Bratislava

It was a beautiful autumn day in Bratislava.  We arrived in the morning and spent the day in this Slovakian town.  The tour we signed up for was the "active" tour which meant that on top of touring the Old Town, we ascended the hill up to the castle. Because we went up to the castle, we didn't see as much of the Old Town as the other groups did, but we had decided that we could see what wasn't covered in the tour after lunch.

Bratislava Castle

Photo by Dušan veverkolog on Unsplash

 

Bratislava Castle, like many castles, sits on a hill, high above the town with the river below.  The castle dates back to the 9th century during which time it was likely a Slavic fortification. From the 11th century it became a royal residence and a military stronghold. Over the years the castle underwent some grand transformations along with some architectural additions and fortifications. A fire in 1811 devastated the castle and left it in ruins for more than a century.  Restoration efforts began in the 1950s, and after decades of work, the castle was fully restored by 2000.

Our guide took us through the castle walls, where there were some great views of the town below. The interior of the castle houses a museum, but as that wasn't on our itinerary for the day, we had to settle for staying outside. We were able to wander through the gardens for a few minutes, getting as many pictures as we could, before descending again, into the town.

Hviezdoslavovo Square and Slovak National Theatre 

This square was quite beautiful and is the largest square in the Old Town. It is named after the man who's statue is at the center of the square, PavolOrszagh-Hviezdoslav and dates back to the Hungarian Empire.

St. Martin's Cathedral

St. Martin's is one of the oldest churches in Bratislava.  It is known for being the  corontation place of the Kingdom of Hungary between 1563 and 1830. It held 19 coronations and Queen Maria Theresa was one of the crowned people.

Whimsical Sculptures

There were several sculptures around the town. The funniest was the man coming up out of a manhole with a grin on his face as if he is trying to look up ladies' skirts.

 

UFO Bridge

Photo by Martin Katler on Unsplash

The boat was tied up close to the Most SNP bridge so we had a lot of opportunity to check this bridge out throughout the day.  It has the nickname of UFO for obvious reasons - the observation tower looks like a flying saucer. 

Michael's Gate

Michael's Gate is the only city gate that has been preserved from the medieval fortification. Built in the 1300's, it is one of the town's oldest buildings. John, Son #1 and Son #2 climbed the tower where they were able to get some great pictures of the town below.

We enjoyed our day in Bratislava. It certainly was a cool stop and interesting to hear the history behind the town.