Touring Bratislava Castle

I love a good castle and this is actually the 20th one I have shared with you all on Sparkles and Shoes, crazy, hugh?  Last month when we were in Eastern Europe I requested we stop in Bratislava for a night in-between Budapest and Vienna because the train literally passes through the city and because I love visiting new places, especially castles!

Bratislava Castle dates back to the 9th century but in the museum we had a guided tour and had a history lesson that went back way further – to the Stone Age!  As we went through the History of Slovakia in the museum we learned so many things – from the first settlements on the land to the history of the term blue blood as the city evolved over the centuries thanks to its prominence on the Danube River. 

Then we exited the museum part we headed up to the top of the Crown Tower for a great view over the city.  My favorite fun fact about our tower climb was that while the tower we were in dated back to the 14th century, the three other towers we saw from that Southwest vantage point were all built much later and were actually for show to make the castle look symmetrical.

Post tower climb we ventured through the main part of the castle which was relatively deserted and learned about the more modern history – how it has been controlled by four different countries; Great Moravia, Kingdom of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Slovakia as well as how it was completely rebuilt in the 1950’s and 1960’s.  My favorite part was the grand staircases with the red carpet and the white cuban marble – so many great selfie opportunities!

And by the time we left it was getting quite dark but was treated to the Bratislava Castle lit up in the twilight and got to take a quick peak the Renaissance inspired garden over the wall because while it was only 5pm it was already closed. If you are going to visit I highly suggest you take a look at the Opening Hours and plan accordingly as they change based on the time of year!

Would you want tot visit Bratislava Castle?