Bratislava, historically known as Pressburg, is the capital and largest city of Slovakia and the fourth largest of all cities on the Danube River. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia at the foot of the Little Carpathians, occupying both banks of the River Danube and the left bank of the River Morava. The city's history has been influenced by people of many nations and religions, including Austrians, Bulgarians, Croats, Czechs, Germans, Hungarians, Jews and Slovaks. The first known permanent settlement of the area began with the Linear Pottery Culture, around 5000 B.C. in the Neolithic era. In about 200 B.C., the Celtic Boii tribe founded the first significant settlement, a fortified town known as an oppidum.

Most historical buildings are concentrated in the Old Town. Bratislava's Town Hall is a complex of three buildings erected in the 14th–15th centuries and now hosts the Bratislava City Museum. Michael's Gate is the only gate that has been preserved from the medieval fortifications, and it ranks among the oldest of the town's buildings. The historic center is characterized by many baroque palaces. Notable cathedrals and churches include the Gothic Saint Martin's Cathedral built in the 13th–16th centuries, which served as the coronation church of the Kingdom of Hungary between 1563 and 1830. The Franciscan Church, dating to the 13th century, has been a place of knighting ceremonies and is the oldest preserved sacral building in the city. The Church of Saint Elizabeth, better known as the Blue Church due to its color, is built entirely in the Hungarian Secessionist style. Bratislava has one surviving functioning synagogue, out of the three major ones existing before the holocaust.