Just 65 kilometers from Vienna and more or less en route to Budapest, we couldn't resist a stopover in Bratislava. The city is split by the River Danube, and the compact but pretty old town sits on the north shore of the river surrounded in all directions by communist-era construction. This dichotomy makes for an interesting contrast that we both found fascinating, and we would have liked to spend more time here and in Slovakia (but had to get to Budapest where we had rented an apartment for the following day).
Bratislava served as the official capital of the Hungarian empire for about 250 years during the 16th to 18th centuries, and the old town is full of baroque palaces, copper-roofed towers, sidewalk cafes, and cobbled streets. The boxy Bratislava Castle, perched on a small hill just west of the old town, served as the royal seat during this period. Sadly, the castle burned down in 1811 and was not reconstructed until the 1950’s. St. Martin’s Cathedral also played an important role – eleven of the monarchy’s kings and queens were coronated here during this period.
The newer communist-era construction around town is quite a contrast to the quaint old town, including lots of concrete block apartment buildings to the south of the Danube that we viewed only from afar. Closer to the old town, Novy Most (New Bridge) dominates all views of the Danube. Certainly not the most eye-pleasing structure (it is known as “the UFO”), it is also a sad reminder of the city’s recent history. After the city’s Jewish population was decimated during the war, communist authorities tore down a significant portion of the old town, including most of the Jewish quarter and a historic synagogue, in the late 1960’s in order to build this bridge. Slavin, meanwhile, stands higher up in the hills above the old city. This monument for the Soviet soldiers who died during the Soviet liberation of Bratislava in 1945 is surrounded by the graves of 6,845 Soviet soldiers (the only military cemetery in the city).
Click on the photo below for our Bratislava photo album.
Bratislava served as the official capital of the Hungarian empire for about 250 years during the 16th to 18th centuries, and the old town is full of baroque palaces, copper-roofed towers, sidewalk cafes, and cobbled streets. The boxy Bratislava Castle, perched on a small hill just west of the old town, served as the royal seat during this period. Sadly, the castle burned down in 1811 and was not reconstructed until the 1950’s. St. Martin’s Cathedral also played an important role – eleven of the monarchy’s kings and queens were coronated here during this period.
The newer communist-era construction around town is quite a contrast to the quaint old town, including lots of concrete block apartment buildings to the south of the Danube that we viewed only from afar. Closer to the old town, Novy Most (New Bridge) dominates all views of the Danube. Certainly not the most eye-pleasing structure (it is known as “the UFO”), it is also a sad reminder of the city’s recent history. After the city’s Jewish population was decimated during the war, communist authorities tore down a significant portion of the old town, including most of the Jewish quarter and a historic synagogue, in the late 1960’s in order to build this bridge. Slavin, meanwhile, stands higher up in the hills above the old city. This monument for the Soviet soldiers who died during the Soviet liberation of Bratislava in 1945 is surrounded by the graves of 6,845 Soviet soldiers (the only military cemetery in the city).
Click on the photo below for our Bratislava photo album.
This reminds me a bit of the time I went to Leipzig, Germany (formerly part of East Germany) for a music festival. It was very strange to see their modern sensibilities juxtaposed with sculptures and monuments left over from the communist era.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see how various countries in the former Eastern Bloc dealt with this. In Budapest they pretty much got rid of all Communist monuments while in Bulgaria you'd hardly know the Soviet Union had collapsed--they still had everything standing. I would have thought Germany would have removed more of that stuff though.
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