Bratislavský Hrad
Apr. 28th, 2012 08:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranSo, you'd like to visit Bratislava Castle?
Finding it is easy. Just start from anywhere near the Old Town and head uphill.
The castle stands on what has been a strategic site for thousands of years. At various times, it has been a Celtic settlement, a Roman fort as part of the Limes Romanus, a Slavic stronghold and finally a Hapsburg place. It was devastated by fire in 1811, however, and fell into disuse. Restoration only began in 1953.
On the bright, this does mean everything is new and shiny, not all and crumbly like those castles in other towns.
Some of the reconstructed trophies. These are the Romans.
Complete with Roman artillery? I'm starting to wonder about just what that sculptor was thinking when they placed that cannon.
And the Ottomans.
And, um, I'm not sure. The Hungarians, perhaps?
King Svätopluk of Great Moravia.
From the outer walls, you get great views of Bratislava.
And across the Danube into Austria.
Austria seems to be the land of windmills.
Right, so that was fun. But, how exactly do I get in?
Well, not through here! Everyone knows that...
This is the door to the Treasure Room! Are you brave enough to enter?
But first, you'll need a ticket. The sign says "Pokladňa" and "Admission fee", with an arrow pointing left. Hands up if you can remember what the pokladnica was...
It turns out the ticket office is outside. I actually missed it the first time.
Remember the language of the doors again? To me, this would read. "Here is the ticket office, but it's closed." Instead, it means "Come in and buy a ticket inside. But zatvárajte dvere! (close the door!)"
The door to the Treasure Room opens...
And when you're done, this is the door to the exhibition on the reconstruction of the castle.
And the exhibits? Well, no photos, unfortunately, but there were some very interesting stone age artifacts. According to wikipedia, the castle also contains the Venus of Moravany, but I didn't know about it at the time and I didn't see any sign of it. Perhaps it wasn't exhibited at that time, or maybe there was one door that still eluded me...
Finding it is easy. Just start from anywhere near the Old Town and head uphill.
The castle stands on what has been a strategic site for thousands of years. At various times, it has been a Celtic settlement, a Roman fort as part of the Limes Romanus, a Slavic stronghold and finally a Hapsburg place. It was devastated by fire in 1811, however, and fell into disuse. Restoration only began in 1953.
On the bright, this does mean everything is new and shiny, not all and crumbly like those castles in other towns.
Some of the reconstructed trophies. These are the Romans.
Complete with Roman artillery? I'm starting to wonder about just what that sculptor was thinking when they placed that cannon.
And the Ottomans.
And, um, I'm not sure. The Hungarians, perhaps?
King Svätopluk of Great Moravia.
From the outer walls, you get great views of Bratislava.
And across the Danube into Austria.
Austria seems to be the land of windmills.
Right, so that was fun. But, how exactly do I get in?
Well, not through here! Everyone knows that...
This is the door to the Treasure Room! Are you brave enough to enter?
But first, you'll need a ticket. The sign says "Pokladňa" and "Admission fee", with an arrow pointing left. Hands up if you can remember what the pokladnica was...
It turns out the ticket office is outside. I actually missed it the first time.
Remember the language of the doors again? To me, this would read. "Here is the ticket office, but it's closed." Instead, it means "Come in and buy a ticket inside. But zatvárajte dvere! (close the door!)"
The door to the Treasure Room opens...
And when you're done, this is the door to the exhibition on the reconstruction of the castle.
And the exhibits? Well, no photos, unfortunately, but there were some very interesting stone age artifacts. According to wikipedia, the castle also contains the Venus of Moravany, but I didn't know about it at the time and I didn't see any sign of it. Perhaps it wasn't exhibited at that time, or maybe there was one door that still eluded me...
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Date: 2012-05-10 07:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-10 07:50 pm (UTC)