Most of the medieval fortification system was demolished in the year 1775 by the order of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, the rest being torn down in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Construction of the medieval fortifications in Bratislava (known as Pressburg / Pozsony for most of its history, when belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary) started in the 13th century.

The suburbs gradually grew around the fortification walls, which were fortified in the 15th century with embankments and dikes on the order of King Sigismund, after a Hussite invasion.

The south part of city walls was protected enough by the environment of the river Danube creating an uninhabited system of small tree-less islands.

Today, only Michael's Gate, a short stretch of former wall by it and a section by St. Martin's Cathedral approximately 200 metres in length have survived.

[6][7] The section by St. Martin's Cathedral was renovated after a massive demolition in the area under the castle due to the construction of an access road to the Nový Most bridge, and parts of fortifications were uncovered.

In the year 2001, the city walls were declared inaccessible to the public and big metal fences were installed at the entry points.

[10] On the other hand, small pieces of outer layers of the structure are peeling off and pose a hazard to pedestrians and cars passing down Staromestská street.

The Bratislava city company Mestský investor pamiatkovej obnovy – spoločnosť Paming is planning the reconstruction of the longest fortification stretch at least since 2008,[11] but as of 2011, no progress has been made.

According to Jozef Hrabina, head of the Paming company, the estimated cost of reconstruction, including research and project documentation is 1.7 million euro.

The situation caused deep concern within the Austro-Hungarian military as the failure to defend the Carpathians would allow the enemy to access central Hungary, including Budapest.

They were located on hills with good outlooks below, today corresponding to the areas of Dúbravská Hlavica, Dlhé Diely, Sitina, Lamač, Klepáč, Americké námestie, Kamzík and Rösslerov lom.

Today, the fortification system is largely unknown to the public, although the artillery caverns themselves are accessible and visited by experienced hikers.

Despite being in direct violation of international treaties that Czechoslovakia was bound with at the time, it started a large-scale construction of border defenses and fortifications.

The fortification system was equipped with weapons and ammunition and manned by the 1,500 strong Border Battalion 50 (Slovak: hraničiarsky prapor č.50).