
Aréna• Folklore ensemble Lúčnica• Slovak National theatre•
Bratislava Jazz Days• Concert of the Slovak Philharmonic–
Reduta• Bratislava Carnival in the city streets
Please, come in
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Rich past of the city is documentedby collections in a number of
museumsand galleries with opportunities to appreciate the skills of
the old masters,as well as meet the contemporary artistsand their
works. Slovak National Galleryis a home to works of local artists,
as wellas gems of European art. Gallery of CityBratislava has its
galleries in several his-toric buildings in the centre of the
OldTown. Apart from these two most impor-tant galleries there is a
number of smallergalleries of modern art.
Most valuable collections of theSlovak National Museum are
presentedin exhibition ”Jewels of the SlovakHistory” held at the
Archaeological mu-seum. Historic Museum has collectionsfrom general
history, history of art andnumismatics. Music Museum docu-ments the
history of Slovak music fromthe earliest days until present. All
exhibi-tions are located in the Bratislava Castle.You will find
here also a Museum ofNatural History, Museum of CarpathianGermans
and others. The City Museumis represented by: History of the City
andFeudal Justice – Old Town Hall, Exhibi-tion of Weapons and Town
Fortifications– Michael’s Tower, Wine and Wine-ma-king exhibition -
Apponyi Palais, Pharma-ceutical exhibition – Pharmacy U červe-ného
raka, Music exhibition – birth placeof J. N. Hummel, Exhibition of
HistoricClocks – dom U dobrého pastiera andmany others.
From left to right:• Exhibition in Mirbach Palais• Historic ”dom
U dobrého pastiera” is
housing the ”Historic ClocksExhibition”
• In gallery Danubiana• Slovak national Gallery• In gallery
Danubiana• Children workshop in the Slovak
national Gallery• Permanent exhibition ”Jewels of the
Slovak History” in the Museum of theBratislava Castle
In a search of beauty
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Visit of historic landmarks will leavevisitors to Bratislava
with some of themost lasting impressions. Among themost interesting
are sacral buildings, re-minders of exceptional historic,
architec-tural and artistic value.
Reconstructed palaises, churches,monasteries and old town houses
are hi-ding artworks of high artistic value.Quite a few artefacts,
which you find inthis city, can not be found elsewhere inthe
world.
In the official parts of the PrimaciálnyPalace the visitors can
delight in a uni-que collection of 6 English tapestriesfrom 17th
century, depicting an ancientlove legend of priestess Héro to
Leandro.
Resting-place of a famous rabbi Cha-tam Sofer is visited every
year by thou-sands of people from all over the world.
Most striking piece of modern archi-tecture is a suspension
bridge, called theNew Bridge on one pylon only, where80 metres high
you will find a restaurantwith panoramic view of the city.
Historic buildings are mixed with mo-dern architecture buildings
of 20th centu-ry, however it is the atmosphere, appre-ciated by
people and visitors of the city,which is the jewel that
prevails.
From left to right:• Héro and Leander (17th century)• Maximilian
Fountain and unique
atmosphere of the Main Square • New Bridge over the Danube
River
connects the historical part of the citywith newly built suburbs
on the rightbank
• Art Deco church of St. Elisabethknown as the Blue Church
• One of the unique busts depictinghuman characters by sculpture
artistF. X. Messerschmidt
• Replica of a chess machine built by J. W. Kempelen
• Mausoleum of the famous Bratislavarabbi Chatam Sofer
Highlights
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Bratislava and it surroundings offernumerous opportunities for
relaxation,whether it is walking tours through park-land,
cycle-tourism along the DanubeRiver dam bicycle route or it is a
visit ofwine cellars along the Small CarpathianWine Route, majestic
Červený Kameňwith exhibition of period furniture andweapons, caves
Driny, pilgrimage placesMarianka and Šaštín and many other pal-ces
of the Small Carpathian or Záhorieregions. Fans of folklore can
visit thebirth-place of famous pottery masterFerdiš Kostka with
pottery exhibition inStupava. Also famous for its pottery
pro-duction dating back to 19th century istown Modra.
For the sport-loving visitors Bratislavahas also a lot to offer.
During the sum-mer a popular relaxation place is a lakeZlaté piesky
or Slnečné jazerá in Senec,only 25 km away. Water-sport complexin
Čunovo with its equipment meets allthe criteria of a world-class
facility. Horseracing has also a long tradition inBratislava.
Tennis clubs have produced anumber of world-class tennis
players.Golfing fans can hit out at a 9-hole golfcourse in the
historic park of Berno-lákovo Manor, 5 km from Bratislava.
From left to right:• Castle Červený kameň• Altar in basilica of
the Virgin Mary in
Šaštín-Stráže • Golf course in Bernolákovo• Fertile vineyards on
the sunny slopes
of the Small Carpathian Range• Water-sport centre in Čunovo•
Bicycle tours around Bratislava• Racecourse in Petržalka
Beyond the city limits
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Restaurants, wine bars, cafeterias andbars in Bratislava offer a
wide selectionof meals and beverages, from the traditi-onal Slovak
dishes through to internatio-nal cuisine. Discovering a city and
acountry can not be complete withouttasting the national dishes in
period stylerestaurants with traditional music or inmodern
restaurants, which offer traditio-nal dishes, as well as modern
internatio-nal fare. Exotic dishes can be found in anumber Chinese
restaurants, or inJapanese and Mexican restaurants.Centre of the
town has a plethora of ca-feterias, wine bars and beer halls
whereyou can enjoy a cup of coffee, glass ofwine or beer and soak
up the atmosphe-re of Bratislava during the day or night.
And you may get surprised by the re-markable hospitality of the
people ofBratislava
From left to right:• In mediaeval style ...• Autumn specialities
of Bratislava
kitchen • Pleasant cafeteria ambience • One of the landmarks of
the city
centre is a luxury hotel • Wine tasting along the Small
Carpathian Wine Route • Diverse culinary offer • Full cafeterias
and terraces in the Old
Town
Thousands tastes...
