SK, Bratislava – New Stary Bridge
Published: 10.8.2016
Across historical center of Bratislava we moved to another landmark after we made a beautiful walk along city walls. Our next point of interest is more than 120 years old. Yet it is new.
Before we tell you the name of the landmark we take you to Safarikovo square. This is an important traffic spot as well as a place of rest where stands beautiful architecture and the house of the oldest Slovakian university. The street separates the square to two parts.


The first part consists of a temporary park with some monkey bars, a fountain with a statue of a beautiful girl, and a WWII memorial of Slovakian patriots. Once Landerer palace was there. During a bombing attack in 1944 it was damaged and later demolished. Non-profit organizations and artists have used the place recently. They built there a small container town in which you could drink coffee, dance tango, lend a bike or watch some works of design. This is in the past now, however. And the place is empty now waiting to serve its next purpose.


The other part of Safarik square consists of a historical park. Its main feature is Kachni fountain (Duck Fountain) from 1914. Historical-ish fence (a new addition), flowers, trees, and benches are all there. It is quite a place of peace in a noisy and busy district.

Streets make the borders of the square (one of them being Sturova street that was renovated recently), beautiful Art Noveau houses, and the historical auditorium of Komensky Unversity. There are many students around, don't be surprised about that.

A new tram stop or bike trails are other things worth mentioning. These will lead you through Old Town safely.

Now we leave Safarik square and move to new-ish structures formerly known as the Frantisek Josef bridge, Safarik bridge, Red Army bridge, and, indeed, the Stary (Old) bridge. Probably you anticipate that we are going to talk about the new Stary Bridge. It was opened to the public in the beginning of the summer 2016.

Before we step on it let's take a look at its history. We'll go back to 1825. Then, however, it was a simple pontoon link between the left and right banks of the Danube. A true predecessor to the bridge we can see today was the one built in the years 1889 to 1890. The bridge was available to pedestrians as well as to trains. A railroad to Szombathely town and Vienna (Vienna street car). The bridge was destroyed by the German army in retreat at the end of the WWII. Its steel construction was damaged the most. However, it did not result in the total destruction of the bride. Once the Soviet troops conquered Bratislava, they rebuilt the bridge (1946). It was supposed to last only 15 years yet in reality it remained till 2013. Also, it was the only bridge on the Danube until the year 1972. The old bridge was disassembled and replaced by a new steel construction. It had been layed from the right bank of the Danube up on elevated pillars. It took two and half years two renew the bridge.

Today, you can walk across the new Stary bridge in gray-green color. It proudly rises above one of Europe's main rivers. There are fabolous vistas of Bratislava. There are observation platforms on both sides of the bridge in the first third of it. You can sit on benches and observe the vibrant life of the city. From time to time, a street car passes by. After more than 50 years it returned to Petrzalka. The bridge became integral part of the 1 phase of the pillar system of the public transportation in Bratislava.

The walk on the bridge is amazing. Yet it is hardly the only interesting place to see in the city. Next week we will see a city beach and Janek Kral orchard, the oldest public park in central Europe.
GPS: 48°08'29.8"N 17°06'58.2"E (Safarik square)
GPS: 48°08'19.7"N 17°07'02.4"E (new Stary Bridge)
Text and photos: Oskár Mažgút
Překlad: Stanislava Waniová
Related Articles
Published: 23.12.2018
We invite you to a retro-walkin Bratislava, which brings about a new book on this topic. We will travel back in time to the years 1948 to 1989. The picture of the capital in the period of socialism will be known through the postcards issued at that time. They will remind you of what the city looked like and how the city lived in a relatively short time.
Published: 19.12.2021
We invite you for a walk through one of the most popular and most beautiful public parks in Bratislava. It is located in a relatively densely built-up area of the Old Town and is called the Medical Garden, which aptly describes the surrounding presence of a polyclinic, school or dean's office at the Comenius University Faculty of Medicine.
Published: 22.4.2020
With its area of 2052.6 km², the Bratislava Region is the smallest of all regions of Slovakia. As for natural or historically valuable places, it certainly does not lag behind others.
Published: 22.11.2020
Only recently have Petržalské hájovny become important forestry places, thanks to which they have been partially restored, they have once again become known not only to locals and they provide us with a forgotten view of the past.
Published: 29.11.2020
Last week we introduced the Petržalka gamekeeper's lodges, today we will go to perhaps the most popular lakes in Bratislava, where you can fish, take a walk and take a bath in the summer. But there are no limits to swimming, you can also use the lakes for hardening, which is very modern at this time.
Published: 18.4.2021
Do you know what the streets and squares of Bratislava looked like 300 years ago? Can you imagine what its inhabitants fed and what life was like at that time in the streets and houses of rich and poor citizens? The new book publication "Bratislava-known-unknown" will show us how and what the city lived in in the 18th century and at the same time allow us to peek into various corners.
Published: 7.9.2016
There are many interesting parks, gardens, or other green areas around the historical center of Bratislava. People can rest there in the nature. However, the city center is not necessarily laid out in stone.
Published: 24.8.2016
We continue in our walks through green spots of Bratislava even today. We will visit only recently opened Waterworks Garden. The garden is located nearby the Danube River in Karlova Ves city borrough.
Published: 7.8.2016
Families with children, individuals, sports enthusiast… all can ride a bike on field roads, mountain roads, or bike trails. This way they get some fresh air during hot summer days and help their personal health. In case you miss determination or inspiration for some kind of similar adventure, then go on with this text. Soon you will mount your bike.
Published: 17.8.2016
We crossed the new Old Bridge (the last week's article) and reached Danube's right riverbank, the borrough of Petrzalka. After this beautiful bridge, two beautiful landmarks caught our attention. The first one was the water tower. The other a noise coming from around the riverbank.
Published: 3.8.2016
Presidential garden was the point of interest we saw last week. Today we see another great place in Bratislava - the city walls. They take you to the Middle Ages for free and also shelter you from the heat of summer.
Published: 6.1.2015
Bratislava is the capital and the largest city in Slovakia. The Danube flows through this city. Five bridgest (well, technically four today as the Stary Bridge is being disassembled only to be replaced with a new one). The most interesting si the SNP bridge built in the 20th century. There are couple of distributaries going to nowhere yet surrounded with riparian forests. Bratislava borders two countries – Hungary and Austria.
Published: 20.3.2014
One Saturday in March, we set out to exploring our capital, Bratislava. We had learned that it has a new landmark. It is devoted not only to tourists from abroad, but mostly to locals. The attraction is the so-called Street of Light.
Published: 31.12.2017
The capital of Slovakia received a new and interesting book about it which has recently reached the bookshelves. The perspective on Bratislava is from record breaking facts on the city.
Published: 27.7.2016
Summer is the period of walks and relax. Pools, parks, or mountains are welcomed shelters from the heat. We went to Bratislava's green oases this time. Locals and tourists alike find there refuge among trees and flowers.
Published: 11.12.2014
Bratislava - the capital of Slovakia. Its most famous landmarks - Bratislava castle, Slavin, St. Martin's church, the SNP bridge and its UFO, and many other cultural and historical sights are very well-know to Slovaks even though they often even have not seen them.
Published: 3.3.2016
When a Slovak hear the word chamois s/he first thinks of an animal which lives in the mountains. The other thing is a TV tower above the Slovakian capital. We are going to visit this sight today.
Published: 25.7.2013
The unique SNP bridge and its noticeable structure on top resembling a flying saucer is one of the most popular and most photographed landmarks in Bratislava. Today it naturally belongs to the city, however, this wasn’t always true.
Published: 19.3.2014
If you are one of those who love mountain biking, it is almost unnecessary to introduce you to a low about 100 kilometers long mountain ridge of the Male Karpaty. Mostly people of Bratislava and western Slovakia relax there, but also seek adrenaline to clear their heads and make them forget worries of everyday life.
Published: 27.9.2012
Cyclists capital of Slovakia, and not just those, are happy from the recently opened bridge between urban parts of Děvínská Nová Ves and Austrian municipalities Schlosshof. The bridge is built on the site where in the times of Maria Theresa used to stand his predecessor. Our portal Infoglobe was also at the opening ceremony.
Published: 22.1.2015
On a sunny day, we took a short walk in the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava. We chose to visit one of its landmarks, the memorial on Slavin.
Related Photogallery
Today we invite you to a tour of the parish Roman Catholic Church of St. Vincent located on Tomáš...
The first weekend in September is the time of the largest festival in the city – Dny mistrů ÚĽUV....
Last couple of years it hasnt been common for snow to cover our city. This time, we went on a bea...
On the second weekend of October all fans of Infoglobe and Slovakian Paleontological Club decided...
Stary Haj in Petrzalka is a green oasis in the middle of the largest housing estate in Slovakia. ...
Bratislava and its surroundings offer great possibilities for bike tourism thus we (the Infoglobe...
A colossal building we can see today had many forms in the past - originaly it was a Celtic oppid...
Related Videos
After many years, the historic Koch Garden in Bratislava's Old Town has opened to the public. Thi...
Today's video takes you to the old Bratislava East train depot, which has been a protected herita...
In 2010, a vast renovation was undertaken at Bratislava Castle. Since then the castle has been no...
The capital of Slovakia had for long been considered a boring place. Not any more. Vibrant life ...
Bratislava is a beautiful city of historical importance. It lies onthe Danube River and is surrou...