Bratislava

Bratislava (German: Pressburg; Hungarian: Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia and the fourth largest of all cities on the river Danube. Officially, the population of the city proper is about 479,000; however, the wider Bratislava Region exceeds 739,300 inhabitants. Together with the neighbouring Trnava Region, it forms part of a wider Bratislava metropolitan region, a functional urban area of about 1.3 million inhabitants and the most urbanized region in Slovakia. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia at the foot of the Little Carpathians, occupying both banks of the Danube and the left bank of the River Morava. The city is situated on the border of three countries—Slovakia, Austria, and Hungary—and is the only national capital to have land borders with two other sovereign states. Its geographic position places it exceptionally close to the Austrian capital Vienna, making them the closest pair of capital cities in Europe at just 50 kilometres (31 mi) apart. The city's history has been influenced by people of many nations and religions, including Austrians, Bulgarians, Croats, Czechs, Germans, Hungarians, Jews, and Slovaks. It was the coronation site and legislative center and capital of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1536 to 1783; eleven Hungarian kings and eight queens were crowned in St Martin's Cathedral. Most Hungarian parliament assemblies were held in Bratislava from the 17th century until the Hungarian Reform Era, and the city has been home to many Hungarian, German, and Slovak historical figures. Today, Bratislava is the political, cultural, and economic centre of Slovakia.