Bratislava Castle Undergoing More Changes
Bratislava castle is in the midst of a reconstruction project and according to an article in the Slovak Spectator, the project will take place over the next four to five years. Though some areas will be restricted, the castle is not shut down and visitors are still welcomed.
What are they doing? They are restabilizing the castle’s foundation as well as renovating castle hill and the surrounding areas, back to their original Baroque look.
The last major reconstruction took place 50 years ago. Before then, the castle stood as a ruin. It’s amazing to see pictures of Bratislava castle before that reconstruction project. The website Zamky.sk is all about castles in Slovakia and they have an amazing page on Bratislava castle with a lot of illustrations and images of the castle during several periods of time. It’s amazing to see just how different the castle looks today than just 50 years ago.
An important date in the history of Bratislava Castle is May 28, 1811, the day it burned down. The fire was started because of supposedly “careless” Austrian and Italian soldiers. I wonder what that means. Were they drunk? Playing with fire? We’ll never know. Anyway, the castle remained as a ruin for the next 140 years.
The castle and castle hill, the land surrounding the castle have an amazing history. They are situated just off the Danube River and once part of the Roman Empire. Artifacts found on the hill also place the Celts on the land in the late Iron Age, before Christ.
Even though construction may limit a visitor’s experience of the castle, it is still one of the most important landmarks in Bratislava and should be on your list if you are on a visit to the city. The best way is to get there by foot. Walk by the small Jewish quarter on Židovská street and from there start looking for streets and walk ways that climb uphill. There are several routes to the castle so it’s hard to give directions to a single correct way. Zoom in to the map below to see more detail of the paths heading to the castle.
