Description of the attraction
The most famous building in Bratislava, whose image was replicated on souvenir products, is Bratislava Castle, as the local castle is called here, towering on a hill above the city. It consists of four wings, united by four low towers, so its shape resembles an inverted stool. Locals often disrespectfully refer to this fortress as a "stool".
The castle appeared in Bratislava during the time of the Slavs, the ancestors of modern Slovaks, in the VIII century. Then it was a wooden fortress, which after two centuries was replaced by a stone castle. He was visited by Frederick Barbarossa, who gathered his armies under the camps of the castle in order to set off on the river on a campaign of conquest. The walls of the fortress were able to withstand the pressure of the Mongols in the 13th century.
The castle has undergone several alterations. At first, it was rebuilt by order of King Sigismund of Luxembourg, who was interested in creating a reliable fortress capable of resisting the Hussites. From the buildings of that time, only the Gothic Sigismund Gate has survived, through which almost all tourists enter the territory of the castle complex of Bratislava.
The rebuilding of the Gothic fortress into a luxurious Renaissance castle took place in the middle of the 16th century, when the court of the Hungarian monarch settled here. The famous architect Pietro Ferrabosco was invited from Vienna to work on the reconstruction of the castle. At the same time, the treasures of the Hungarian crown were transported to the castle. However, the castle acquired its greatest splendor during the time of Empress Maria Theresa, who settled here her daughter and her son-in-law. The palace for the noble couple was rebuilt in the Baroque style.
At the end of the 18th century, Bratislava Castle was given to the students of the Theological Seminary, and then it was unintentionally destroyed by Napoleonic soldiers. For long 150 years it stood in ruins until it was restored in the middle of the 20th century.
Until recently, it housed the Slovak Parliament, which has now moved to a modern building on the territory of the Castle. The palace premises are occupied by two museums - folk and folk music.
