Bratislava Castle (Bratislavský hrad)

Bratislava Castle (Slovak: Bratislavský hrad) is the main castle of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.

The massive rectangular building with four corner towers stands on a quite isolated rocky hill of the Little Carpathians directly above the Danube river in the middle of Bratislava. It is an outstanding feature of the city.

It provides an excellent view of Bratislava, of Austria and, when there is good weather of Hungary. Many legends are connected with the history of the castle.

The castle building includes 4 towers (one on each corner) and a courtyard with an 80 m deep water well. The biggest tower is the Crown Tower in the south-east from the 13th century, which housed the crown jewels (see History). The outside walls and inside corridors contain fragments of old Gothic and Renaissance construction elements. To the east of the main entrance, one can see the walled up entrance gate from the 16th century. Behind the entrance, there is an arcade corridor and then the big Baroque staircase, which leads to the expositions of the Slovak National Museum. The left part of the southern part of the building houses the 4 halls of the Treasure Chamber (opened in 1988) with a collection of the most precious archaeological findings and other objects found in Slovakia, including the prehistoric statute called the Venus of Moravany. The 3rd floor houses the exposition History of Slovakia. The 1st floor in the southern part of the building houses the rooms of Slovak parliament - the National Council of the Slovak Republic - including parts of furniture from the 16th century. The northern part of the building - the former Baroque chapel, houses the Music Hall in which concerts are held. The court yard includes the entrance to the Knights Hall.

Photo 1064, Sept 2008