Mezei István: Urban development in Slovakia (Pécs-Somorja, 2010)
3. The settlement structure of Slovakia
The role of the first independent Slovak state in town planning cal and administrative role made it a real capital town. Compared with Vienna, Budapest and Prague or even with Brno, it could not be regarded as a big city, either (Miháliková 2006). Like Bratislava, Vienna is also a city with an eccentric location. The political role that the Hapsburg dynasty played in the Holy Roman Empire and in Hungary made Vienna great. It gradually became an imperial centre of European significance. After the disintegration of Austria in 1918, its geographical location became unfavourable, because it is too far to the east. After World War II, the iron curtain was drawn close to it. After 1990 and especially after Austria joined the European Union in 1995 and many of the ex-communist countries became EU members in 2004, this disadvantage may become an advantage, in so far as it will have economic and political relations with the east again. The eccentric location of Vienna is not so disadvantageous for Austria, because the country itself stretches westwards, in the direction of highly developed German, Italian and Swiss areas. On the other hand, for Bratislava, although its location in the western part of the country may be said to be favourable, it is unfavourable that the country itself stretches to the east, towards less dynamic areas. There is no favourable eastward gravitation for Bratislava. Apart from the symbols of supremacy expressed in the buildings of the royal town, the new Czechoslovak power did not take over the characteristic identity of the town; in fact, it rejected it. Multilingualism and, what * * The 9th century Slav earthwork on the Castle Hill of Bratislava became the property of Breszlav (Braszlatf, the eastern Frankish vassal Pannonian Slav prince. The German name Pressburg (the composition of the Slav name Braslav and the German word burg [=castle]) and the Slovak name Prešporok, which was used until 1919, can be traced back to his name. The first Magyar settlers of Hungary occupied the town in about 902. In the battle of 907 under its castle called Braslavespruch or Brezalauspruch, they completely defeated the Bavarian army, which wanted to reoccupy Pannónia again. This is where Pozsony (Bratislava) was first mentioned. It probably got its Hungarian and Latin name from its castle governor called Poson. Its present official name comes from the year 1837, when P.J.Šafárik, a Slovak historian and archeologist, incorrectly reconstructed the old name of the town and thought that it had originated from the name Bratislav, instead of Braslav. (Lajos Kiss: Földrajzi nevek etimológiai szótára. [Etymological Dictionary of Geographical Names.] Akadémiai Kiadó, 1980) From 1536 it was the capital of Hapsburg-Hungary. The national assemblies were held there until 1848. Between 1563 and 1830 the Hungarian kings were crowned in St. Martin Cathedral. Between 1552 and 1783 the Holy Crown was preserved in the southwestern tower of the castle. (Magyar Nagylexikon. Budapest, 2002. Volume 15) 65
