Position

Bratislava, capital city of the Slovak Republic, is situated in Central Europe. It is stretching on both banks of the Danube-river, the second biggest river in Europe, and at the foot of the mountains of Small Carpathians. Bratislava spreads at the borders of three countries, neighbouring with Hungary in the south and Austria in the west. In administrative terms, the town is divided in 5 districts and 17 city parts.

Basci data

Area: 367.9 square km
Population: 446,819
Position: 17ř7?of eastern longitude, 48ř9?of northern latitude
Elevation above the sea: 126-514 m above the sea level

Weather

Bratislava is located in mild climate zone of continental nature, which is characterised by distinct differences between temperatures in summer and in winter as well as by 4 seasons of the year taking turns. Within the past years, however, transition of winter to summer is almost without the spring transition in Bratislava, whereas it happens in Bratislava that winter weather with average temperatures around zero degrees Celsius abruptly changes into summer from one day to another one. The same applies to transition of summer to winter, which happens quickly, whereas autumn is usually little distinctive and short. As well snow cover is usually scantier than it used to be in recent past. Before your trip, we recommend to enter the web site www.meteo.sk and to follow local weather report.

Bratislava - a city of history, culture, wine and young people

Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia and entrance gate to this small, eastern European country, is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in Slovakia. Bratislava is not only a city of history, culture, delicious gastronomy and wine but also a city where you can relax and have a great time.

Bratislava is a city with a long history and an exquisitely renovated historical centre brimming with baroque palaces, fountains and romantic streets. Like Budapest and Vienna, Bratislava was also a coronation town. The most flourishing period was an almost three hundred year period starting in the second half of the 16th century when the city was the coronations site for Hungarian kings. The most prominent aristocratic families had their seats here, trades were developed, and great artists such as Mozart, Beethoven and Liszt gave guest performances here. People of various nationalities, in particular Slovak, German, Hungarian, Jewish and others, coexisted here. In the 13th century the German people named the city "Pressburg", the Slavic people renamed it to "Pre?porok", while the Hungarians used the name "Pozsony". Bratislava has been an official name of this cosmopolitan city since 1919.

Bratislava is traditionally a city of excellent cuisine and delicious wine. Just as it is with the mixed families living in Pre?porok, Bratislava cuisine also shows influences of Slovak, Hungarian and Jewish cuisine. The influence of nearby Vienna is evident as well. Because of this multicultural history of the city, we speak about Pre?porok's cuisine rather than Slovak. In the surroundings of Bratislava, wine growing and making had their place from early times. On the sunny slopes of the Small Carpathian Mountains grapes have been cultivated since very early times - people have enjoyed wine here since 200 - 300 years B.C. The wine-growers from Pre?porok supplied the royal wine cellars with their wine. The tradition of good cuisine and excellent wine has returned to Bratislava again.

Bratislava is a city of culture. The Bratislava Music Festival, Bratislava Jazz Days, the Opera and Ballet of the Slovak National Theatre, concerts by the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra or the Summer Festival of Culture and Arts represent a great cultural experience every year. Many cultural institutions are based here, e.g. the Slovak National Gallery, the Slovak National Museum, the City Museum, the Gallery of Bratislava City and many other museums and more than 20 galleries offering the art of ancient artists as well as modern ones. Events organised outdoors are also very popular. For example, last year the coronation ceremony attracted as many as 60 thousand visitors, a similar number as Bratislava's New Year's Eve celebrations in recent years.

Those who enjoy sports and exercise can also find some events for themselves in the city and its environs such as romantic walks at ?elezna studienka or Koliba, rafting in �unovo, cycling tours, tennis, golf and paragliding for the brave; everybody can find "his or her cup of coffee" in Bratislava. There are parks and playgrounds, recreational centres, winter and summer relaxation centres as well as the International House of Art for Children and the very popular Dinopark.

With eight universities and 60 thousand students, Bratislava is a city of young people. You will certainly notice this when you stroll out in the evening. In the elegantly reconstructed centre you can find many themed coffee bars, confectioner's shops, restaurants, clubs, nightclubs and bars. Bratislava is a very hospitable city: the people of Bratislava like entertainment and it is very easy to enter into conversation with them. So welcome to Bratislava and take a taste of the capital of Slovakia.

New investments in Bratislava, especially near the Danube River

Now the self-government of Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia, has revitalised the main part of the historical centre in co-operation with the private sector, contemporary strategic investments in Bratislava are now being focused on the Danube River banks. The main bus and railway stations will also soon undergo substantial changes.

"The rather compact centre of Bratislava will enlarge towards the Danube River within the next few years. We want Bratislava to become a city on the Danube River, and this extraordinary river will become a city-forming element," said Andrej Źurkovskí, Mayor of Bratislava City.

A boulevard stretching a few kilometres long will gradually originate along this, the longest European river, featuring flats, shops, congress halls and administrative premises. In a few weeks time the construction of the infrastructure and engineering networks for the new city centre on the left bank of the Danube near Pribinova Street will commence under the project's title EUROPEAN RIVERFRONT. Ballymore Properties, an Irish company which also invested in London Docklands known as the Isle of Dogs, is developer for this project. The two phases of construction for the whole zone should last from 2005 to 2009. During phase one, a new entertainment and relaxation complex will be built, including international hotels, cinemas, a casino, flats, restaurants and 110-thousand square meters of administrative facilities. In phase two, a new business centre will be built over an area of 100-thousand square meters providing deluxe office space. One significant part of the project is an attractive Danube promenade with large park, which will be designed by Michel Duvine, a French architect and renowned specialist in orchards and park planning.

At almost the same time, the RIVER PARK will be constructed only a few hundred meters westwards. This park will connect the city centre with the riverbank in the spirit of its slogan "a city in the city". A five star hotel (probably the Kempinski), which Bratislava sorely lacks, will form an integral part of this area. There will be 340 new flats, offices and shops over an area of more than 40-thousand square metres. The author of the project is Erick van Egeraat, a Dutch architect; the investor is J&T Global, a Slovak company planning to invest 120 million euros in this area.

The area in front of the main railway station will also change its appearance, and even the old railway station building will be reconstructed. The new main entrance will be from the current basement, at the same level as the current tramway terminal. A new administrative premises and business centre with a hotel and sports facilities will be built here as well. Another local developer, the company HB Reavis, which plans to open the new Apollo Business Centre on March 3rd, 2005, is also planning construction of a new bus station as an integral part of the Mlynsk© Nivy locality with a polyfunctional centre intended for housing, shopping, entertainment and administration.

Private investors will implement projects of a total value of 1.2 billion euros in the capital city of Slovakia up to 2010.

Bratislava is one of the new urban tourism destinations in Europe

Bratislava, the capital city, is the most important tourist destination in the country. According to the number of visitors staying the night, every fourth visitor to Slovakia visits the capital city. During the first nine months of 2004 as many as 437,857 visitors visited Bratislava; they spent 844,019 nights and 294,798 of them were foreign visitors. The number of foreign visitors to Bratislava increased by 28% compared with the previous year, and the increase in the number of overall tourists was 16% higher than in 2003.

Bratislava's tourism development policy for the period 2005 to 2006 was aimed at better use of the cultural, historical and production capacity of the city.

"We enter 2005 with the idea of project management for tourism strategy. We would like to increase tourism income substantially and improve the image of the city as an interesting tourist destination. We also want to develop partnerships with the private sector in planning new products and increasing the quality of services for both visitors and citizens," stated Tatiana Miku?ovˇ, Vice Mayor of Bratislava City.

Bratislava is a destination blessed with ample capacity for tourist attractions, accommodation, fine dining, information and other supplementary services. By connecting these into attractive products and through suitable marketing, Bratislava could soon become an attraction for tourists like any other capital city in the member states of the European Union. The strong selling points of Bratislava are its advantageous geographic position, cultural and historical monuments, improving accessibility by all means of transportation as well as the relative security of the region. Bratislava has entered the new tourist season with the slogan, "Bratislava - the small big city".

The main targets for the next two-year period are: a 15% increase in the number of visitor-nights in the city, increasing the level of information and services provided, establishing strategic partnerships with the private sector, increasing income from advertising by business entities in leaflets and promotional materials published by the city.

The highest priority for Bratislava is cultural and sightseeing tourism focused on the historical centre, Bratislava and its surroundings, as well as hosting congresses. In addition to these main products, other special programmes are also planned for specific target groups such as tours aimed at specific historical periods, programmes for children and religious groups, etc.

It is planned that the annual revenues from the local accommodation tax will cover 15% of expenditures for tourism activities in 2005, rising up to a figure of 30% in 2006.

Bratislava summit takes place 200 years after the Bratislava Peace Treaty was signed

Even in history, Bratislava, capital city of Slovakia, was the scene of many meetings of leading statesmen producing a significant influence on the further development of relationships in international politics. The signing of the Peace Treaty between Napoleon's France and the Austrian monarchy is probably the best known. The Bush - Putin summit will be held in Bratislava in the same year when the city celebrates the 200th anniversary of the signing of the memorable Bratislava Peace Treaty.

After the battle at Slavkov in 1805, the Austrian Emperor Franz Josef was forced to enter into negotiations on conditions for peace. Those were finally concluded by the peace treaty on 26 December 1805 in the Mirror Hall of the Primacial Palace in Bratislava.

At that time, the Bratislava Peace had serious consequences for Austria. France had achieved confirmation of its former territorial gains, while Austria had had to abandon Dalmatia, Istria, Venice and also lost some of the old Reich lands - Tirol and Vorarlberg. By losing these territories, the monarchy lost 4 million inhabitants and, furthermore, had to pay war reparations to France in the amount of 40 million florins. Napoleon was recognised as Emperor, and consequently, Franz Josef had to resign and relinquish his almost thousand-year-old title of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

For the French side, the Peace Treaty was signed by Mr. Talleyrand, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and for Austria by Prince Johann Liechtenstein. After the signing of the Peace Treaty, Austria became a second-class power. The consequences of the Bratislava Peace were dramatic, and it is only an irony of fate that this was from a historical point of view equal for Austria and for France. As a few months after signing the Bratislava Peace Treaty, Napoleon joined 16 western Germany states into the so-called Rhine Confederation (Rheinbund), which was another step towards the future unification of Germany. The conditions stipulated in the Bratislava Peace Treaty remained valid until 1814.

Bratislava - a modern capital city with an environmentally friendly central transportation system

The enormous boom recently experienced by Bratislava, capital city of Slovakia, is noticeably reflected in efforts to build a suitable traffic infrastructure for the city.

Bratislava's transportation network must be viewed in terms of its international connections, in particular taking into account the region of towns on the Danube and connections with the road networks of neighbouring countries, in particular Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Highway connections with Hungary and Austria are already completed on the Slovak side; Austria has committed to complete the joining highway on its territory before the end of 2007. At present the Slovak Road Administration is constructing a highway section on Einsteinova Street in Petr?alka, which should be completed this year, and the Sitiny tunnel along with a highway section that should be completed in 2007. Thus, connections between the western and eastern parts of the city will be greatly improved. This year will also see the fifth bridge over the Danube being completed, a project which will keep hundreds of cars out of the narrow city centre streets.

The biggest transportation project for the current city self-government is launching the central transportation system, which will be realised by high speed tram. The idea behind the system is that it will provide the most efficient transport of passengers during morning rush hours with the minimum environmental impact. The beginning of the implementation of this project is planned for 2006, and reconstruction of the Old Bridge is an integral part of it. In the future, this bridge will be available exclusively for environmentally friendly means of transportation.

"My vision is that by 2025 Bratislava can be a modern capital city with a high speed tram eliminating the level of noise around the calm historical centre, all cars can park without problem in underground garages or surface parking places. Those people who only plan to travel through Bratislava can see the wonderful skyline of the city with 6 or 7 bridges over the Danube river from the highway", says Karol Kolada, Vice Mayor of Bratislava City.

Besides the citizens of Bratislava (428,000), approximately 130-thousand people come to the city every day. The number of people transported to and from Bratislava by the railways is decreasing, while, conversely, the number of people transported from the M. R. ?tefˇnik airport has risen significantly; in 2004 as many as 900-thousand passengers used the airport services, which is more than a twofold increase in comparison with the previous year. In its territorial planning documentation, Bratislava has also included the road and railway connections with Vienna and with Austria to the south and to the north of the Danube. According to agreements with the Austrian party, Bratislava concentrated its efforts as a matter of priority on the connection southwards of the Danube. It is necessary to complete approximately 1 km of railway line, which would then directly connect the existing railway line with the airport. Modernisation of the whole railway line, on which trains could run at approximately 120 kph, will ensure speedy connection between Vienna and Bratislava's airport. This is a question of only five years.

Bratislava is among the fifty most expensive cities on the world

According to the latest cost of living survey by Mercer Human Resources Consulting, Bratislava, capital city of Slovakia, takes 44th position in the ranking of the world's most expensive cities in terms of costs of living. Compared to previous year, Bratislava moved up 12 places and appeared in the group of the 50 most expensive cities for the first time.

With respect to those countries which became members of the European Union last year, Bratislava is the second most expensive city, following Budapest at 34th position. In this ranking, Bratislava is followed by the cities of Prague, Warsaw, Riga, Ljubljana and Tallinn.

At the same level of Bratislava (which has an index of 83.9 points, with New York as the base city scoring 100 points), there are also other well known European capital cities, such as Munich, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Luxembourg, and also San Francisco in the USA.

The most expensive city in the world is still unquestionably Tokyo, followed by London, Moscow, Osaka, Hong Kong and Geneva.

According to financial analysts, the rise of Bratislava to the group of the world's 50 most expensive cities was caused by the accession of the Slovak Republic to the European Union and the gradual appreciation of the Slovak crown, which marked its historical maximum against the US dollar and the euro in recent months. Housing is one of the relatively most expensive items in Bratislava. While the supply of flats in the cheaper price categories has failed to increase during the last few years, the demand for such flats has been strong.

Andrej Źurkovskí, Mayor of Bratislava City, considers Bratislava's ranking in the list rather positively. "The highest positions in similar survey rankings are usually taken by the most prestigious and attractive world cities. Bratislava's position reflexes the fact that the standard of living comes up to the average of the former 15 Member States of the European Union."

Despite the relative rise in prices, Bratislava recorded an almost 30% increase in the number of foreign visitors in 2004.

Bratislava - Vienna: Twin City

Bratislava and Vienna fully realise the benefits of their mutual links, and therefore last year they decided to create a region without frontiers. They confirmed their common interest by signing the memorandum on mutual co-operation between representatives of Bratislava, capital city of Slovakia, and Vienna, capital city of Austria. The result of this common interest and orientation is the Twin City project.

According to representatives of both cities, launching such a project requires exceptional trust between partners. At the same time, both cities consider the project to be an excellent opportunity for creating an economic and cultural centre in central Europe focused not only on economic and industrial links but also on common projects in the fields of culture, education, tourism, and leisure time. A common project for a college of automotive technology with English as the teaching language can serve as a specific example.

From an economic point of view, Bratislava has become interesting for investors mainly due to the many economic reforms implemented in Slovakia. These undoubtedly contributed to the inflow of investments, whilst more than half of mutual trade between Slovakia and Austria is realised within the Twin City region and its close surroundings. Andrej Źurkovskí, Mayor of Bratislava City, realises that Slovak economic environment is competitive to Austria's but in spite of this he is convinced that "both cities are reliant on mutual co-operation and that their mutual co-operation must be based on an equal partnership beneficial for both Bratislava and Vienna."

For smooth implementation of economic co-operation between these two cities, it is necessary to complete the construction of the required infrastructure: the highway which is completed on the territory of the Slovakia but still to be completed by the Austrian party, and the railway which should be speeded up, especially the part connecting the airports. Finally, co-operation has also been reflected during development of the new urban plan for Bratislava, capital city of Slovakia. The urban plan will create an area for the Bratislava-Vienna conurbation project which is, for the time being, only being discussed in whispers.

The signing of a common resolution to the Twin City project by six renowned companies, which support the development of infrastructure between Bratislava and Vienna and operate simultaneously in Slovakia and Austria, represents an important shift in co-operation between these two cities. They committed themselves to promoting the Twin City concept, as both these cities have an optimal economic structure and have great potential available for creating a powerful economic centre.