Transport in Bratislava
Encyclopedia
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
's geographical position in Central Europe has long made Bratislava a natural crossroads for international trade traffic. Various ancient trade routes, such as the Amber Road
Amber Road
The Amber Road was an ancient trade route for the transfer of amber. As one of the waterways and ancient highways, for centuries the road led from Europe to Asia and back, and from northern Africa to the Baltic Sea....
and the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
waterway have crossed the territory of today's Bratislava. Today Bratislava is a road, railway, waterway and airway hub.
Road
Trnava
Trnava is a city in western Slovakia, 47 km to the north-east of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a kraj and of an okres . It was the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishopric . The city has a historic center...
, Nitra
Nitra
Nitra is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. With a population of about 83,572, it is the fifth largest city in Slovakia. Nitra is also one of the oldest cities in Slovakia and the country's earliest political and cultural center...
, Trenčín
Trencín
Trenčín is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 56,000, which makes it the ninth largest municipality of the country and is the seat of the Trenčín Region and the Trenčín District...
, Žilina
Žilina
Žilina is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of Slovakia with a population of approximately 85,000, an important industrial center, the largest city on the Váh river, and the seat of a...
and beyond, while the D2 motorway, going in the north-south direction, connects it to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
and Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
in the north-south direction. The D4 motorway (an outer bypass), which would ease the pressure on the city highway system, is in planning stage.
The A6 motorway
Nordostautobahn
The Nordost Autobahn A6 or Northeastern motorway is a motorway in eastern Austria and it connects Slovakia to the Austrian motorway system.It begins at A4 junction near Bruckneudorf, going east, bypassing Potzneusiedl, crossing the Leitha river by a 410 m long bridge, then beyond Gattendorf copying...
to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
connects Slovakia directly to the Austrian motorway system and was opened on 19 November 2007.
Currently, five bridges stand over the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
(ordered by the flow of the river): Lafranconi Bridge
Lafranconi Bridge
Lafranconi Bridge is a concrete motorway bridge in Bratislava, Slovakia, located on the D2 motorway. It was built in 1985-1991, with its right half opened in 1990 and the rest in 1992. It is 766 m long , and has a 30 m wide four-lane motorway. There are lanes for cyclists and pedestrians as well. ...
, Nový Most
Nový Most
Nový Most is a road bridge over the Danube in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is the 32nd-tallest, and thus shortest, member of the World Federation of Great Towers, and is the only bridge to be a member...
, Starý most
Starý most (Bratislava)
Starý most is the oldest still-standing bridge over the river Danube in Bratislava, Slovakia. The 460 meter long bridge includes a wooden pathway for pedestrians, a two-lane road and railway track, connecting unspoiled historic Bratislava with Petržalka. The bridge was closed for all traffic since...
, Most Apollo
Most Apollo
Apollo Bridge in Bratislava is a road bridge over the Danube in the capital of Slovakia.The bridge was opened to the public on September 5, 2005. It is named for the "Apollo" oil refinery which was situated on the left river bank in this area before World War II...
and Prístavný most
Prístavný most
Prístavný most is a double-floor motorway-railroad truss bridge over the Danube in Bratislava, Slovakia, near the Port of Bratislava. It lies on the D1 motorway. It is a 599 m long bridge , and was built between 1977 and 1985...
.
The city's inner network of roadways is made on the radial-circular shape. Nowadays, Bratislava is experiencing a sharp increase in road traffic, increasing pressure on the road network. There are about 200,000 registered cars in Bratislava, which is approximately one car per 2 inhabitants.
Rail
The first railway in the whole Kingdom of HungaryKingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
was built in 1840, when a horse-drawn railway was built to Svätý Jur
Svätý Jur
Svätý Jur is a small town northeast of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The name means Saint George. Between 1960 and 1990, the Communist government forced the town to use a "non-religious" name Jur pri Bratislave. Svätý Jur has a population of almost 5,000.-Geography:Svätý Jur is situated in...
and later extended into Trnava
Trnava
Trnava is a city in western Slovakia, 47 km to the north-east of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a kraj and of an okres . It was the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishopric . The city has a historic center...
and Sereď
Sered
Sereď is a town in southern Slovak Republic near Trnava, on the right bank of the Váh River on the Danubian Lowland. It has аpproximately 17,000 inhabitants.It has a hotel, cinema, culture house, many restaurants and confectioner's shops.-Geography:...
in 1846 (the track was converted for steam trains in the 1870s). Steam
Steam
Steam is the technical term for water vapor, the gaseous phase of water, which is formed when water boils. In common language it is often used to refer to the visible mist of water droplets formed as this water vapor condenses in the presence of cooler air...
traction was introduced in 1848, with a link to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and in 1850 with a link to Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
.
Today, Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
is a railway hub, with 6 railway directions ( to Břeclav
Breclav
Břeclav is a town in the South Moravian Region, Czech Republic, approximately 55 km southeast of Brno. It is located at the border with Lower Austria on the Dyje River. The nearest large town on Austrian territory is Hohenau an der March...
, Trnava
Trnava
Trnava is a city in western Slovakia, 47 km to the north-east of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a kraj and of an okres . It was the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishopric . The city has a historic center...
, Galanta
Galanta
Galanta is a small town in Slovakia. It is situated 50 km due east from the Slovak capital Bratislava.-Geography:Galanta lies in the Danubian Lowland , the warm southern part of Slovakia...
, Komárno
Komárno
Komárno is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube and the Váh rivers. Komárno was formed from part of a historical town in Hungary situated on both banks of the Danube. Following World War I, the border of the newly created Czechoslovakia cut the historical, unified town in half,...
, Hegyeshalom
Hegyeshalom
Hegyeshalom is a village of approximately 3600 inhabitants in the Győr-Moson-Sopron county of Hungary, on the border with Austria and less than 15 km from the border with Slovakia.- History :...
and Parndorf
Parndorf
Parndorf is a town in the district of Neusiedl am See in Burgenland in Austria....
) coming to the city.
The Main railway station
Bratislava hlavná stanica
- External links :* *...
lies at the edge of Old Town
Old Town, Bratislava
The Old Town of Bratislava is the historic center and one of the boroughs of Bratislava, in the Bratislava Region of Slovakia. It is coextensive with the smallest Slovak administrative district by area, Bratislava I. It contains the small, but preserved medieval city center, Bratislava Castle and...
, with lines connecting it to the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and rest of Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
; with direct services to Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
(Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
), Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
(Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
) and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
Another important railway station is the Petržalka railway station
Bratislava-Petržalka Railway Station
The Bratislava-Petržalka railway station is a station in Petržalka, the southern part of Bratislava. The station was rebuilt in the 1990s as a stop for international trains to and from Vienna, which restarted in 1999 after having stopped in 1945....
, connecting Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
with Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. There are also many suburban stations: Devínske Jazero, Devínska Nová Ves
Devínska Nová Ves
Devínska Nová Ves ) is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Its western borders are formed by the Morava River, which also represents the national border between Slovakia and Austria....
, Lamač
Bratislava Lamač train station
Bratislava Lamač railway station is a small railway station inside the Lamač borough of Bratislava, Slovakia. Until 1947 the station was called "Lamač". The railway station is administered under Bratislava hlavná stanica, with the station master residing there as well...
, Železná studienka
Železná studienka Bratislava train station
Bratislava Železná studienka railway station is a small railway station inside the Bratislava Forest Park recreational zone in northern Bratislava, Slovakia....
, Vinohrady, Rača
Raca
Raca or RACA can refer to:* Raca, a Biblical term of Aramaic origin used in Matthew 5:22. See Aramaic of Jesus or Expounding of the Law.* Rača, a town and municipality in Serbia* Rača , river in Serbia...
, Východ, Vajnory
Vajnory
Vajnory is a small borough in the northeast of Bratislava, Slovakia.Milan Rastislav Štefánik international airport is located near Vajnory. Another airport - Vajnory Airport, which was the first airport in Slovakia - closed in 2006.-History:...
, Predmestie, Rusovce
Rusovce
Rusovce castle")) is a borough in southern Bratislava on the right bank of the Danube river, close to the Hungarian border.- History :In the 1st century, there was a Roman settlement named Gerulata in today's Rusovce area. The first preserved written reference to the settlement is from 1208. It...
, Nové Mesto
Nové Mesto, Bratislava
Nové Mesto is a borough of Bratislava, in the Bratislava III district. It is located north and north-east of the Old Town. The borough also borders Rača, Vajnory, Ružinov, Lamač and Záhorská Bystrica boroughs.-History:...
, Podunajské Biskupice
Podunajské Biskupice
Podunajské Biskupice is a borough of Bratislava. It is the largest borough in the terms of area in Bratislava.-History:...
, ÚNS and cancelled stations Devínska Nová Ves zastávka, Filiálka, Slovany, Nivy, Vrakuňa
Vrakuna
Vrakuňa is a borough of Bratislava, Slovakia. It is divided by into two parts by the Little Danube river.-History:The first written mention of Vrakuňa was in 1279 as a village named Verekne, which was its name until 1948, when it was renamed to the current name. It became an official borough of...
, Kopčany, Jarovce
Jarovce
Jarovce is a small borough of Bratislava, Slovakia.- History :The village was first mentioned in 1208 under the name Ban. During the Ottoman wars, many Croats settled here in the 16th century . They are still a strong minority...
, Čunovo
Cunovo
Čunovo is a small part of Bratislava, Slovakia, in the southern area near the Hungarian border. It is located close to the Gabčíkovo - Nagymaros Dams.- History :...
and Petržalka
Petržalka
Petržalka ) is the largest borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Situated on the right bank of the river Danube, it is home to approximately 150,000 people.-History:Historical records of Petržalka exist from 1225...
-Most.
Air
M. R. Štefánik Airport
-Cargo airlines:-Charter airlines:winter 2011/12 list-VIP and other operators:*ABS Jets – base*Tatra Jet – focus city*OPERA JET – base*VR Jet – base...
, named after General Milan Rastislav Štefánik
Milan Rastislav Štefánik
Milan Rastislav Štefánik , Kingdom of Hungary – May 4, 1919 in Ivanka pri Dunaji, Czechoslovakia) was a Slovak politician, diplomat, and astronomer. During World War I, he was General of the French Army, at the same time the Czechoslovak Minister of War, one of the leading members of the...
and also called Bratislava Airport (Letisko Bratislava), is the main international airport in Slovakia. It is located 9 kilometres (5.59 mi) north-east of the city centre. It serves civil and governmental, scheduled and unscheduled domestic and international flights. The current runways support the landing of all common types of aircraft currently used. The airport has enjoyed rapidly growing passenger traffic in recent years; it served 279,028 passengers in 2000, 1,937,642 in 2006 and 2,024,142 in 2007.
River
The Port of BratislavaPort of Bratislava
The Port of Bratislava is a major port on the river Danube and — in a wider sense — on the Rhine-Main-Danube waterway....
is one of the two international river ports
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
in Slovakia. The port connects Bratislava to international boat traffic, especially the interconnection from the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
to the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
via the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal
Rhine-Main-Danube Canal
The Rhine–Main–Danube Canal , located in Bavaria, Germany, connects the Main and the Danube rivers across the European Watershed, running from Bamberg via Nuremberg to Kelheim...
.
Additionally, tourist lines operate from Bratislava's passenger port, including routes to Devín
Devín
Devín originally a separate town at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers, is now a suburb of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is an important archaeological site, famous for the ruins of Devín Castle...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and elsewhere.
Public transport
Dopravný podnik Bratislava
Dopravný podnik Bratislava, akciová spoločnosť is the only provider of city public transport in Bratislava and Chorvátsky Grob...
, a city-owned company. The transport system is known as Mestská hromadná doprava (MHD, Municipal Mass Transit). The history of public transportation in Bratislava began in 1895, with the opening of the first tram route.
The system uses three main types of vehicles. Bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es cover almost the entire city and go to the most remote boroughs and areas, with 60 daily routes, 20 night routes and other routes on certain occasions. Tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
s (streetcars) cover 13 heavily-used commuter routes, except for Petržalka. Trolleybus
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
es serve as a complementary means of transport, with 13 routes. An additional service, Bratislava Integrated Transport (Bratislavská integrovaná doprava), links train and bus routes in the city with points beyond.
Major transport junctions include Trnavské mýto
Trnavské mýto
Trnavské mýto is an important transport junction and intersection in Bratislava, Slovakia, in the Nové Mesto district. It is located at .- Description :...
, Račianske mýto
Racianske mýto
Račianske mýto is a major transport junction and intersection in Bratislava, Slovakia, at the border of the Staré Mesto and Nové Mesto districts...
, Patrónka
Patrónka
Patrónka is a major transport junction and bus stop in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is part of Bratislava I Old Town, located in the northwest of the city...
, Bratislava hlavná stanica
Bratislava hlavná stanica
- External links :* *...
and Zochova
Zochova
Zochova Street is a street in Bratislava's Old Town and Zochova is also the name of a major bus stop in Bratislava, located at the point where the street touches Staromestská Street, next to Nový Most in Bratislava, Slovakia...
.