Bratislava Castle

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Bratislava Castle is the centre point of the city, and the gardens are one of the nicest places when the weather is good. It was originally a defensive castle against the Ottomans, and was then converted into a Baroque palace by the Habsburgs. The castle was gutted by a fire in the Napoleonic wars, and then badly damaged again in the Second World War. In the post-war period there was even talk of demolishing it to build a new university, but after an outcry it was instead restored in 1953. They’re still restoring parts now.

There’s also several nice cafes and restaurants in the gardens. My favourite is Cafe Hexe.

In their infinite wisdom, the 60s city planners decided to slice up the city centre with a dual carriageway, and you have to cross over this bridge to get to the castle.

The famous UFO bridge. Under the road triangle is the bus station, with its cheese vending machines.

You can see Petržalka in the distance, one of Europe’s largest housing estates. There’s also a massive Tesco superstore there, much bigger than the famous city centre one.


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