Bike Trip: Schloss Hof - Bratislava

As soon as we had left the compounds of Schloss Hof we appeared on a good and wide asphalt road directed to the new Bikebridge of Liberty. The interesting fact related to this bridge is that it was built to preserve historic testimony. Its steel construction spread across remainings of an old bridge and one of its pillars isinserted into a military bunker from the „Iron Curtain“ period. Also a barbed wire , which separated Slovenska from Austria, resembles this era. The total lenght of the bridge is 955 meters, its steel part is 525 meters long, the bridge is 4 meters wide and bikers have to overcome the elevation of 7 meters.

A journey full of great trek tips
From the bridge there is an unusual view of aluvium of the Morava with unique fauna and flora. There i salso a nature trail going along the bike trail. When we rode off the bridge we saw consequences of recent floods – dried mud on trees was an indicator how high the water level was. Also on the bike trail we saw some remainders of the floods such as mud. We almost might said we were on a dust not asphalt road. When we got off the bridge we were in Devinska Nová Ves, a district of Bratislava. This district boasts with its unique history starting in the Neolithic era. Above our heads there was the protected area of Devinská Kobyla. Also a world-famous Paleolithic locality of Sandberg was its part as well as several quarries and a museum of geology , which is in a really bad shape, near the district of Devín

When we got to Devin a new bike trail greeted us. Like in Austria, even this is built on the top of flood dike. The landmark of the whole region, Castle Devin . This national cultural landmark is one of the oldest castles in Slovakia, initially it had been known as Dowina and notes on this castle come already from the era of Great Moravia. It is located on interesting and strategic place – on a massive rock above the meeting of the Morava and the Danube. We decided to stop by just under this monumental historic building. In local buffet we had a glass of mineral water and sweet pancakes.

The last part of our ride
The last part of our journey was ahead. Across Slavic riverbank lined with statues we got ourselves on 1 kilometer long bike trail that fluently extended to the so called busy Devinska road. If you like adrenaline such as fast driving cars and chaotic turns, you are welcome. Fortunately, at the beginning of the Karlova Ves city district you will get back on a bike trail. The trail leads along the Waterworks Museum to the Lafranconi Bridge. By the afore-mentioned museum we had to stop and get off our bikes for the road was flooded. We bypassed unpleasant muddy area and bit tired continued along riverbank by the Old Town. We admired newly built buildings, restaurants, hotels, boat, botels until we get to the unique SNP Bridge. In the middle of the bridge, we stopped to enjoy scenic view of the huge Danube, Bratislava Castle or spacious exhibition grounds.

After we got across the SNP bridge we continued across the oldest public park in central Europe, the Janek Kral Garden . From there we headed to Petrzalka along the Croatian Arm until we reached finish, i.e. home. The whole bike tour was about 70 kilometers long, it took us one day to complete and left many beautiful memories within.

I am glad we had a chance to share with you our experiences. If you still don’t know where to go, I gladly recommend you to try this easy bike journey. It will reward you not only with beautiful views of local nature but also enrich you with bits from history and also improve your physical fitness.


Text and photo: Oskár Mažgút