Bratislava

After being in the Alps, we were able to enjoy a long three day weekend - enough time to visit Bratislava on Saturday! Sidney, myself, and two other girls decided to catch the train to Slovakia and explore its capital - easier said than done.

We left around 12, and didn't catch the train until 2 due to our lack of navigational skills, not to mention the fact that to get to the train station, one has to take the U-bahn (subway), then the S-bahn (city train) and then catch the OBB (Austrian train). Anyways, we got lost several times, but finally made it to beautiful Bratislava. The town itself (the historical district where we spent our time) is fairly small, but beautiful and quaint nonetheless. Small winding streets lined with cafes and stores lead to churches, fountains, and bridges. We found a small Catholic church, with the stations of the cross made out of wood carvings spaced along the interior walls. A plague statue of Mary and Jesus stood outside - in view of the whole town. The most interesting thing to observe, however, was that there was a line for confession. Unlike Vienna where most of the population is non-religious and where churches are more a tourist destination than a religious house, this church has people actively standing in line and going in to receive confession. It was also interesting to note the contrast in how the church was preserved versus the how the Viennese preserve their churches - in Vienna, only the most original materials are used, in hopes of restoration. In this church, plastic, vinyl, and fake flowers adorned the alters and floors.

After the church, we wandered through the town, walking under St. Michael's Gate, the last of the medieval fortifications standing within the city. It was built in 1300, but underwent baroque reconstruction which we can still see today. It served as one of the four gates into the fortified city.

It seemed as if most of the buildings had been grand palaces at one time; now they all house various national embassies with flags proudly waving out front. The American Embassy was especially interesting due to it being the only embassy with heavy gates and security; might this be a silent manifestation of how the world perceives us and how we perceive our role as a world police, or a comment on the state of American politics? Also, we passed by several buildings and even a gated courtyard adorned with the crest of the Habsburg empire - their influence was more extensive than mere Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary.

We also ventured up to the castle, a critical fortress overlooking the land in all directions and inhabited since recorded history. It stands as a key focal point within the amber route, between the Carpathians and the Alps, along the Danube, and as a center of trade between east and west. It was once owned by the Celts, then by the Romans (similar to Vienna's own early history), and then was eventually under the rule of Hungary, becoming the Hungarian King's main castle. Baroque reconstruction overran the Renaissance style, and when Maria Theresia became queen of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1740, she made her own rococo renovations. Eventually, the office of governor of the Kingdom of Hungary was abolished, leaving the castle in shambles and ruins. Today, it has been restored, and is only partially open to the public.

The differences between Bratislava and Vienna were many - I much prefer Vienna's business and size than the always quite streets of Bratislava. However, due to its proximity and historical overlap with Vienna, it was an interesting day trip behind the old iron curtain.

I did find it interesting in Reading Beller's Concise History of Austria, when cultural nationalism was discussed as being encouraged as opposed to the "political quietism" practiced under the politician Metternich. He talks of how nationalism came of age "while the government suppressed political life" (120). Beller takes this notion of cultural nationalism and its emergence before World War I and applies it to Slovakia, where Metternich played one ethnicity or nation off of another, using the Slovakians against the Hungarians. He states that this use of one nation against another "explains the occasional encouragement of cultural nationalism among the 'nations without history' such as Slovaks, so called because they were seen as peasant nations without their own ruling class or established high culture" (121). After reading this, I would have to disagree, or rather challenge Beller's statement regarding the emergence of cultural nationalism and the lack of Slovakian history. As I have discussed in previous blogs, the memory or history of Austria has been long skewed; unlike Slovakia, Austria had a ruling elite, primarily the Habsburgs, which included the Esterhazy family and the Liechtenstein family. However, the morale of the Austrian citizen and the definition of what it means to be Austrian has also been tarnished due to its long ruling absolutist government and then the suppressive and oppressive reign of Adolf Hitler. WWI and WWII depleted the Austrian sole of a heritage, and raped them of their culture.

Thus, to say that nationalism, particularly cultural nationalism emerged is true, since the entire region of Eastern and Central Europe was attempting to create a culture particular to its people. However, for Beller to say that the Slovakians lacked a culture, while failing to address the Austrian's own lack of heritage and implying that Austrian heritage was in fact stable and established is a bold and brazen statement to make on his part.

As it was interesting to compare the atmosphere and streets of Bratislava and Vienna, so too is it intriguing to study the differences in perception held by historians of the two cities' cultures.