Bicycling the Danube - 4 - Bratislava

Tuesday, 1 September 2026

Having had a very short day of riding and arriving in Bratislava at noon, we had the whole afternoon to enjoy the town. We were even able to meet up for a short town tour and a cup of coffee with the son of friends from back home who lives in Bratislava.

Like many towns in this part of Europe, Bratislava has three names: Pressburg (when ruled by Austria), Pozsony (when ruled by Hungary - it was the Hungarian capital), and Bratislava (now that it's the capital of Slovakia). Overtaken by Nazi Germany and then under Communist rule until the 1990s, it is now a thriving city undergoing renovations and renewal.

Primaciálne námestie (Primate's Square) with the Old Town Hall in the background. (The Slovak word for Square or Plaza, námestie, sure has me confused with the Indian greeting, namaste!)

Ornament on top of the building to the right of Old Town Hall.

Bicycle rack.

St. Michael's Gate (Michalská Brána).

The Presidential Palace.

Planet of Peace Fountain, in the plaza near the Presidential Palace.

St. Martin's Cathedral. A major highway is just off to the left, so it's difficult to get a good photo.

The interior of St. Martin's Cathedral. From 1563 to 1830, while Budapest was controlled by the Ottomans, this cathedral was the site of coronations of Hungary's kings and queens.

St. Martin giving part of his cloak to a beggar.

The Holocaust Memorial in Bratislava is next to St. Martin's Cathedral on the site of Bratislava's original synagogue. "Remember" is carved into the base in Slovak and Hebrew. Ironically, the synagogue survived WWII, but was torn down by the Soviets in the early 1970s to make room for ramps to the new SNP Bridge across the Danube.

The Church of St. Elizabeth aka The Blue Church is just outside Bratislava's Old Town.

The blue color continues in the interior of the Blue Church.

This set of reliefs was on a building across the street from the Blue Church, and reflects the post-WWII Communist/Soviet period. Slovakia became an independent nation in 1993 and a member of the EU in 2004.

Fanciful street art has popped up in Bratislava in recent years. This is the most famous: Cumil peering out from a utility manhole.

Another piece of street art.