Gerulata was aRomanmilitary camp located near today'sRusovce, a borough ofBratislava,Slovakia. It was part of theRoman province ofPannonia and was built in the 2nd century as a part of thefrontier defence system. It was abandoned in the 4th century, when Roman legions withdrew fromPannonia. Beyond the remains of the Roman forum, fragments of structures and gravestones, bronze, iron, ceramic and stone pieces are on show in a museum showing daily life. The best preserved object is a quadrilateral building 30 metres long and 30 metres wide, with 2.4 metre thick walls.
Castles from theHigh Middle Ages still dot the hilltops of Slovakia. The most outstanding isSpiš Castle, in eastern Slovakia, dating from 1209.[1]: 38
Among the oldest churches in Slovakia are:
TheChurch of Saint Margaret of Antioch, Kopčany, one of the oldest churches in Slovakia, a pre-Romanesque building for whichGreater Moravian origin is considered. The church was built probably in the 9th or 10th century and was first mentioned in 1329.
Only a handful of Romanesque buildings have been preserved in Slovakia, but these include at least three church monuments of high standing, included in the TransRomanica network:[2]
Provostry and Cathedral of St.Martin at Spišská Kapitula (Spišské Podhradie): the cathedral was built in the early 13th century for the bishop of the Spiš region, back then an important cultural and economic centre. The three-nave church features a façade with Romanesque towers in alternatedsandstone and whitetravertine. Since 1993,Spišská Kapitula is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.[2]
Church of the assumption of the Virgin Mary,Bíňa: around 1217 theHont-Pázmány noble family founded a monastery in this small village by the riverHron, in the Danube lowlands, including a monumental Romanesque monastery church, which is what remains to date. Designed along the lines of theEsztergom Cathedral, it is a single-nave church with a two-towered façade and a built-out entrance hall. Nearby stands also a Romanesque rotunda dedicated to the twelve apostles, with traces of murals.[2]
Church of the assumption of the Virgin Mary,Diakovce: an example of Romanesque brick architecture typical of south-east Slovakia, this two-story church (built in 1228) used to be part of a Benedictine abbey established in the 11th century by thePannonhalma monks. The three-nave church features two towers flanking the façade and three chancels by the apse, where a fragment of a Romanesque fresco still shows Christ in a mandorla. The façades include friezed pilasters.[2]
Castles from theHigh Middle Ages still dot the hilltops of Slovakia. The most outstanding isSpiš Castle, in eastern Slovakia, dating from 1209.[1]: 38 Other castles, listed in the National Cultural Heritage list of the Monuments Board of the Slovak Republic, include:
Brekov Castle (Brekovský hrad /Barkó vára), nearZemplín, dating back to the second half of the 13th century;
Jasenov Castle (Jasenovský hrad /Jeszenő vára), nearZemplín, from the late 13th century;
Old Slovak town squares used to feature Gothic burgher houses, most of which were remade with Italian-style Renaissance façades in the 16th century, covered withsgraffito decorations. Among them is the town square ofBardejov, a Unesco centre, as well asLevoča.[1]: 39
Folk and vernacular architecture from Slovak villages remains preserved in several instances. This architectural style typically features wooden structures, sometimes plastered, dating back to the 18th century.[1]: 39–40
Čičmany contains a folk architecture reserve, which was founded in 1977.Timberedhouses with ridgeroofs,galleries and pointed orlinearwall decorations have been preserved in Čičmany. Of particular interest are the very specific white patterns which are painted on the exterior walls of the houses to decorate them.
Vlkolínec, situated in the centre of Slovakia, is a remarkably intact settlement, listed as aUNESCO World Heritage site since 1993. It is the region's most complete group of these kinds of traditional log houses, often found in mountainous areas. The village consists of more than 45 log houses each of them made up of two or three rooms. A wooden belfry from the 18th century as well as the baroque chapel has also been preserved.[3]
Eastern Slovakia is particularly renowned for itswooden churches, often built without nails, dating from the 18th till the 20th century and mainly belonging to Greek Catholic and Orthodox confessions, particularly of theRusyn minority. They can be found in the area ofBardejov andSnina.[1]: 40
Wealthy aristocrats and merchants in present-day Slovakia from the 1600s used to appreciate Vienna-stylebaroque; the University church of St John the Baptist inTrnava is one of the early examples. Floweryrococo followed the influence ofMaria Theresa,Queen of Hungary in the 18th century, with swags and plaster decorations in Old TownBratislava.[1]: 39 Examples includeGrassalkovich Palace, built in 1760 (today's residence of thePresident of Slovakia), as well as theEpiscopal Summer Palace (reconstructed in 1761–1765) and theMirbach Palace, from 1768 to 1770.
In the interwar period, Bratislava was a site for several modernist architectural styles:
Czech Cubism is evident in Bratislava'sHeydukova Street Synagogue, byArtur Szalatnai, 1923–26. The synagogue is an important example of Slovak religious architecture of the 20th century and it is listed as a Slovak National Cultural Monument. The exterior has a towerless, seven-pillared colonnade. The interior includes a large sanctuary in which modern steel-and-concrete construction and contemporary Cubist details are combined with historicist elements.
Žilina'sNová Synagóga was built in 1928–1931 to designs of Germanmodernist architectPeter Behrens. Deemed "the last Slovak synagogue", it was restored 2011–17 to become an arts centre.
Bratislava'sHousing complex Unitas are open gallery–type apartment complex designed by architectsFridrich Weinwurm andIgnác Vécsei, with austere architectural forms.[4] At the time of its building in 1931, this complex was a rare example of functionalist principles applied to a housing project in Slovakia.[4]
TheNová doba Estate was built in 1932 inBratislava according to the plans of architectsFridrich Weinwurm (1885–1942) andIgnác Vécsei (1883–1944) connected with the socialist concept of theminimum dwelling (Karel Teige, 1932) and is also close to the ideas offunctionalism. The complex is an excellent example of the new urban, technical and economic approach to solve social housing problems.[5]
TheMost SNP ("Bridge of theSlovak National Uprising") is the world's longest bridge to have one pylon and one cable-stayed plane. The bridge was built between 1967 and 1972 upon design by A. Tesár, J. Lacko, and I. Slameň.[6] A significant section of theOld Town belowBratislava Castle, which included nearly all of the Jewish quarter, was demolished to create the roadway to the bridge.[7]
Following Slovakia's independence in 1993, in the economic and democratic transition and in the run-up and after Slovakia's accession to the European Union in 2004, several modern administrative and business buildings in the style ofcontemporary architecture were built, in particular in the capitalBratislava:
VIVO! Bratislava (until 2019 Polus City Center) was the country's first modern shopping mall, opened in November 2000.[9] The centre, with an area of 38,500 m2 (414,000 sq ft), houses a hypermarket, a cinema complex, 139 retail shops and several restaurants and bars. Part of the complex are two high-rise office towers: "Millennium Tower I" (80 m (260 ft)) and "Millennium Tower II" (100 m (330 ft)). Construction of a third tower, "Millennium III", is planned.
TheApollo Bridge (Slovak:Most Apollo) over the Danube was built between 2003 and 2005.[10] Its curved lines, inclined arches and virtual absence of right angles make the geometric shape of the bridge very sophisticated. In an unprecedented maneuver, the 5,240-tonsteel structure, spanning 231 metres, was rotated across the river from its construction site on the left bank into its final position on a pillar 40 metres from the right bank. The Apollo Bridge was the only European project named one of five finalists for the 2006 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award (OPAL Award) by theAmerican Society of Civil Engineers.
TheCity Business Center, Bratislava is a complex of five buildings inStaré mesto (Old town), first two finished in 2006 and 2007. Construction of the second phase was started in 2008.
TheEurovea business, retail and residential complex connects theBratislava Riverfront with the city center and offers stores and leisure time facilities while housing businesses, apartments and aSheraton hotel. Phase I of the Eurovea complex opened after four years of construction in 2010.[11] Eurovea Phase II will feature the firstskyscraper in Slovakia with projected height of 168 meters and 46 floors above the ground[12] with the whole investment estimated at approximately €300 million.
Hertha Hurnaus, Benjamin Konrad, Maik Novotny (auth.),Eastmodern: Architecture and Design of the 1960s and 1970s in Slovakia, Springer Vienna, 2007, ISBN 978-3-211-71531-4,978-3-211-71532-1
Maro Borsky,Synagogue Architecture in Slovakia, Univ. Heidelberg, 2005
Ruttkay, Alexander T. (2014). "The origins of Christianity and early mediaeval sacred architecture in Slovakia – new discoveries and connections".The Cyril and Methodius Mission and Europe: 1150 Years Since the Arrival of the Thessaloniki Brothers in Great Moravia. pp. 120–137.ISBN978-80-86023-51-9. OS LG 2023-08-18.
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