Bratislava

Here's a rear view of the cathedral.

Here's a shot of the medieval Bratislava city wall.

Novy Most is an impressive feat of modern engineering, at least in terms of looks. Built over the River Danube in 1967-1972, it was part of a trend towards single-pylon cable-stayed bridges, with another notable one being built in Usti nad Labem (which in those days was part of the same country, Czechoslovakia). The tower on top of the pylon is ranked 26th in the World Federation of towers, being 84.6 meters high.

Since the original shot was taken during a snow storm, and very white, I decided that I would try a black and white conversion. I hope you like it. :-)

Unlike most castles, which have the chapel integrated into the castle itself, Bratislavsky Hrad has a seperate set of buildings on the side of the castle mound. The chapel is the building on the left.

Here's a more proper shot of the Chapel at Bratislavsky Hrad.

I figured the chapel looked quite good in black and white, especially since it was a way to compensate for a cheesy print scan (I was in a hurry when I did these).

This castle, while an authentic 15th Century design (the foundations date to 907 AD) commissioned by King Sigismund of Luxembourg (actually king of Hungary, the country that controlled Bratislava, at that time known as Pressburg), actually dates to 1968, when a rebuilding was completed. The original was burned down in 1811, and it took until 1953 for rebuilding to start. It now houses the Slovenske Narodni Muzeum (Slovak National Museum).

Bratislavsky Hrad may be, like many Czech castles, an unconventional one, but one conventional thing it does have is a courtyard. Like many such places, it looks great in the snow. :-)