Bratislava — Castle

Like many European cities, Bratislava was built by the Danube and the castle is on high ground overlooking the river, thereby controlling passage. In those days rivers were the main transportation routes.

There is a bus route going up to the castle but I didn't get off in time as I was under the impression that it was at the peak. So I decided to walk down instead of catching the downhill bus. It was a pleasant walk as this is a pleasant part of Bratislava, home to many expensive houses, and consulates.

Incidentally, the National Council of Slovakia, government offices, is just outside the castle. It was a lovely autumn day, a cool 20° or so.

Bratislava Castle stands on a rocky hill overlooking the Danube to the south of it. The castle has a long history going back to Roman times, and the hill has been used even longer, perhaps for a couple of thousand years before Christ. But what you see is reconstructed because incredibly, the castle was left in ruins between 1811 and 1953 after a fire.

This is the main entrance.

The equestrian statue is of Svatopluk I of Moravia who ruled in the late 9th century.

This is the most well preserved of the 4 gates, the Sigismund Gate.

Adjacent to the castle to the west is the Hillebrandt building, which houses amongst other things, exhibition galleries and a restaurant. At the end of my visit I found an exhibition of stunning photos from a professional photographer who had visited many exotic locations in the world. I was tempted to buy a coffee table book or even a postcard, but decided just to leave with memories. But as you can see I can't even remember the photographer's name.

The inside of the castle is not terribly photogenic, as it's quite regular. The Castle Museum of History is housed here but I wasn't interested enough to pay for a ticket.

From the site one can see Austria (Bratislava is only a few km from Austria, and only 50 km from Vienna). It's a capital city that's at a national border. But I couldn't tell you where the border starts in the photo, and anyway today it's an uncheckpointed EU internal border.

It's said to be possible to see Hungary on a clear day about 20 km to the south-east.

St. Martin's Cathedral which is on the other side of the highway that continues onto the bridge in the next photo.

The Most SNP but often called the UFO Bridge because of the restaurant on top of the pylons. Maybe I should have visited it to have a good view of the city.

A cruise boat near the docks. I would get to visit that area later that day.

Lots of tourists milling around, some waiting their turn to take a picture without strangers in the frame.

I took myself to the east side of the castle where there is a formal garden.

More open space in the lower section.

The northern wall of the castle.

One last look at Svatopluk before catching the bus down to the old city.

That was a pleasant visit with good views of the landscape.