MANCAMONDO

Eastern
Europe

Slovak Republic

BRATISLAVA

Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic
(Slovak: Slovenská republika), 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 southwest, and the Czech Republic to the northwest.

The capital and largest city is Bratislava, while the second largest city is Košice.

Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia at the foot of the Little Carpathians, occupying both banks of the River Danube and the left bank of the River Morava.

Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two sovereign states.

The city's history has been influenced by people of many nations and religions, including Austrians, Bulgarians, Croats, Czechs, Germans, Hungarians, Jews, Serbs and Slovaks.

Today Bratislava is the political, cultural and economic centre of Slovakia. It is the seat of the Slovak president, the parliament and the Slovak Executive.

The Old Town of Bratislava (Slovak: Staré Mesto, Hungarian: Óváros, German: Altstadt) is the historic center and one of the boroughs of Bratislava

Old Town Hall (Slovak: Stará radnica, Hungarian: Régi városháza) is a complex of buildings from the 14th century.

It is the oldest city hall in the country and it is one of the oldest stone buildings still standing in Bratislava, with the tower being built approximately in 1370.

Hlavné námestie (literally "Main Square") is one of the most well known squares in Bratislava.

The Old Town of Bratislava (Slovak: Staré Mesto, Hungarian: Óváros, German: Altstadt), september 2021.

The Church of St. Elizabeth (Slovak: Kostol svätej Alžbety, Hungarian: Szent Erzsébet templom),
commonly known as Blue Church (Modrý kostolík, Kék templom), is a Hungarian Secessionist
(Jugendstil, Art Nouveau) Catholic church located in the eastern part of the Old Town in Bratislava.

It is consecrated to Elisabeth of Hungary, daughter of Andrew II, who grew up in the Pressburg Castle (Pozsonyi vár). It is referred to as
"The Little Blue Church" because of the colour of its façade, mosaics, majolicas and blue-glazed roof.

It was initially part of the neighboring gymnázium (high school) and served as the school chapel.

The one-nave church was built in 1908-1913, four years after the plans of Ödön Lechner to build a church in the Hungarian Art Nouveau style.

The interior is richly decorated with altarpieces. On the altar there is an illustration of St Elizabeth, depicted giving alms to the poor.

The Old Town of Bratislava (Slovak: Staré Mesto, Hungarian: Óváros, German: Altstadt), september 2021.

The St Martin's Cathedral (Slovak: Katedrála svätého Martina, Hungarian: Szent Márton-dóm or
Koronázó templom, German: Kathedrale des Heiligen Martin) is a church in Bratislava.

The St Martin's Cathedral is situated at the western border of the historical city center below Bratislava Castle.

It is the largest and one of the oldest churches in Bratislava, known especially for
being the coronation church of the Kingdom of Hungary between 1563 and 1830.

The nave of the structure consists of three aisles divided by two rows of eight columns.

Together with the castle on the hill adjacent, and somewhat similar in its striking, but fairly stark
Gothic lines and colouring, St Martin's 85 m (279 ft) spire dominates Old Town's skyline.

The tower virtually formed a part of the town's fortifications, built as it was into the city's defensive walls.

Most SNP ("Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising"), commonly referred to as Most Slovenského národného povstania
or the UFO Bridge, and named Nový most ("New Bridge") from 1993 to 2012, is a road bridge over the Danube in Bratislava.

Most SNP is the world's longest bridge to have one pylon and one cable-stayed plane.

One of the most prominent structures in the city is Bratislava Castle, situated on a plateau 85 metres above the Danube.

The castle hill site has been inhabited since the transitional period between the Stone and Bronze ages and
has been the acropolis of a Celtic town, part of the Roman limes Romanus, a huge Slavic fortified
settlement, and a political, military and religious centre for Great Moravia.

Devín Castle Devínsky hrad Bratislava Slovakia september 2021

Devín Castle (Slovak: hrad Devín or Devínsky hrad, Hungarian: Dévényi vár, German: Burg Theben) is a castle in Devín, which is a borough of Bratislava.
View of the Maiden Tower above the confluence of Danube and Morava rivers.

The site has been settled since the Neolithic Age and fortified since the Bronze and Iron Age and later by Celts and Romans.

The castle stands just inside Slovak territory on the frontier between Slovakia and Austria.

The border runs from west to east along the Morava River and subsequently the Danube.

The cliff (elevation 212 meters) is an ideal place for a fort due to its position at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers.

The fort watches over an important trade route along the Danube as well as one branch of the Amber Road.

Although the castle was open to the public, the area surrounding it constituted a restricted military zone and was heavily fortified with watchtowers and barbed wire.

Inside the castle is a sprawling landscape of walls, staircases, open courtyards, and gardens in various states of disrepair.

The name of the castle is probably derived from the old Indo-European/Proto-Slavic stem *deiv- with apophony *doiv- related to light and visual perception.

Devín Castle Devínsky hrad, Burg Theben, Devín borough of Bratislava, september 2021.

Devín castle is one of the oldest castles in Slovakia.