Bratislava, the little duckling, grew up to become a Swan
Bratislava is one of Europe’s lesser-known capitals and one of the youngest. This should be a good reason for going there. It may lack the grandeur of its neighboring capitals, like Vienna, Prague, and Budapest, but still a charming nice city.
Pressburg
Bratislava received its current name in 1919. Until then, it was primarily known in English as “Pressburg” (from its German name, Preßburg). The city’s history has been influenced by people of many nations and religions, including Austrian, Bulgarians, Croats, Czechs, Germans, Hungarians, Jews, Romani, Serbs, and Slovaks. All this makes it an exciting city. During the Czechoslovakian time, Prague was the capital, and Bratislava played a lesser part.
Why did I choose Slovakia and Bratislava?
This was the summer of 2021, we still had the covid 19 situation, and not too many countries had opened up for tourism. I had been hiking through Lofoten in the spring and spent some days in Stockholm. We still couldn’t leave Europe, and I wanted to see and experience a new country. Therefore I ended up choosing Slovakia. I have visited most countries in western Europe and some in central Europe. In my younger days, I visited Czechoslovakia. But that was only in Prague for one day, and that was all I saw in the country. Since then, the county has been divided, so Slovakia was a new county for me. This time I traveled around the country for two weeks.
A Swan
Why do I compare Bratislava with H.C. Andersen`s fairytale, the Ugly Duckling? It started with seeing some old pictures of Bratislavský hrad, the sizeable Baroque castle above the city center. In the old photos, it was rather gray and dull. But it has gone through extensive restorations and is also painted white. Therefore it could just have been a white swan nesting on the top, overlooking the whole city. This castle is now a well-known symbol of the capital.
Museums in Bratislava
I had done some research on museums before I came to Slovakia. And one I wanted to visit was the Galéria NEDBALKA. A modern Slovak art gallery situated on one of the oldest streets in Bratislava. The street was built on ancient city walls from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries. Even in the early twentieth century, it was still among the most exciting streets in the historic core of Old Town in terms of architecture and history. A very atmospheric gallery with fantastic art from many periods of this country. You could also get a little feeling of the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
The art curator
I went on a coffee date with a young man that was an art curator in Slovakia. Talking about being lucky, he had such extensive knowledge about Bratislava and the art scene, so I could never ask for a better guide. He also had access to all the museums in Slovakia, so he took me to some of his favorites, one outside the city. I felt so privileged. He also took me to a few so-called brown restaurants, where they served traditional Slovakian food, and few tourists found their way there.
I had some lovely days in Bratislava before I started my clockwise round in the country. Slovakia is maybe overlooked in favor of better-known neighboring countries, but do not let that put you off. I did not manage to put in all the pictures I would love to show for the capital. Do not miss out on many of the art nouveau buildings in the city. One excellent example is The Church of St. Elizabeth, the Blue church.
