text: bratislava bratislava ( / / or / / ; slovak pronunciation : [ ] ; also known by other names ) is the capital of slovakia , and with a population of about 450 , 000 , the country 's largest city . the greater metropolitan area is home to more than 650 , 000 people . bratislava is in southwestern slovakia , 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 independent countries . bratislava is the political , cultural and economic centre of slovakia . it is the seat of the slovak president , the parliament and the slovak executive . it is home to several universities , museums , theatres , galleries and other important cultural and educational institutions . many of slovakia 's large businesses and financial institutions also have headquarters there . the history of the city has been strongly influenced by people of different nations and religions , namely by austrians , croats , czechs , germans , hungarians , jews , serbs and slovaks ( in alphabetical order ) . the city was the capital of the kingdom of hungary , a part of the larger habsburg monarchy territories , from 1536 to 1783 and has been home to many slovak , hungarian and german historical figures . etymology the city received its contemporary name in 1919 . beforehand it was mostly known in english by its german name , pressburg , as it was long dominated by austrians and other german - speakers . this is the term which the german , the pre - 1919 slovak ( ) and czech ( ) names are derived from . the origin of the city 's hungarian name , pozsony , is unclear : it might come from the hungarian poson ( name of the city 's first castellan ) , the czech pos or the german , which are personal names . hungarian speakers still use the hungarian name , pozsony . the medieval settlement brezalauspurc ( literally : braslav 's castle ) is sometimes attributed to bratislava , however the actual location of brezalauspurc is under scholarly debate . the city 's modern name is credited to pavel jozef 's misinterpretation of braslav as bratislav when analyzing medieval sources , thus coming up with the term , later bratislav . during the revolution of 1918 – 1919 , the name ' ' or ' ' ( after president woodrow wilson ) was proposed by american slovaks , as he supported national self - determination . the name bratislava , which was used before only by some slovak patriots , became official in march 1919 . other alternative names of the city in the past include greek : ( meaning " danube city " , also used in latin ) , czech : , french : , italian : , latin : , romanian : and serbo - croatian : / . the name pressburg was also used in english - language publications until 1919 , and it is occasionally used today . in older documents , confusion can be caused by the latin forms , etc . , which refer to wrocław , poland – not to bratislava . history the first known permanent settlement of the area began with the linear pottery culture , around 5000 bc in the neolithic era . about 200 bc , the celtic tribe founded the first significant settlement , a fortified town known as an oppidum . they also established a mint , producing silver coins known as . the area fell under roman influence from the 1st to the 4th century ad and was made part of the danubian limes , a border defence system . the romans introduced grape growing to the area and began a tradition of winemaking , which survives to the present . the slavs arrived from the east between the 5th and 6th centuries during the migration period . as a response to onslaughts by avars , the local slavic tribes rebelled and established samo 's empire ( 623 – 658 ) , the first known slavic political entity . in the 9th century , the castles at bratislava ( brezalauspurc ) and devín ( ) were important centres of the slavic states : the principality of nitra and great moravia . scholars have debated the identification as fortresses of the two castles built in great moravia , based on linguistic arguments and because of the absence of convincing archaeological evidence . the first written reference to a settlement named " brezalauspurc " dates to 907 and is related to the battle of pressburg , during which a bavarian army was defeated by the hungarians . it is connected to the fall of great moravia , already weakened by its own inner decline and under the attacks of the hungarians . the exact location of the battle remains unknown , and some interpretations place it west of lake balaton . in the 10th century , the territory of pressburg ( what would later become pozsony county ) became part of hungary ( called " the kingdom of hungary " from 1000 ) . it developed as a key economic and administrative centre on the kingdom 's frontier . this strategic position destined the city to be the site of frequent attacks and battles , but also brought it economic development and high political status . it was granted its first known " town privileges " in 1291 by the hungarian king andrew iii , and was declared a free royal town in 1405 by king sigismund . in 1436 he authorized the town to use its own coat of arms . the kingdom of hungary was defeated by the ottoman empire in the battle of mohács in 1526 . the turks besieged and damaged pressburg , but failed to conquer it . owing to ottoman advances into hungarian territory , the city was designated the new capital of hungary in 1536 , becoming part of the austrian habsburg monarchy and marking the beginning of a new era . the city became a coronation town and the seat of kings , archbishops ( 1543 ) , the nobility and all major organisations and offices . between 1536 and 1830 , eleven hungarian kings and queens were crowned at st. martin 's cathedral . the 17th century was marked by anti - habsburg uprisings , fighting with the turks , floods , plagues and other disasters , which diminished the population . pressburg flourished during the 18th - century reign of queen maria theresa , becoming the largest and most important town in hungary . the population tripled ; many new palaces , monasteries , mansions , and streets were built , and the city was the centre of social and cultural life of the region . wolfgang amadeus mozart gave a concert in 1762 in the pálffy palace . joseph haydn performed in 1784 in the palace . ludwig van beethoven was a guest in 1796 in the palace . the city started to lose its importance under the reign of maria theresa 's son joseph ii , especially after the crown jewels were taken to vienna in 1783 in an attempt to strengthen the union between austria and hungary . many central offices subsequently moved to buda , followed by a large segment of the nobility . the first newspapers in hungarian and slovak were published here : magyar in 1780 , and nowiny in 1783 . in the course of the 18th century , the city became a centre for the slovak national movement . the city 's 19th - century history was closely tied to the major events in europe . the peace of pressburg between austria and france was signed here in 1805 . castle was ruined by napoleon 's french troops during an invasion of 1809 . in 1825 the hungarian national learned society ( the present hungarian academy of sciences ) was founded in pressburg using a donation from istván széchenyi . in 1843 hungarian was proclaimed the official language in legislation , public administration and education by the diet in the city . as a reaction to the revolutions of 1848 , ferdinand v signed the so - called april laws , which included the abolition of serfdom , at the primate 's palace . the city chose the revolutionary hungarian side , but was captured by the austrians in december 1848 . industry developed rapidly in the 19th century . the first horse - drawn railway in the kingdom of hungary , from pressburg to svätý , was built in 1840 . a new line to vienna using steam locomotives was opened in 1848 , and a line to pest in 1850 . many new industrial , financial and other institutions were founded ; for example , the first bank in present - day slovakia was founded in 1842 . the city 's first permanent bridge over the danube , starý most , was built in 1891 . before world war i , the city had a population that was 42 % ethnic german , 41 % hungarian and 15 % slovak ( 1910 census ) . after world war i and the formation of czechoslovakia on october 28 , 1918 , the city was incorporated into the new state despite its representatives ' reluctance . the dominant hungarian and german population tried to prevent annexation of the city to czechoslovakia and declared it a free city . however , the czechoslovak legions occupied the city on january 1 , 1919 , and made it part of czechoslovakia . the city became the seat of slovakia 's political organs and organizations and became slovakia 's capital on 4 february . on february 12 , 1919 the german and hungarian population started a protest against the czechoslovak occupation , but the czechoslovak legions opened fire on the unarmed demonstrators . on march 27 , 1919 , the name bratislava was officially adopted for the first time . left without any protection after the retreat of the hungarian army , many hungarians were expelled or fled . czechs and slovaks moved their households to bratislava . education in hungarian and german was radically reduced in the city . by the 1930 czechoslovakian census , the hungarian population of bratislava had decreased to 15 . 8 % ( see the demographics of bratislava article for more details ) . in 1938 , nazi germany annexed neighbouring austria in the anschluss ; later that year it also annexed the still - separate from bratislava petržalka and devín boroughs on ethnic grounds , as these had many ethnic germans . bratislava was declared the capital of the first independent slovak republic on march 14 , 1939 , but the new state quickly fell under nazi influence . in 1941 – 1942 and 1944 – 1945 , the new slovak government cooperated in deporting most of bratislava 's approximately 15 , 000 jews ; they were transported to concentration camps , where most were killed or died before the end of the war . bratislava was bombarded by the allies , occupied by german troops in 1944 , and eventually taken by troops of the soviet 2nd ukrainian front on 4 april 1945 . at the end of world war ii , most of bratislava 's ethnic germans were helped to evacuate by the german authorities . a few returned after the war , but were soon expelled without their properties under the beneš decrees , part of a widespread expulsion of ethnic germans from eastern europe . after the communist party seized power in czechoslovakia in february 1948 , the city became part of the eastern bloc . the city annexed new land , and the population rose significantly , becoming 90 % slovak . large residential areas consisting of high - rise prefabricated panel buildings , such as those in the petržalka borough , were built . the communist government also built several new grandiose buildings , such as the most bridge and the slovak radio headquarters . in 1968 , after the unsuccessful czechoslovak attempt to liberalise the communist regime , the city was occupied by warsaw pact troops . shortly thereafter , it became capital of the slovak socialist republic , one of the two states of the federalized czechoslovakia . bratislava 's dissidents anticipated the fall of communism with the bratislava candle demonstration in 1988 , and the city became one of the foremost centres of the anti - communist velvet revolution in 1989 . in 1993 , the city became the capital of the newly formed slovak republic following the velvet divorce . in the 1990s and the early 21st century , its economy boomed due to foreign investment . the city has also hosted several important cultural and political events . geography bratislava is situated in south - western slovakia , within the bratislava region . its location on the borders with austria and hungary makes it the only national capital that borders two countries . it is only 62 kilometres ( 38 . 5 mi ) from the border with the czech republic and only 60 kilometres ( 37 . 3 mi ) from the austrian capital vienna . the city has a total area of 367 . 58 square kilometres ( 141 . 9 sq mi ) , making it the second - largest city in slovakia by area ( after the township of vysoké tatry ) . bratislava straddles the danube river , which it had developed around and for centuries was the chief transportation route to other areas . the river passes through the city from the west to the south - east . the middle danube basin begins at devín gate in western bratislava . other rivers are the morava river , which forms the north - western border of the city and enters the danube at devín , the little danube , and the , which enters the danube in the borough of ves . the carpathian mountain range begins in city territory with the little carpathians ( karpaty ) . the and danubian lowlands stretch into bratislava . the city 's lowest point is at the danube 's surface at 126 metres ( 413 ft ) above mean sea level , and the highest point is at 514 metres ( 1 , 686 ft ) . the average altitude is 140 metres ( 460 ft ) . climate bratislava lies in the north temperate zone and has a moderately continental climate ( original / us köppen – geiger climate classification cfb / dfb , trewartha climate classification , usda plant hardiness zone 7b ) with mean annual temperature ( 1990 – 2009 ) of around 10 . 5 ° c ( 50 . 9 ° f ) , average temperature of 21 ° c ( 70 ° f ) in the warmest month and − 1 ° c ( 30 ° f ) in the coldest month , four distinct seasons and precipitation spread rather evenly throughout the year . it is often windy with a marked variation between hot summers and cold , humid winters . the city is in one of the warmest and driest parts of slovakia . recently , the transitions from winter to summer and summer to winter have been rapid , with short autumn and spring periods . snow occurs less frequently than previously . extreme temperatures ( 1981 – 2013 ) – record high : 39 . 4 ° c ( 102 . 9 ° f ) , record low : − 24 . 6 ° c ( − 12 . 3 ° f ) . some areas , particularly devín and nová ves , are vulnerable to floods from the danube and morava rivers . new flood protection has been built on both banks . location cityscape and architecture the cityscape of bratislava is characterised by medieval towers and grandiose 20th - century buildings , but it has undergone profound changes in a construction boom at the start of the 21st century . most historical buildings are concentrated in the old town . bratislava 's town hall is a complex of three buildings erected in the 14th – 15th centuries and now hosts the bratislava city museum . michael 's gate is the only gate that has been preserved from the medieval fortifications , and it ranks among the oldest of the town 's buildings ; the narrowest house in europe is nearby . the university library building , erected in 1756 , was used by the diet of the kingdom of hungary from 1802 to 1848 . much of the significant legislation of the hungarian reform era ( such as the abolition of serfdom and the foundation of the hungarian academy of sciences ) was enacted there . the historic centre is characterised by many baroque palaces . the palace , built around 1760 , is now the residence of the slovak president , and the slovak government now has its seat in the former palace . in 1805 , diplomats of emperors napoleon and francis ii signed the fourth peace of pressburg in the primate 's palace , after napoleon 's victory in the battle of austerlitz . some smaller houses are historically significant ; composer johann nepomuk hummel was born in an 18th - century house in the old town . notable cathedrals and churches include the gothic st. martin 's cathedral built in the 13th – 16th centuries , which served as the coronation church of the kingdom of hungary between 1563 and 1830 . the franciscan church , dating to the 13th century , has been a place of knighting ceremonies and is the oldest preserved sacral building in the city . the church of st. elizabeth , better known as the blue church due to its colour , is built entirely in the hungarian secessionist style . a curiosity is the underground ( formerly ground - level ) restored portion of the jewish cemetery where 19th - century rabbi moses is buried , located at the base of the castle hill near the entrance to a tram tunnel . the only military cemetery in bratislava is , unveiled in 1960 in honour of soviet army soldiers who fell during the liberation of bratislava in april 1945 . it offers an excellent view of the city and the little carpathians . other prominent 20th - century structures include the most ( bridge of the slovak national uprising ) across the danube featuring a ufo - like tower restaurant , slovak radio 's inverted - pyramid - shaped headquarters , and the uniquely designed tv tower with an observation deck and rotating restaurant . in the early 21st century , new edifices have transformed the traditional cityscape . the construction boom has spawned new public buildings , such as the most apollo and a new building of the slovak national theatre , as well as private real - estate development . bratislava castle one of the most prominent structures in the city is bratislava castle , situated on a plateau 85 metres ( 279 ft ) 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 . a stone castle was not constructed until the 10th century , when the area was part of the kingdom of hungary . the castle was converted into a gothic anti - hussite fortress under sigismund of luxemburg in 1430 , became a renaissance castle in 1562 , and was rebuilt in 1649 in the baroque style . under queen maria theresa , the castle became a prestigious royal seat . in 1811 , the castle was inadvertently destroyed by fire and lay in ruins until the 1950s , when it was rebuilt mostly in its former theresian style . devín castle the ruined and recently renovated devín castle is in the borough of devín , on top of a rock where the morava river , which forms the border between austria and slovakia , enters the danube . it is one of the most important slovak archaeological sites and contains a museum dedicated to its history . due to its strategic location , devín castle was a very important frontier castle of great moravia and the early hungarian state . it was destroyed by napoleon 's troops in 1809 . it is an important symbol of slovak and slavic history . rusovce rusovce mansion , with its english park , is in the rusovce borough . the house was originally built in the 17th century and was turned into an english neo - gothic - style mansion in 1841 – 1844 . the borough is also known for the ruins of the roman military camp , part of limes romanus , a border defence system . was built and used between the 1st and 4th centuries ad . parks and lakes due to its location in the foothills of the little carpathians and its riparian vegetation on the danubian floodplains , bratislava has forests close to the city centre . the total amount of public green space is 46 . 8 square kilometres ( 18 . 1 sq mi ) , or 110 square metres ( 1 , 200 sq ft ) per inhabitant . the largest city park is park ( literally , mountainous park ) , in the old town . park ( bratislava forest park ) is located in the little carpathians and includes many locales popular among visitors , such as and . the forest park covers an area of 27 . 3 square kilometres ( 10 . 5 sq mi ) , of which 96 % is forested mostly with oak and mixed oak / hornbeam forest , and contains original flora and fauna such as european badgers , red foxes , wild boar and red and roe deer . on the right bank of the danube , in the borough of petržalka , is janko park founded in 1774 – 76 . a new city park is planned for petržalka between the and veľký lakes . bratislava 's zoological park is located in , near the headquarters of slovak television . the zoo , founded in 1960 , currently houses 152 species of animals , including the rare white lion and white tiger . the botanical gardens , which belong to comenius university , can be found on the danube riverfront and house more than 120 species of domestic and foreign origin . the city has a number of natural and man - made lakes , most of which are used for recreation . examples include lake in ružinov , in nové mesto , and the lakes in the north - east , and rusovce lake in the south , which is popular with nudists . demographics from the city 's origin until the 19th century , germans were the dominant ethnic group . however , after the austro - hungarian compromise of 1867 , active magyarisation took place , and by the end of world war i 40 % of the population of pressburg spoke hungarian as their native language , 42 % german , and 15 % slovak . after the formation of the czechoslovak republic in 1918 , bratislava remained a multi - ethnic city , but with a different demographic trend . due to , the proportion of slovaks and czechs increased in the city , while the proportion of germans and hungarians fell . in 1938 , 59 % of population were slovaks or czechs , while germans represented 22 % and hungarians 13 % of the city 's population . the creation of the first slovak republic in 1939 brought other changes , most notably the expulsion of many czechs and the deportation or flight of the jews during the holocaust . in 1945 , most of the germans were evacuated . after the restoration of czechoslovakia , the beneš decrees ( partly revoked in 1948 ) collectively punished ethnic german and hungarian minorities by expropriation and deportation to germany , austria , and hungary for their alleged collaborationism with nazi germany and hungary against czechoslovakia . the city thereby obtained its clearly slovak character . hundreds of citizens were expelled during the communist oppression of the 1950s , with the aim of replacing " reactionary " people with the proletarian class . since the 1950s , the slovaks have been the dominant ethnicity in the town , making up around 90 % of the city 's population . politics bratislava is the seat of the slovak parliament , presidency , ministries , supreme court ( slovak : ) , and central bank . it is the seat of the bratislava region and , since 2002 , also of the bratislava self - governing region . the city also has many foreign embassies and consulates . the current local government ( mestská ) structure has been in place since 1990 . it is composed of a mayor ( ) , a city board ( mestská rada ) , a city council ( ) , city commissions ( ) , and a city magistrate 's office ( ) . the mayor , based at the primate 's palace , is the city 's top executive officer and is elected to a four - year term of office . the current mayor of bratislava is ivo , who won the election held on november 15 , 2014 as an independent candidate . the city council is the city 's legislative body , responsible for issues such as budget , local ordinances , city planning , road maintenance , education , and culture . the council usually convenes once a month and consists of 45 members elected to four - year terms concurrent with the mayor 's . many of the council 's executive functions are carried out by the city commission at the council 's direction . the city board is a 28 - member body composed of the mayor and his deputies , the borough mayors , and up to ten city council members . the board is an executive and supervisory arm of the city council and also serves in an advisory role to the mayor . administratively , bratislava is divided into five districts : bratislava i ( the city centre ) , bratislava ii ( eastern parts ) , bratislava iii ( north - eastern parts ) , bratislava iv ( western and northern parts ) and bratislava v ( southern parts on the right bank of the danube , including petržalka , the most densely populated residential area in central europe ) . for self - governance purposes , the city is divided into 17 boroughs , each of which has its own mayor ( starosta ) and council . the number of councillors in each depends on the size and population of the borough . each of the boroughs coincides with the city 's 20 cadastral areas , except for two cases : nové mesto is further divided into the nové mesto and vinohrady cadastral areas and ružinov is divided into ružinov , nivy and . further unofficial division recognizes additional quarters and localities . economy the bratislava region is the wealthiest and most economically prosperous region in slovakia , despite being the smallest by area and having the second smallest population of the eight slovak regions . it accounts for about 26 % of the slovak gdp . the gdp per capita ( ppp ) , valued at € 41 , 800 ( 2009 ) , is 178 % of the eu average and is the fifth - highest of all regions in the eu member states . the average gross monthly salary in the bratislava region in 2011 was € 1220 . the unemployment rate in bratislava was 1 . 83 % in december 2007 . many governmental institutions and private companies have their headquarters in bratislava . more than 75 % of bratislava 's population works in the service sector , mainly composed of trade , banking , it , telecommunications , and tourism . the bratislava stock exchange ( ) , the organiser of the public securities market , was founded on march 15 , 1991 . companies with the highest value added according to top 200 ranking ( 2011 ) , operating predominantly in bratislava , include the volkswagen bratislava plant , slovnaft refinery ( mol ) , ( software developer ) , ( software company ) , ppc power ( producer of heat and steam ) and personnel agency . volkswagen group took over and expanded the communist - built factory in 1991 , and has since considerably expanded production beyond original skoda auto models . currently , 68 % of production is focused on suvs : audi ; vw ; as well as the body and under - chassis of the porsche cayenne . since 2012 , production has also included volkswagen up ! and badge - engineered seat mii and skoda . in recent years , service and high - tech - oriented businesses have prospered in bratislava . many global companies , including ibm , dell , lenovo , at & t , sap , and accenture , have built outsourcing and service centres here or plan to do so soon . reasons for the influx of multi - national corporations include proximity to western europe , skilled labour force and the high density of universities and research facilities . other large companies and employers with headquarters in bratislava include slovak telekom , orange , , tatra banka , , hewlett - packard slovakia , slovnaft , henkel , , kraft foods slovakia , whirlpool slovakia , , and tesco stores slovak republic . the slovak economy 's strong growth in the 2000s has led to a boom in the construction industry , and several major projects have been completed or are planned in bratislava . areas attracting developers include the danube riverfront , where two major projects are already finished : river park in the old town , and near the apollo bridge . other locations under development include the areas around the main railway and bus stations , around the former industrial zone near the old town and in the boroughs of petržalka , nové mesto and ružinov . it is expected that investors will spend € 1 . 2 billion on new projects by 2010 . the city has a balanced budget of 277 million euros ( as of 2010 ) , with one fifth used for investment . bratislava holds shares in 17 companies directly , for example , in the public transport company ( bratislava ) , the waste collection and disposal company , and the water utility . the city also manages municipal organisations such as the city police ( mestská ) , bratislava city museum and bratislava . tourism for the list of sights in the city , see cityscape and architecture above . in 2006 , bratislava had 77 commercial accommodation facilities ( of which 45 were hotels ) with a total capacity of 9 , 940 beds . a total of 986 , 201 visitors , 754 , 870 of whom were foreigners , stayed overnight . altogether , visitors made 1 , 338 , 497 overnight stays . however , a considerable share of visits is made by those who visit bratislava for a single day , and their exact number is not known . the largest numbers of foreign visitors come from the czech republic , germany , the united kingdom , italy , poland and austria . among other factors , the growth of low - cost airline flights to bratislava , led by ryanair , has led to conspicuous stag parties , primarily from the uk . while these are a boon to the city 's tourism industry , cultural differences and vandalism have led to concern by local officials . reflecting the popularity of rowdy parties in bratislava in the early to mid - 2000s , the city was a setting in the 2004 comedy film , which was actually filmed in the city and suburbs of prague , the czech republic . culture bratislava is the cultural heart of slovakia . owing to its historical multi - cultural character , local culture is influenced by various ethnic and religious groups , including germans , slovaks , hungarians , and jews . bratislava enjoys numerous theatres , museums , galleries , concert halls , cinemas , film clubs , and foreign cultural institutions . performing arts bratislava is the seat of the slovak national theatre , housed in two buildings . the first is a neo - renaissance theatre building situated in the old town at the end of square . the new building , opened to the public in 2007 , is on the riverfront . the theatre has three ensembles : opera , ballet and drama . smaller theatres include the bratislava puppet theatre , the ' 90 theatre , the arena theatre , l + s studio , and the naive theatre of . music in bratislava flourished in the 18th century and was closely linked to viennese musical life . mozart visited the town at the age of six . among other notable composers who visited or lived in the town were haydn , liszt , bartók and beethoven . it is also the birthplace of the composers johann nepomuk hummel , and franz schmidt . bratislava is home to both the slovak philharmonic orchestra and the chamber orchestra , capella . the city hosts several annual festivals , such as the bratislava music festival and bratislava jazz days . the festival , held annually since 2000 , brings dozens of international musical acts to the city each year . during the summer , various musical events take place as part of the bratislava cultural summer at bratislava castle . apart from musical festivals , it is possible to hear music ranging from underground to well known pop stars . museums and galleries the slovak national museum ( ) , founded in 1961 , has its headquarters in bratislava on the riverfront in the old town , along with the natural history museum , which is one of its subdivisions . it is the largest cultural institution in slovakia , and manages 16 specialised museums in bratislava and beyond . the bratislava city museum ( ) , established in 1868 , is the oldest museum in continuous operation in slovakia . its primary goal is to chronicle bratislava 's history in various forms from the earliest periods using historical and archaeological collections . it offers permanent displays in eight specialised museums . the slovak national gallery , founded in 1948 , offers the most extensive network of galleries in slovakia . two displays in bratislava are next to one another at esterházy palace ( palác , palota ) and the water barracks ( , ) on the danube riverfront in the old town . the bratislava city gallery , founded in 1961 , is the second - largest slovak gallery of its kind . the gallery offers permanent displays at pálffy palace ( palác , pálffy palota ) and mirbach palace ( palác , mirbach palota ) , in the old town . art museum , one of the youngest art museums in europe , is near waterworks . media as the national capital , bratislava is home to national and many local media outlets . notable tv stations based in the city include slovak television ( televízia ) , , and . slovak radio ( ) has its seat in the centre , and many slovak commercial radio stations are based in the city . national newspapers based in bratislava include sme , pravda , , noviny and the english - language the slovak spectator . two news agencies are headquartered there : the news agency of the slovak republic ( ) and the slovak news agency ( sita ) . sport various sports and sports teams have a long tradition in bratislava , with many teams and individuals competing in slovak and international leagues and competitions . football is currently represented by the only club playing in the top slovak football league , the fortuna liga . šk slovan bratislava , founded in 1919 , has its home ground at the pasienky stadium . šk slovan is the most successful football club in slovak history , being the only club from the former czechoslovakia to win the european football competition the cup winners ' cup , in 1969 . fc petržalka is the oldest of bratislava 's football clubs , founded in 1898 , and is based at stadium fc petržalka 1898 in petržalka ( formerly at pasienky in nové mesto and petržalka in petržalka ) . they are currently the only slovak team to win at least one match in the uefa champions league group stage , with a 5 – 0 win over celtic fc in the qualifying round being the most well - known , alongside a 3 – 2 win over fc porto . before then fc košice in the 1997 – 98 season lost all six matches , despite being the first slovak side since independence to play in the competition . in 2010 were relegated from the liga under their new name of mfk petržalka , finishing 12th and bottom . fc petržalka currently competes in 5 . liga after bankruptcy in summer 2014 . another known club from the city is fk inter bratislava . founded in 1945 , they have their home ground at stadium škp inter dúbravka in dúbravka , ( formerly at pasienky ) and currently plays in the 3 . liga . there are many more clubs with long tradition and successful history despite the lack of success in last years , e.g. lp domino bratislava currently playing in 4 . liga ; fk rača bratislava competing in the 3 . liga as well as inter ; fk škp inter dúbravka bratislava , following škp devín ( successful team from 1990s ) and partially following the original inter ( original inter bankrupted in 2009 , sold the liga license to fk and legally merged with fc škp dúbravka ; current inter has taken over the tradition , name , colours , fans etc . , but legally is no successor of the original inter ) ; fc devín , the club that was successful mostly at youth level and merged with škp bratislava in 1995 ; iskra petržalka , playing under the name šk iskra bratislava in the former 1st league ( today 2nd ) in 1997 / 98 . bratislava is home to three winter sports arenas : ondrej winter sports stadium , v. dzurilla winter sports stadium , and dúbravka winter sports stadium . the hc slovan bratislava ice hockey team represents bratislava from 2012 / 2013 season in kontinental hockey league . slovnaft arena , a part of ondrej winter sports stadium , is home to hc slovan . the ice hockey world championships in 1959 and 1992 were played in bratislava , and the 2011 men 's ice hockey world championships were held in bratislava and košice , for which a new arena was built . the water sports centre is a whitewater slalom and rafting area , close to the dam . it hosts several international and national canoe and kayak competitions annually . the national tennis centre , which includes aegon arena , hosts various cultural , sporting and social events . several davis cup matches have been played there , including the 2005 davis cup final . the city is represented in the top slovak leagues in women 's and men 's basketball , women 's handball and volleyball , and men 's water polo . the devín – bratislava national run is the oldest athletic event in slovakia , and the bratislava city marathon has been held annually since 2006 . a race track is located in petržalka , where horse racing and dog racing events and dog shows are held regularly . bratislava is also the centre of rugby union in slovakia . education and science the first university in bratislava , in the kingdom of hungary ( and also in the territory of present - day slovakia ) was universitas , founded in 1465 by king matthias corvinus . it was closed in 1490 after his death . bratislava is the seat of the largest university ( comenius university , 27 , 771 students ) , the largest technical university ( slovak university of technology , 18 , 473 students ) , and the oldest art schools ( the academy of performing arts and the academy of fine arts and design ) in slovakia . other institutions of tertiary education are the public university of economics and the first private college in slovakia , city university of seattle . in total , about 56 , 000 students attend university in bratislava . there are 65 public primary schools , nine private primary schools and ten religious primary schools . overall , they enroll 25 , 821 pupils . the city 's system of secondary education ( some middle schools and all high schools ) consists of 39 gymnasia with 16 , 048 students , 37 specialized high schools with 10 , 373 students , and 27 vocational schools with 8 , 863 students ( data as of 2007 ) . the slovak academy of sciences is also based in bratislava . however , the city is one of the few european capitals to have neither an observatory nor a planetarium . the nearest observatory is in , 30 kilometres ( 19 mi ) away , and the nearest planetarium is in , 70 kilometres ( 43 mi ) away . , the central european park for innovative technologies , is slated for development in . this science and technology park will combine public and private research and educational institutions . construction was expected to begin in 2008 , but has since stalled . transport the geographical position of bratislava in central europe has long made it a natural crossroads for international trade traffic . public transport in bratislava is managed by bratislava , a city - owned company . the transport system is known as mestská ( mhd , municipal mass transit ) and employs buses , trams and trolleybuses . an additional service , ( bratislava integrated transport ) , links train and bus routes in the city with points beyond . as a rail hub , the city has direct connections to austria , hungary , the czech republic , poland , germany and the rest of slovakia . petržalka and bratislava stanica are the main railway stations . main bus station ( stanica mlynské nivy or as mlynské nivy ) is located at mlynské nivy , east of city centre and offers bus connections to cities in slovakia and international bus lines . the motorway system provides direct access to brno in the czech republic , trnava and other points in slovakia , and budapest in hungary . the a6 motorway between bratislava and vienna was opened in november 2007 . the port of bratislava provides access to the black sea via the danube and to the north sea through the rhine – main – danube canal . m. r. airport is located 9 kilometres ( 5 . 6 mi ) north - east of the city centre . it served 2 , 024 , 000 passengers in 2007 . bratislava is also served by the vienna international airport located 49 kilometres ( 30 . 4 mi ) west of the city centre . international relations twin towns and sister cities bratislava is twinned with : * numbers in parentheses list the year of twinning . the first agreement was signed with the city of perugia , umbria , in italy on july 18 , 1962 . partnerships tehran in iran kraków in poland image gallery genealogical resources the records for genealogical research are available at the state archive " archiv in bratislava , slovakia " roman catholic church records ( births / marriages / deaths ) : 1601 – 1897 ( parish a ) lutheran church records ( births / marriages / deaths ) : 1606 – 1919 ( parish a ) official sites official tourism and travel guide to bratislava official slovak national tourism portal tourism and living information public urban transport in bratislava english - language community events taking place in bratislava images virtual tour of bratislava