I mentioned before that on my trip to Bratislava it absolutely poured it down, so I visited more museums on this quick weekend trip than I usually would have. After wandering around the gorgeous Old Town city square in the rain, I decided to take a chance on visiting the City Hall/Museum.
It’s comprised of a series of 14th century buildings and it has the honour of not only being the oldest city hall in the country, but also one of the oldest stone buildings in the country. (The tower is from 1370). The museum itself is the oldest museum in Slovakia and exhibits a slight incongruous pairing of galleries: a history of the city and also an exhibit on torture devices.
It was really interesting to learn about the medieval town, and it was only at this point in time in my trip that I put together the fact that the city of Pressburg that featured so often in my European History textbooks and Bratislava were one in the same. (This trip snuck up on me so I hadn’t done as much research on the city in advance as I usually do. Obviously.) There are some lovely features on the feudal justice system – more interesting than it sounds, I promise! – and the museum even features some original furnishings from the first municipal court in the city.
I’d have to say, without any real hesitation – that the busiest part of the museum was the torture exhibition and the old city hall dungeons. That seemed to really draw the fascination of most visitors. I’d also like to add that that section is not for the faint of heart. There were some instruments of torture featured (alongside explanations of their use) that made me feel really queasy. It made the torture exhibit at the Tower of London seem like child’s play in comparison.
The fountain outside city hall is called Maximilian Fountain and legend has it that the statue on the top of the fountain rotates at midnight on New Year’s Eve, but that it can only be seen by people who were born in Bratislava and have “the best human qualities” – whatever that means. Though strangely enough, it’s not the oddest fountain involved lore that I’ve come across on my travels. I wrote about myths involving the Neptune Fountain in Gdansk as well.
The museum is a great way to spend a rainy afternoon. Tickets cost €5. It’s almost worth the ticket price alone just for the views of the Old Town from the top of the tower.
The museum is closed on Mondays but it’s open Tuesday – Friday 10am – 5pm and Saturday – Sunday 11 am – 6 pm.
It is located at: Hlavné námestie 501/1, 811 01 Staré Mesto, Slovakia
That’s one of the great things about getting hit with bad weather on a trip – you might get to experience something you never would have set time aside for otherwise. Do you have any favourite bad weather induced trip memories?
If you enjoyed this post you might also like:
A 48 Hour Bratislava City Break Guide
10 Things to Do in Bratislava
Bratislava Castle
The Blue Church aka the Church of St. Elisabeth
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