Battle of Bratislava

All history enthusiasts are invited to Bratislava’s Janko Kráľ Garden on 27 September 2025, where the cultural and historical festival Battle of Bratislava will take place.

The main part of its program will be a reconstruction of a military siege from the first half of the 17th century set in the historical Hungarian region.

This year, the last of the three Prešpork battles will come to life again – it will be a reconstruction of the battle, or rather the short siege, that took place before the city gates in August 1621.

For the third year in a row, guns have been clanging in front of the Hungarian coronation city – in 1619, it was first conquered by the rebellious Transylvanian prince Gabriel Bethlen. A year later, the imperial army unsuccessfully tried to capture it. However, in the spring of 1621, the Prešpor burghers, tired of the rebels’ arbitrariness, opened the gates to the enemy themselves, so Bethlen decided to reclaim the city. At the beginning of August, he moved from Trnava with an army of fifteen thousand and began shelling the city with fourteen cannons. However, the defenders successfully repelled the attacks on the walls and after a while they were even helped by imperial troops, who began shelling the besiegers from advantageous positions across the Danube. Bethlen finally gave up the siege and preferred to invade Moravia with his forces.

Programme:

10:00 AM – A volley of works will announce the opening of the festival to the public – military camp, period crafts and refreshments.

11:00 AM – Military maneuvers and presentation of period soldiers

12:00 PM – Lecture on period medicine

1:00 PM – Military maneuvers and presentation of period soldiers

1:00 PM – Historical march through the city – period parade in the pedestrian zone of the Old Town

1:30 PM – Lecture on period medicine

2:00 PM – Juraj Červenák – discussion and autograph signing

3:00 PM – Live period music

4:00 PM – Reconstruction of the historical battle from 1621 – welcome, speech, battle

5:00 PM – Live period music

7:00 PM – End of the program

The organizers of the event are the historical fencing groups* Banderium and** Manu Forti **from Bratislava*.

Entrance to the event is free.

Place: Janka Kráľa Sad, Petržalka, Bratislava
Date: Saturday, 27.09.2025
Start: from 10:00 – 19:00
Free admission

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