Transport in Bratislava

Last updated November 11, 2024

Bratislava's geographical position in Central Europe has long made Bratislava a natural crossroads for international trade traffic.^[1]^[2] Various ancient trade routes, such as the Amber Road and the Danube waterway have crossed the territory of today's Bratislava. Today Bratislava is a road, railway, waterway and airway hub.^[3]

Road

D1 Motorway in Bratislava Einsteinova.jpg — D1 Motorway in Bratislava

The city is a large international motorway junction: The D1 motorway connects Bratislava to Trnava, Nitra, Trenčín, Žilina and beyond, while the D2 motorway, going in the north–south direction, connects it to Prague, Brno and Budapest in the north–south direction. The D4 motorway (an outer bypass), which would ease the pressure on the city highway system, is to be partly finished by 2020 (the southern section with new bridge over Danube river together with R7 expressway and without the planned 10 km tunnel under Small Carpathians).

The A6 motorway to Vienna connects Slovakia directly to the Austrian motorway system and was opened on November 19, 2007.^[4]

Currently, five bridges stand over the Danube (ordered by the flow of the river): Lafranconi Bridge, Nový Most, Starý most, Most Apollo and Prístavný most.

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.^[3]

Bratislava Central Bus Station (Autobusová stanica Mlynské Nivy or AS Bratislava Nivy) is located in the Nivy neighborhood of the Ružinov borough of Bratislava. It serves as the main hub for both domestic and international intercity bus service for the area of Slovakia. The city features numerous other, much smaller bus stations (usually just bus stops).

Rail

The first railway in the Kingdom of Hungary was a horse-drawn railway built in 1840 to Svätý Jur. In 1846, it was extended io Trnava and Sereď. The track was upgraded for steam trains in the 1870s.^[5] Steam traction was introduced in 1848, with a link to Vienna and in 1850 with a link to Budapest.

Today, Bratislava is a railway hub, with 7 railway directions (to Marchegg, Břeclav, Trnava, Galanta, Komárno, Hegyeshalom and Parndorf) coming to the city.

The Main railway station lies at the edge of Old Town, with lines connecting it to the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Germany and rest of Slovakia; with direct services to Poland, Belarus, Russia, Croatia (Zagreb), Serbia (Belgrade) and Ukraine.
Another important railway station is the Petržalka railway station, connecting Bratislava with Austria. There are also many suburban stations: Devínske Jazero, Devínska Nová Ves, Lamač, Železná studienka, Vinohrady, Rača, Východ, Vajnory, Rusovce, Nové Mesto, Podunajské Biskupice, Vrakuňa, ÚNS and cancelled stations Devínska Nová Ves zastávka, Nivy, Kopčany, Jarovce, Čunovo and Petržalka-Most.

Air

Bratislava's M. R. Štefánik Airport, named after General Milan Rastislav Štefánik 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.^[6] Bratislava is also served by the Vienna International Airport located 49 kilometres (30.4 mi) west of the city centre.

Until January 2007, Bratislava was also served by the small Vajnory Airport, which is being gradually demolished.

Bratislava features the following heliports:^[7]

Location	Ownership	Notes
Kramáre Hospital – Nemocnica s poliklinikou L. Dérera Kramáre, on the ground in front of the hospital	Kramáre Hospital	During communism, this was the only heliport in Bratislava. Helicopters also routinely land on the hospital's roof, which is technically not a heliport.
Hotel Kempinski Bratislava River park, roof	J&T Real Estate	Built in 2010, it is located in the River Park development by the Danube. It is the only private heliport in use in Slovakia, the other 8 are used exclusively by the air rescue service.
National Bank of Slovakia, roof	unknown	Opened on May 23, 2002, it is located on Mýtna Street, next to the Slovak Radio building. The heliport was built only for single-engine helicopters which are prohibited from flying over Bratislava, making the heliport unusable.
Hotel DoubleTree by Hilton, roof	Tehelné pole, s.r.o.	Opened in April 2011, it is located on Trnavská street, next to the new Ondrej Nepela Arena. The heliport was built but it is not permitted due to noise levels and officially it is not functional.

Helicopters are allowed to land on any land or roof in Bratislava, as long as the pilot considers such place to be safe, and as long as the place either belongs to the pilot, or he has to have the owner's permission. A meadow in front of the Ružinov Hospital is routinely used for landing emergency service helicopters, despite the lack of any kind of description.

The airspace over Bratislava is divided into two parts: the approximately 20 kilometers radius around the M. R. Štefánik Airport, where pilots are required to report to air traffic controllers and the rest of the city, where just a flying permit (Slovak : letové povolenie) is sufficient. It is prohibited to fly over Bratislava in the night, yet flights do occur and go unpunished.^[8]

River

The Port of Bratislava is one of the two international river ports in Slovakia. The port connects Bratislava to international boat traffic, especially the interconnection from the North Sea to the Black Sea via the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal. Additionally, tourist lines operate from Bratislava's passenger port, including routes to Devín, Vienna and elsewhere.

Public transport

Public transportation in Bratislava is managed by Dopravný podnik Bratislava, 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.^[9]

The system uses three main types of vehicles. Buses 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. Trams (streetcars) cover 13 heavily used commuter routes. Trolleybuses serve as a complementary means of transport, with 13 routes.^[10]^[11] 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, Račianske mýto, Patrónka, Bratislava main railway station and Most SNP (Nový most).

Related Research Articles

Transport in Croatia relies on several main modes, including transport by car, train, ship and plane. Road transport incorporates a comprehensive network of state, county and local routes augmented by a network of highways for long-distance travelling. Water transport can be divided into sea, based on the ports of Rijeka, Ploče, Split and Zadar, and river transport, based on Sava, Danube and, to a lesser extent, Drava. Croatia has 9 international airports and several airlines, of which the most notable are Croatia Airlines and Trade Air. Rail network is fairly developed but regarding inter-city transport, bus tends to be far more common than the rail.

Transport in Slovakia is possible by rail, road, air, or rivers. Slovakia is a developed Central European country with a well-developed rail network (3,662 km) and a highway system (854 km). The main international airport is the M. R. Štefánik Airport in the capital, Bratislava. The most important waterway is the river Danube, which is used by passenger, cargo, and freight ships. The two most important harbours in Slovakia are Komarno harbour and Bratislava harbour.

M. R. Štefánik Airport, also called – especially in English – Bratislava Airport, located approximately 9 km (5.6 mi) northeast of the city center of Bratislava, spanning over the area of three municipalities. It is the main international airport of Slovakia.

Ružinov is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, located in the Bratislava II district. It is the city's second most populated borough, housing over 80,000 inhabitants and its Nivy neighbourhood is the place of the emerging new city center of Bratislava. Ružinov features extensive residential areas, as well as major industrial facilities and transport infrastructure including the Milan Rastislav Štefánik international airport and the D1 motorway.

Košice International Airport is an international airport serving Košice, Slovakia. It is the second largest international airport in Slovakia. It is located 6 km (3.7 mi) to the south of St Elisabeth Cathedral, 230 m (750 ft) above sea level, covering an area of 3.50 km² (1.35 sq mi). It serves both scheduled and charter, domestic and international flights. Airport capacity is 800,000 passengers a year as of 2012.

Nové Mesto nad Váhom is a town in the Trenčín Region of Slovakia.

Vienna has an extensive transport system that includes roads, railways, trams, metro, and buses.

The Bratislava Region is the wealthiest and economically most important region in Slovakia, despite being the smallest by area and having the second smallest population of the eight Slovak regions. The majority of governmental institutions, including the Ministry of Finance and the central bank, as well as many Slovak private companies and subsidiaries of multinational companies in Slovakia have their headquarters in Bratislava. More than 75% of Bratislava's population works in the service sector, mainly composed of trade, banking, IT, telecommunication industry, tourism and others. Major factories in Bratislava include the Slovnaft oil refinery and the Volkswagen Bratislava plant. The Bratislava Stock Exchange (BSSE), the organiser of the public market of securities, was founded on March 15, 1991.

The Košice public transit system operates in Košice, Slovakia; services are managed by the Košice Transit Company.

Devínska Nová Ves is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Its western borders are formed by the Morava River, which also forms the national border between Slovakia and Austria.

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.

Trnavské mýto is an important transport junction and crossroad in Bratislava, Slovakia, in the Nové Mesto district. It is located at 48°9′30″N17°07′41″E.

Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia, is divided into five national administrative districts and into 17 boroughs. These boroughs vary in size and population, from the smallest Lamač and least populated Čunovo to the largest Podunajské Biskupice and most populated Petržalka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bratislava-Petržalka railway station</span> Railway station in Slovakia

Bratislava-Petržalka railway station is a station in Petržalka, the southern part of Bratislava. The station was built in 1897. The station was rebuilt in the 1990s as a terminus for international trains to and from Vienna, which restarted in 1999 after having stopped in 1945. Shuttle trains between the station and Wien Hauptbahnhof operate approximately once per hour.

Bratislava, historically known as Pozsony and Pressburg, is the capital and largest city of the Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all cities on the River Danube. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, some sources estimate it to be more than 660,000—approximately 140% of the official figures. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia at the foot of the Little Carpathians, occupying both banks of the River Danube and the left bank of the River Morava. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital to border two sovereign states.

Public transport in Bratislava is managed by Dopravný podnik Bratislava, a city-owned company. The transport system is known as Mestská hromadná doprava, and the network is the largest in Slovakia. The history of public transportation in Bratislava began with the opening of the first tram route in 1895, when the city was in the Kingdom of Hungary, part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Passengers must buy their tickets before entering the vehicle. Revenue from tickets covers approximately 40% of expenses, with the other 60% paid by the city.

Vajnory Airport was an airfield located near the village of Vajnory, close to Slovakia's capital Bratislava. The airfield was opened in the early 1910s. On 4 May 1919, the Czechoslovak war minister Milan Rastislav Štefánik died during an unsuccessful landing attempt at the Vajnory airport. From 1923 to 1951, the airfield was used by the Czechoslovak Airlines for regular domestic flights to Prague. Afterward, it was replaced by the newly opened Milan Rastislav Štefánik Airport and only used by the local flying club. The airport was officially closed in January 2007.

Nivy is a neighborhood of the Ružinov borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, located in the Bratislava II district. At the end of the 19th century, the area underwent massive industrialization becoming the first industrial part of Bratislava. In the 1950s to 1970s, the area was redeveloped into a residential suburb. At the end of the 20th century large-scale construction of office buildings started again to change the character of the neighborhood and in the 21st century, Nivy became the location of the emerging new city centre of Bratislava. It is an important transport hub featuring the Nivy Station.

Bratislava Central Bus Station was the main bus transport interchange in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It served both domestic and international intercity bus service. The station building was constructed from 1975 to 1983 in the Nivy neighborhood of the Ružinov borough. It was opened on 15 August 1983 and closed for redevelopment in 2018. The author of the building design and original interior is Valéria Triznová. The station featured numerous shops, fast food kiosks and a restaurant. The bus stands were open 24/7 and the station building closed at 23:00 each night and opened at 04:00 the next day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trams in Bratislava</span> Tram system in Bratislava, Slovakia

Bratislava tram network serves Bratislava. It is operated by Dopravný podnik Bratislava, a. s and the system is known as Mestská hromadná doprava.

References

↑ "Bratislava in Encyclopædia Britannica". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
↑ "MIPIM 2007 – Other Segments". City of Bratislava. 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
1 2 "Transport and Infrastructure". City of Bratislava. 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
↑ "Do Viedne už netreba ísť po okresnej ceste" (in Slovak). Pravda. 2007. Retrieved November 19, 2007.
↑ "The Bratislava-Trnava Horse-drawn Railway". Slovak ministry of transport, post and telecommunications. Retrieved June 12, 2007.
↑ "Letisko Bratislava – O letisku – Štatistické údaje (Airport Bratislava – About airport – Statistical data)". Letisko M.R. Štefánika – Airport Bratislava. 2008. Archived from the original on September 3, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
↑ "Vrtuľníky na NBS nepustia (Helicopters not allowed at the National Bank of Slovakia building)". SME. February 18, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
↑ "Nad Bratislavou lietajú neidentifikované malé lietadlá (Small unidentified planes fly over Bratislava)". SME. August 23, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
↑ "Z histórie (History)" (in Slovak). Dopravný podnik Bratislava. 2004. Archived from the original on June 8, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
↑ "Trasy liniek (routes)" (in Slovak). Dopravný podnik Bratislava. 2007. Archived from the original on May 21, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
↑ "Pilotný projekt nočných liniek MHD od 1. júla 2007" (in Slovak). Dopravný podnik Bratislava. 2007. Archived from the original on August 4, 2007. Retrieved July 26, 2007.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Bratislava in Encyclopædia Britannica". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2007.

[2] "MIPIM 2007 – Other Segments". City of Bratislava. 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2007.

[transport-3] 1 2 "Transport and Infrastructure". City of Bratislava. 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2007.

[4] "Do Viedne už netreba ísť po okresnej ceste" (in Slovak). Pravda. 2007. Retrieved November 19, 2007.

[5] "The Bratislava-Trnava Horse-drawn Railway". Slovak ministry of transport, post and telecommunications. Retrieved June 12, 2007.

[6] "Letisko Bratislava – O letisku – Štatistické údaje (Airport Bratislava – About airport – Statistical data)". Letisko M.R. Štefánika – Airport Bratislava. 2008. Archived from the original on September 3, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2008.

[SME1-7] "Vrtuľníky na NBS nepustia (Helicopters not allowed at the National Bank of Slovakia building)". SME. February 18, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2012.

[SME2-8] "Nad Bratislavou lietajú neidentifikované malé lietadlá (Small unidentified planes fly over Bratislava)". SME. August 23, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2012.

[9] "Z histórie (History)" (in Slovak). Dopravný podnik Bratislava. 2004. Archived from the original on June 8, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2007.

[publictransportroutes-10] "Trasy liniek (routes)" (in Slovak). Dopravný podnik Bratislava. 2007. Archived from the original on May 21, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2007.

[11] "Pilotný projekt nočných liniek MHD od 1. júla 2007" (in Slovak). Dopravný podnik Bratislava. 2007. Archived from the original on August 4, 2007. Retrieved July 26, 2007.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]