The story of Bratislava is an old one involving the interaction between many different cultures in their quest for dominance, trade, or simply survival. No fewer than five different cultural groups called it home. Building a home for your people requires the building of defenses, their destruction as invaders come calling, and the rebuilding of those same defenses by different hands. In the city of Bratislava the two most evident features that caught my attention were it’s two castles. One which was rebuilt over and over again until finally succumbing to the progression of technology and sliding into a state of decrepit obsolescence, the other being rebuilt again and again including in the modern day to the point that it no longer resembles the defensive fortification to which it attributes its name. Two castles dominate the story of Bratislava and shaped much of what my visit here entailed.
But first let’s take a look at the food.
We take this sudden turn of topic because it was basically the first thing I sought out once I got off the bus. I wasn’t able to get lunch before I left Vienna so after I dropped my heavy bags in my hostel I asked for direction to the closest place to get some grub. They recommended “Slovak Pub” which, as the name suggests, serves local Slovakian food. Here you have a bread bowl filled with a creamy soup. The loaf is massive! Bigger than if you touch the tips of the fingers on both hands to each other and try to make as big of a ball between them as you can. The portion of soup itself – which includes sheep cheese – is maybe a little bigger than your fist. The bread and soup were delicious even if I did need to add a bit of pepper.
Here we have Kofola, principal rival to Coke and Pepsi in Czechia and Slovakia. It was actually invented during the Communist era in the now-extinct country of Czechoslovakia, 1959 to be exact. At the time there was a market gap most often filled in other countries by Coke or Pepsi who weren’t allowed in due to the Warsaw Pact. It’s amazingly delicious! Imagine Coke and Sarsaparilla had a baby. And for my CNY readers, imagine the “authentic” rootbeer at the State Fair and make its flavor slightly milder. I had it twice in the two days I was there and certainly hope to have it again in the future.
This here is the real prize of my meal, though. Bryndzové halušky! National dish of Slovakia. Imagine potato gnocchi made with fewer egg yolks. Slather those dumplings in a creamy dairy sauce that is made primarily out of goats cheese. Top it with a smoked version of that same goats cheese (optional) and then some diced bacon that has been fried almost enough to be caramelized. I ate nearly the entire bread bowl, decided I was full and that I’d only eat maybe half of this (a sentiment that intensified once I saw the portion size), took one bite and couldn’t help but finish my plate. My stomach was aching I’d eaten so much, but my tastebuds were dancing. If you ever find yourself anywhere near Slovakia or a Slovak Pub make no hesitation to try this culinary masterpiece.
Okay now on to one of the castles. Devin Castle, to be specific. I woke up the next day and got on the first bus out of the center of town and toward the farthest district in Bratislava, Devin, where this castle sits. It’s a way north on the Danube, about 25 minutes by bus, and the village that sits at the base is a tiny little place where nothing (including the castle) open until 10am. I arrived exactly at the opening time!
Devin Castle is considered a very important national symbol for Slovakia, even being featured on some of their money. Historically speaking the site has had geographic significance since the Celts lived in the area way back before Jesus. At the base sits the connection of the Danube River and the Morava River, the first of which is a major trade route between the Black Sea and Germany, the second of which is a major river on the Amber Road. Together they are a crossroad for trade and building a fortification even as far back as the Bronze Age makes sense.
While every building currently on site doesn’t go back more than 700 years there is proof of Roman occupation here beginning around the 1st century. It would have been their frontier far from the civility of Rome, on the edges of the known world with nothing but barbarians bringing trinkets from beyond. Very little was mentioned of the site during the empire until the 800’s AD when the Hungarians moved in. Both of these buildings, again, postdate that time, the one on the right serving as a one-roomed meeting hall, the one on the left lacking a descriptive sign; though the layout makes me think of a toilet.
Looking at that imposing bit of pseudokarst rising high above the rivers’ confluence is it any wonder that people have built defenses on the site for over 2000 years? There are records of such a thing – potentially even an aspect of what you’re looking at now – being here during the Hungarian Kingdom’s ownership in 1271, and again in 1326. At the base of this citadel, several hundred years later, was actually the Iron Curtain until 1989 with border guards and everything. The image hanging off the walls on the right side of the photo (if you can see it clearly enough) is actually one of communist-oppressed people leaning against a barb-wired fence. Normally there are exhibits open to explain that in more detail, but in the wintertime tourist traffic isn’t high enough to warrant them being available. Regardless, it is interesting to realize that over 2000 years ago this site was used by Celts to defend their territory, then again over 1800 years ago, a third time 1200 year ago, and then as recent as 31 years before now the Soviets used it to do the exact same (though they didn’t use the stone castle itself, just the area at its base).
What you see now is actually a (part of a) palace added sometime around the 15th century. In those days the site held extreme importance as the barrier between the Turkish Ottomans and Christian Europe (particularly Austria). As a fortress it never fell during the conflicts, and maybe that had to do with the fact that whoever controlled it wanted a nice place to hangout? Following its role as the frontier the area quieted down once the Ottomans were driven back by the Hapsburgs. For around 200 years the site changed hands between royal families both Austrian and Hungarian before setting into the ownership of the Pálffy family. After that and even until the 1800’s this site was considered a threatening location by the powers that be. Napoleon himself attacked the castle in 1809 as they retreated from an attack on Bratislava. With their 19th century weaponry, the 13th/15th century fortifications never stood a chance and the site permanently lost its status as imposing fortification. 2000 years and it took one of history’s finest generals to finally bring it down.
After I finished up at Devin Castle I headed back into town to just wander about and take pictures of famous landmarks worth seeing. Bratislava is a great city that feels more like a small town. It’s difficult to describe. Of course it is the capital of a country and it has all of the things that go with it, but there was an ever-pervasive feeling of “small town quietness.” I happened to really enjoy it. There are bars or clubs to check out but even those seemed quiet from the outside. Everything you could need is within walking distance it would seem.
Based on the time I had to grab lunch and I went back to Slovak Pub for the same dish, this time with sausage instead of bacon. On my way I got to see Michael’s Gate, the only remaining city gate from the medieval fortifications that once surrounded the city; it’s 700 years old! It currently holds a small weapon’s museum inside.
Here you have examples of the excellent baroque architecture present in Bratislava. On the left you have the presidential palace and the public garden that goes with it. On the right you have the old National Theater which is still in operation, at least as far as ballet and opera are concerned. It greets newcomers to the city as they step off a bus close to the center of town. I passed it multiple times during my stay and each time I had to take a few seconds to enjoy the artistic style of its construction.
Bratislava also has a really awesome looking blue church. It didn’t start out that way when it was built in 1913 as a part of the nearby high school, but it took on this look as time went on and they decided to restylise it. I found it interesting to discover that the place is a Catholic Church when it looks very eastern to me. It was closed, sadly, but I was happy to stop by for the 10 minutes that I did.
On to the second castle then. This is known as Bratislava Castle and, just like Devin Castle, has an ancient past. The thing is, though, that this location has been important for much longer. Like, much longer. Like, since at least 3500BC. That’s 5500 years! This is due, in part, to the fact that this spot also provides a relatively easy to traverse ford on the river Danube. That river is 2850km (1770 miles) long, so easy to use fords are ridiculously important. Being close to the trading crossroad that is Devin (only 10km away) helped build the importance of the site as well. Fortifications also existed on the site since around 2800BC, 4800 years ago. There’s just one problem though that plagued my mind while I wandered around the “castle.” Beyond the obvious benefit of being on the outcropping that it is it doesn’t look like a fortress that could defend against a serious attack. It certainly doesn’t look like any castle I’ve ever seen in the stories before. Well the history regarding that is a bit complicated and I’ll see if I can’t run you through it.
The Celts occupied this spot with a fortification by 450 BC, and then the Romans did the same between 9BC and sometime around 400AD and 500AD, though details aren’t exact. The Slavs moved into the area after the Roman Empire fell, using leftover bricks from Roman fortifications to build their own defensive structures. For the next 500 years it served as an important Slavic site for the Kingdom of Great Moravia. Then the Hungarians moved in by 1000AD and for the next 500 years it was an important bulwark that fended off Czechs, Germans, Mongols, Hussites, and Ottomans. After that the Kingdom of Hungary came under the control of the Hapsburgs in Austria and was then sometimes used to defend against rebelling Hungarians. The history afterward becomes sort of boring as far as war goes. For 300 years it became the site where the Hungarian Crown Jewels were stored. During that time the castle underwent several conversions for various reasons, reflecting the architectural trends of the times of each, and even served as the partial residence of the Queen of Austria for about 40 years in the 1700’s when it underwent another conversion. By the time Napoleon rolled around the castle was bombarded and burst into flames in his siege of 1809 (the same that led to the destruction of Devin), ultimately leading to its loss as an important defensive site.
The story for Bratislava Castle, unlike Devin, doesn’t end there, though. For the next 144 years the castle was effectively a ruin, sitting in the center of the city. Time and time again plans were made to renovate the space. Materials were cannibalized and sold off for the construction of other nearby buildings in the city. Plans were drawn up to demolish what was left and replace it with government offices, then plans were made to construct a university district on the site; neither proposition came to fruition. After WW2 the ruins were opened and movies were shown there. It wasn’t until 1957 that any plans were officially moved forward to change anything that was left, after which they restored it to look similar to it’s last known design, albeit with some modern design liberties taken. They stuck the national museum inside and voila! The structure you see before you came to be.
Bratislava is a town I ended up liking a lot more than I thought I would. I only spent about 48 hours there and if I’m honest, that was enough time to see everything it had to offer. Beyond that though, I did find a city I could see my self living in one day. It’s not as famous or as popular as the other countries and cities in this part of Europe, but it is without a doubt a very cozy place to hunker down. Anything you want isn’t too far away within the city – including some kickass castles – and the food was phenomenal. What more could you want when it comes to finding a place to live?