Blog.Amazing-Slovakia.com

The Gothic Cathedral of St. Martin in Bratislava is famous as for more than 200 years Habsburg kings were crowned here. In the cathedral we find an impressive statue of St Martin and the remains of Saint John the Almoner.

But most unusual are the decorations of the choir banks in the sanctuary. On the banking arms are represented several animals, which is extremely exceptional as animals are mostly banned from churches.
The animals are made from woodcarvings and the author is Johann Hutterer (1835-1907), an Austrian who lived in Pressburg, as Bratislava was being called until 1918.
On the banking arms he depicted positive and negative animals: positive animals like the rooster, chicken, pelican, ram, lamb, cat, elephant opposed to negative ones like the monkey, fox, mouse, bear, chameleon and snake.

The fox is a symbol of the false prophet (Ezekiel 13:4). Maybe the foxes in the St. Martin Cathedral are symbolizing the Hussites, some of whose victims are believed to be burried in the cathedral. Others say that these foxes symbolize the false prophets when the cathedral became Protestant for two years in 1619.

It is exactly these lovely details which make the cathedral in Bratislava an unique monument in Europe.

Well known and very popular is the Danube cycle-path from Bratislava in the direction of Budapest. The ideal daytrip would be to cycle about 20 km along the Danube on the one side, to take the small ferrie at Vojka/Kyselica to other side, and to cycle back to Bratislava on the other side of the Danube.

Less known are cycle trips from Bratislava to small Austrian villages just across the border. The cycle-paths here are in excellent condition. From the border crossing Jarovce or Petrzalka you will cycle through rolling vineyards to the village of Prellenkirchen (+/- 20 km), and just outside the village there is the so-called Kellergasse or Cellarstreet, centuries old wine-cellars standing in a row of which some are open, where you can drink excellent homemade dry wines and eat honest, cold meat and cheese dishes. 

The way back to Bratislava is quite tough then, but once in Bratislava, the wine will have been oozed out of your body.

Trekking bikes for rent in Bratislava

With its two thousand years of history it is one of the most ancient cities in Europe.

A coronation place of Royal Habsburg family including popular queen Maria-Theresa.

The excellent geographical location of the city offers the best starting point to get to know Slovakia.

Bratislava is a small capital, very cozy, with a quiet old town that dates from the 13th century where traffic is not allowed; it is safe there and prices of services are still relatively low; it is an oasis of calm compared to busy towns in Europe.

Gothic Art in Bratislava presents sculptural pieces, panel paintings and reconstructed altars from the late 13th to the first quarter of the 16th century.

Baroque Art offers paintings by P. Troger, F. A. Palko, fresco masters A. Galli-Bibiena or F. A. Maulbertsch, sculptures through the finest works of G. R. Donner and his best pupil L. Gode, then there is J. Sartory, F. X. Messerschmidt, etc..

Unique 19th Century Art in Bratislava galeries presents a variety of styles including Classicism, Biedermayer, Romanticism and Realism shown in the works of J. Czauczik, L. Mednyanszky, P. M. Bohun, D. Skutecky or painters influenced by the world avantgarde, such as L. Fulla, M. Galanda, M. Benka, G. Mally.

One of the most admirable works of Baroque art in the world is the impressive composition of Donner’s monumental group of statues representing St. Martin as a Roman soldier who cuts its cape in two to give half of it to a beggar suffering from cold.

Gothic Cathedral of St. Martin – the biggest, the oldest and the most imposing church of Bratislava; a coronation place of Royal Habsburg family.

Bratislava Castle – a former seat of Hungarian Kings with its unforgettable silhouette reminding a table turned upside down.

Old Town Hall – main dominant of the historical square dating from the Middle Ages.

200 m high Television Tower in Bratislava-Koliba, with its rotating restaurant and wonderful view as well.

You could take a rest from city life and walk right out of town into the Little Carpathian Mt.. There are well-indicated paths and on your way there are small wooden huts for simple and honest refreshments. From the restaurant in the television tower you will have a great view of Bratislava, and into Hungary and Austria.

Tower of st. Michael – presently the only remaining gate of the former four as part of the town’s fortification system.

Classicist Primatial Palace – the former residence of the cardinal; the place where the treaty later called “the Peace of Pressburg” was signed, after Napoleon’s victory against Austria in December 1805.

House of the Good Shepherd – one of the most beautiful Rococo houses in Europe.

Bridge of SNP – it is an hanging construction on steel ropes which is not supported by pillars; one of five technically unique bridges in the world; a restaurant over the bridge offers panoramic view.

Trip to Devin Castle at the confluence of Danube and Moravia rivers; the castle is the symbol of the Slavic fight for freedom.

In summer there are many terraces of cafes and restaurants on the old cobble stoned streets; people stroll or sit and talk and watch, and it all shines calmness, because electronic music outside is not allowed, and because Slovaks are quiet people, the most Slavic of all Slavs in Central-Europe, and thus poetic, melancholic.

In the evenings street life stops at 10 pm, in order to continue inside the pubs. And everything is on walking distance; you will never have to worry how public transport functions. So the streets are never really empty, and the old-fashioned street lamps add to an atmosphere of ages back in history.

Come and discover the leisure of Bratislava, and you might even decide to come back, and sooner than you thought!

The warm and sunny weather in Bratislava lasts from late April till September, beginning of October. But there is another period of the year we would recommend to you, December, Christmas and New Year’s.

On New Year’s Eve the town of Bratislava is one huge street festivity.

In different parts there are different styles of music, jazz, disco, folk, techno, and again, though many people attend, the feeling is one of safeness, the atmosphere friendly.

Christmas Fair on the old square of Bratislava is a calm, Slavonic event.

Bratislava shows its modesty, its refinement; the atmosphere is rustic and pleasant, because that is how the people of this country are.

And if you are lucky, the first snow will make you feel like living in a fairy-tale, with those ancient buildings standing shadowy around the square.