RonnieAdventures: RonnieAdventure #0740 - Blue Church, Old Town, Bratislava, Slovakia

Picture by Kolohe

The "Blue Church," officially the Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, is one of the most distinctive landmarks in Old Town, Bratislava, Slovakia. It was originally built as a chapel for students attending the neighboring Catholic school.

Its architecture is described as "an excellent example of Hungarian Secession, a distinctive form of Art Nouveau. Pale-blue walls, decorative blue majolica, mosaics, and a roof covered with blue-glazed tiles give the church its storybook appearance. Rising above it is a slender, rounded bell tower approximately 121 feet (36.8 meters) high."

We were not allowed to enter the church, but we could take interior pictures from the entrance.

In front of the church is Nenarodenym (Monument to the Unborn), a large stone decorated with colorful mosaic pieces. It is a memorial to unborn children and also a place where people can remember and mourn children who have died by leaving candles and small memorial objects.

On top of the stone, a snake is wrapped around and crushing a bird. The snake attacking the bird symbolizes the destruction of unborn life and the monument's anti-abortion/pro-life message.

Picture by Kolohe

As we were walking down Laurinska Street, we noticed a large metal sculpture hanging over the street. We were told that the sculpture represented a portcullis, a defensive grille (Laurinc Gate) that, during medieval times, could be raised and lowered at the city's entrance to prevent people from passing through without proper authorization.

Laurinc Gate was part of Old Town's medieval fortifications and served as the eastern entrance to the walled city. The gate was built in the 13th century and was named for St. Lawrence, after a church dedicated to the saint that once stood outside the city walls. A moat and other defensive fortification structures also guarded the entrance.

In the 18th century, the walls and gates were no longer necessary, so they were demolished in 1778, along with most of the city's old fortification system. Michael's Gate, where we entered Old Town, is the only gate that survives today.

The portcullis, with a Bratislava coat of arms, hangs at the location of the original east entrance, so when we walked down Laurinska Street, we were walking through an original Old Town entrance.

Picture by Kolohe

The building beside the portcullis is the Pavol Országhviezdoslav Theatre, originally built as a bank but converted into a theatre in 1955. This was the original home of the Slovak National Theatre Company, but the theatre company moved to a new location in 2007, and the City of Bratislava acquired the building for cultural venues.

In front of the theatre is Bratislava's version of Hollywood's Walk of Fame, honoring Slovak actors, directors, and others who made significant contributions to the film industry.

Part of "Umbrella Street" (Nedbalova Street) is covered with decorated umbrellas as part of a seasonal outdoor art installation that started in 2018. Each summer, umbrellas are suspended over the street, creating a colorful artwork canopy based on an artist's painting. This year's 2026 theme was "Pink Tulips," honoring Slovak artist Ivan Stubna's 1959 painting Tulipany (Tulips). The 2023 theme was Balloons. Each umbrella is not individually hand-painted, but is reproduced from the selected artwork.

Just a few doors away is a surviving section of Old Town's medieval city wall. A modern building has been constructed over and around the wall, rather than demolishing it.

Picture by Kolohe

Fontana sv. Juraja (Fountain of St. George) is located in the courtyard of the Primate's Palace. It depicts St. George on horseback slaying a dragon with his lance, from the Christian legend in which George rescues a princess from a dragon. The story came from the medieval Golden Legend, and St. George came to symbolize the triumph of good over evil, or in the Christian tradition, Christianity over paganism. Associated with the fountain is a legend that each year on St. George's Day, the stone knight comes to life, turns his horse around, and bows to the people of Bratislava. Primate's Palace is part of the Bratislava City Museum complex.

Picture by Kolohe

St. Martin's Cathedral (Dom sv. Martina) is one of Bratislava's most historically important churches. The original part of the church was constructed in 1452, and its tower was part of the Old Town medieval defensive wall. St. Martin's was the coronation church of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1563 to 1830. During that period, 10 kings, one reigning queen, and seven royal consorts were crowned here, including Maria Theresa, who was crowned Queen of Hungary on June 25, 1741.

The southern entrance is the most significant because it is associated with the cathedral's royal coronation tradition.

Picture by Kolohe

Inside the main entrance is an equestrian statue of St. Martin sharing his cloak with a beggar, created in 1735.

Picture by Kolohe

A bust of Franz Liszt (1811-1886), the famous Hungarian composer and virtuoso pianist, stands on Rudnay Square beside St. Martin's Cathedral. He first performed in Bratislava at age nine and returned many times during his career. Many of his compositions were performed in St. Martin's, and in 1884 he supervised a performance of his Hungarian Coronation Mass.

Also located in Rudnay Square is a bust of Anton Bernolak (1762-1813). He was a Roman Catholic priest and Slovak linguist who developed the first codified form of the Slovak literary language, published in 1787.

We wanted to go to Bratislava Castle, but it was a considerable distance away on a hill, so we took the city tour bus. This also gave us a chance to see other parts of the city that we missed, but Bratislava Castle was the only stop on the bus route.

The tour bus first passed by the Church of St. Ladislaus and the adjoining former city hospital. The buildings were constructed between 1830 and 1832 and dedicated to King Ladislaus I of Hungary.

We then passed by the Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary and the Convent of the Sisters of St. Elizabeth. The complex was constructed between 1739 and 1743.

Picture by Kolohe

The Blumental Church, officially the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, is just northeast of Old Town. Blumental is German for "Flower Valley."

The St. Florian Column (also known as the Pillar of St. Florian) stands on Florianske Square directly in front of the church. St. Florian. St. Florian was the patron saint of firefighters and is depicted as a Roman soldier pouring water from a vessel onto a burning building. Around the column's base are three female allegorical figures representing Faith, Hope, and Charity (Love).

Picture by Kolohe

Two of Bratislava's most recognizable modern buildings are the National Bank of Slovakia headquarters and the Slovak Radio Building.

The National Bank is a glass tower that was built in 2002. It is 111 meters (363 feet) tall and has 33 floors.

The Slovak Radio Building is an inverted pyramid that was built in the 1960s and into the 1980s. Inside the building are broadcasting and recording studios and a concert hall that contains one of Slovakia's largest organs.

Picture by Kolohe

Grassalkovich Palace is now Slovakia's Presidential Palace. It was originally built in 1760 for Count Anton Grassalkovich, an adviser to Empress Maria Theresa.

A fountain in front of the building is called Earth - Planet of Peace. The 3-meter-diameter stainless-steel globe represents Earth, and abstract images of doves on the globe represent birds in flight.

Picture by Kolohe

Bratislava Castle is one of Bratislava's most recognizable landmarks because it sits on a hill overlooking the Danube River, a major European trade route for thousands of years and a critical military position.

No record exists of when the hill was first fortified, but traces of human activity date to the Prehistoric period. By the 1st century BC, the Celts established a fortified settlement on the hill, and by the Roman period the frontier ran along the Danube River.

In the 9th century, during the Great Moravian Empire, a substantial fortified settlement with an important stone building stood on the hill, and in the 10th century, the area became part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Construction of a medieval castle began sometime in the 10th century because, in 907, records of the Battle of Pressburg (Bratislava) note that a fortified castle existed on the hill. From the hill, you can see both Austria and modern Hungary, and you can watch travel up and down the Danube River.

During Maria Theresa's reign in the 18th century, Bratislava Castle was remodeled into a royal residence and became an important cultural center.

The castle was not open for tours while we were there, but we could walk around the grounds to see various statues and old foundations from the Great Moravian period, including a three-nave basilica.

Picture by Kolohe

On the way back to the bus stop, we drove past part of the remaining medieval city wall and the Memorial to the Bulgarian Partisans. It commemorates Bulgarian anti-fascist partisans who fought in Slovakia during World War II and the Slovak National Uprising of 1944. A translated quote from poet Hristo Botev reads: "Who falls in the struggle for freedom does not die."