Do you know Bratislava? We'll tell you something you didn't know

Maybe you pass through the center of Bratislava every day, to work, to meetings... Or you only visit it during your free time, on weekends and during various markets or festivals. We often travel beyond the borders of our city or state and do not know the places that foreigners admire in our country. Become a tourist in Bratislava for a moment and take a look with us at (perhaps well-known) places that you have never noticed in detail through signs and inscriptions that will tell us more about our history and will still inspire us today. We will start the walk at the former wooden drawbridge, which was once used to enter the medieval city. Today, the famous Summer Reading Room U Červeného raka is located under it, but once there was really water in the moat, later a shooting range or a theater. We stand by the statues of John of Nepomuk and Archangel Michael and look at the only preserved gate located on today's Michalska Street. The remaining three, along with the walls, gave way to the expanding city after 1775.

To be precise, we are also looking at the front gate, the outer gate. From the outer gate, a sharply curved alley, the so-called barbican, leads to the Michael Gate itself. It was supposed to protect the city gate from cannonballs. The enemy did not have a view of the main gate, and since there was a curved alley, the shots ended outside the walls and did not damage the entrance to the city. We walk under the outer gate to the main gate, Michalska. Be careful, if you go down the narrow alley on the left, don't say anything. This is where the executioner and the condemned went outside the city walls to the execution ground, and the bad energy accumulated in this area could bring misfortune to you.

Michael's Gate

"We diligently helped with the work of our hands in this construction, until with the help of God we raised this tower to a height. You who find this sign and read it, remember us who have died and pray for our poor souls. Anno, Domini after the birth of Jesus Christ, 1758, June 20."

Palace of the Hungarian Royal Chamber

We walk along Michalská Street to the palace of the Hungarian Royal Chamber, now the University Library.

The Hungarian Royal Chamber was the highest financial institution of Hungary. It managed the royal estates and the treasury expenses and incomes in Hungary. The building was built in 1753-56, and a few years later it was expanded with an extension in the same style (a house on today's Ventúrska Street). It was during the reign of Maria Theresa that this important institution found a dignified home and Bratislava flourished. The city's population, which tripled during her reign, is also a testament to this growth.

Old Town Hall

We will cross Sedlárska Street to the Main Square and reach its dominant feature, the Town Hall Tower.

The Old Town Hall complex has been around since the 13th century. If you look at it from Kostolná Street, you can still see a hint of the original battlements on the wall. The oldest building with foundations from the 13th century was replaced in the 14th century by the "new house with a tower", which was built by the mayor Jakub. The house was later purchased by the city and two other burgher houses: the Powers and the Ungers. In the 19th century, the neighboring Aponi Palace was added to the town hall, and in 1911-12, a new wing with the offices of the municipality was built on the side facing Primatial Square. This created a closed courtyard. The premises of the Old Town Hall served the City Council – the mayor and 12 city councilors, who exercised judicial and administrative power, i.e. they not only met in matters of city administration, but were also members of the city court. On the ceiling of the Courtroom, around the painting of the Last Judgment, there is another inscription dedicated to justice, an excerpt from the Bible: "The righteous will be in everlasting memory; he will not fear evil tidings."

Another room in the town hall served the wider/outer town council, which could be compared to today's town council. It had 24 members – the town elders (later 60 members), who were directly elected by all townspeople. The members of the wider council then elected the town council and mayor, were responsible for the economy and other activities, approved the town budget, and adopted statutes. In addition, they represented the town externally, e.g. at celebrations, coronations, etc. We recommend visiting these rooms, including the Gothic chapel from the first half of the 14th century, as part of the Bratislava City Museum . Through the courtyard of the Old Town Hall we reach the last stop of today's walk, Primate Square.

Primate's Palace

After the Battle of Mohács, Bratislava became the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1536 (and the coronation city of the Hungarian kings from 1563). The Archbishop and Cardinal of Esztergom, Jozef Baťán, also resided here, and decided to build his new residence on the site of the dilapidated archbishop's mansion. The construction was completed in 1781. In November of the same year, the Chapel of St. Ladislaus, which is part of the palace, was also consecrated.

Jozef Baťán held the honorary title of Primate, from which the name Primate's Palace is derived. We sit on a bench and look at the ornate palace. We see various artistically rendered allegories of moral values ​​that were important to its builder. On the roof are statues symbolizing science and art, wisdom, love of country, silence, purity of heart, and divine wisdom. In the center is a large cardinal's hat and the coat of arms of the Baťán family.

The same is true of the decoration of the tympanum, a triangular area above the facade of the palace. It was originally decorated with a fresco by Franz Anton Maulbertsch. However, at the beginning of the 20th century it was already in very poor condition. Its motif was recorded by the sculptor Alojz Riegele and, based on his painting, the original painting in the tympanum was revived in 1958 as a mosaic, the work of the academic painter Ernest Zmeták. Only instead of the coat of arms of Hungary at the top of the tympanum, there is now the coat of arms of the city. In documents found in the archbishop's archives, the architect of the building, Melchior Hefele, explains the symbolism of the figures on the tympanum as follows: "In the center of the fresco stands a woman holding the tablets with the Ten Commandments on the altar (Love for God's laws). A woman kneels in front of her (Obedience and devotion), on the other side of the altar stands a man with a sword, shield and lion at his feet (Justice, protecting the laws). In the corners of the tympanum are personifications of the two most important rivers of Hungary: the Danube (left) and the Tisza (right)." ( OZ Bratislavské rožky , Facebook, Ján Vyhnánek, 22. 3. 2013) The article was prepared in collaboration with tour guide Ľubomíra Černáková . Photo: Martin Mondok , archive of L. Černáková