Guido Westerwelle in Bratislava

On the first visit to Slovakia since taking office arrived on Wednesday the German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle at the invitation of its Slovak counterparts M. Lajcak.

"The physical presence of the Minister G. Westerwelle in Bratislava and his meetings with the President and Prime Minister gives new dimension to our relationship," said Mr Lajcak after joint negotiations.

Germany sees Slovakia as a reliable strategic partner in political and economic areas.

"There are no geographical boundaries between us and Germany, they are our neighboring country, we welcome the active engagement in the Central Europe , and we expect that it will continue," said Minister M. Lajčák.

He and his German partner expressed satisfaction with the high quality of the mutual relations and strong trade contacts. Germany is one of the biggest investors in Slovakia as well as trading partner. „The satisfaction of the German investors in Slovakia is important for our government since more than 400 German companies employ around 70 000 of our citizens,“ Mr. Lajčák added.

In similar new today Volkswagen just announced an expansion of its huge site near Bratislava. The German automaker continues to work on its project focused on the production of new vehicles New Small Family (called UP!). Pursuant to its investment plan, the company will spend about €107m in order to increase its daily capacity by 600 cars to 1,800 per day.

The German Minister Mr. Westerwelle recalled the attitude of the current German government to place emphasis on good relations not only with the bigger members of the EU but also with the smaller ones. „All of us are inhabitants of the same European house that’s why it is important to treat each other with respect and on the same level,“ Mr. Westerwelle said.

He also appreciated the success story of Slovakia, which had managed to build its statehood and to transform political and economical system in a relatively short period of time. Both ministers have discussed the EU enlargement in Western Balkans too. At the end of their talks they signed joint declaration about an amendment to the treaty on cultural cooperation, which should strengthen the legal status of the German School in Bratislava.

Bratislava as it was up to the 1960s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=YEfgueY172g#t=332s History of Bratislava - Pozsony - Presporok - Pressburg Bratislava City capital of Slovakia. Settled first by Celts and Romans. As Pressburg, it developed as a trade centre and became a free royal town in 1291. The first university in what was then Hungary was founded there in 1467. The city served as the Hungarian capital (1541 – 1784) and was the seat of the Diet (parliament) until 1848. The Treaty of Pressburg (1805) was signed here by Napoleon and Francis II following the Battle of Austerlitz. After World War I, on the formation of Czechoslovakia, it became capital of the province of Slovakia, and it became the national capital on Slovakia's independence in 1992. Bratislava is an important road and rail center and a leading Danubian port. A well-diversified industry produces textiles, chemicals, and metal goods; during the Communist period, heavy industry was focused on the production of armaments.

Forests, vineyards, and large farms surround the city, which has an active trade in agricultural products. It is also a popular tourist center. A Roman outpost called Posonium by the 1st cent. A.D., Bratislava became a stronghold of the Great Moravian Empire in the 9th cent. After the death of Ottocar II (1278), Bratislava and much of S and E Slovakia fell under Hungarian rule. From 1541, when the Turks captured Buda, until 1784, Bratislava served as Hungary's capital and the residence of Hungarian kings and archbishops.

The kings continued to be crowned there until 1835, and Bratislava was the meeting place of the Hungarian diet until 1848. Inhabited largely by German traders before the 19th cent., the city then became predominantly Magyar. In the 19th cent. it was the center of the emerging Slovak national revival, and after the union of the Czech and Slovak territories in 1918 it was incorporated into Czechoslovakia. From 1939 until 1945, Bratislava was the capital of a nominally independent Slovak republic that was governed by a fascistic pro-German regime responsible for the murder of tens of thousands of Czechs and Jews. The Univ. of Jan Comenius (1919), the Slovak Academy of Sciences, a polytechnic university, a national theater, and several museums are in the city. The 9th-century castle, above the Danube, was rebuilt in the 13th cent. St. Martin's Cathedral, the Franciscan convent and church, and the old town hall are also 13th-century buildings. The new town hall occupies an 18th-century palace, formerly the residence of the primates of Hungary; the Treaty of Pressburg was signed there in 1805.

About this Blog

Decided to start a Blog about Bratislava, and the politics of the country because most of the blogs about Slovakia and Bratislava in english were either brief entries from travellers passing through Bratislava with no idea about the place and commented largely about beer and other "vital issues" like that, or the more serious ones usually run by moronic americans preaching their judaeo-christian hyper-religious extreme-pro-capitalist & oligopolistic anti-democratic religion coupled with their famed grasp of geography.

There are also some Brits that have a slightly better grasp of geography than their US cousins. However brits are largely trying to recreate colonial glories and their grasp of facts in Bratislava tends to be confused even at the BBC. Most of the experiences the brits have are from lager-lout type pissups in Bratislava and use that crap movie "Hostel" as their intellectual compass.

This blog aspires to discuss serious matters with humour and no-nonsense analysis. Its unapologetically intellectual and refuses to allow this term to be ascribed with a negative meaning the way that the word liberal has become negative in the US.

Clearly there is much love about this great city and country, but without pandering to any special interests or prejudices.

Comments are welcome and will never be deleted or blocked if they offer a contrarian view.

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