The massive rectangular building with four corner towers stands on an isolated rocky hill of the Little Carpathians, directly above the Danube river, in the middle of Bratislava.

The west wing of this floor houses the four halls of the Treasure Chamber (opened in 1988), with a collection of the most precious archaeological finds and other objects of Slovakia, including the prehistoric statue called the Venus of Moravany.

This is a long three-floor building from the 17th century that currently houses the National Council of the Slovak Republic and a Baroque stable (today a restaurant).

The northern border of the site is formed by a long Baroque building from the 18th century, which today houses the Slovak National Museum and the castle administration.

At that time, the people of the Kalenderberg Culture[clarification needed] constructed a building plunged into the rock of the castle hill.

A great number and diversity of findings (including coins, house equipment, two Roman buildings, castle entrance gate, etc.)

In the second half of the 9th century, at the time of Great Moravia, a palace of stone surrounded by dwellings and a big basilica were added.

This could be a confirmation of the disputed statement of Aventinus from the 16th century, who —referring to lost sources —claimed that around 805/7, the Great Moravian prince Uratislaus (i.e., Vratislav) constructed today's Bratislava (castle?)

It appeared for the first time in 907 (Battle of Pressburg) in the forms Brezalauspurc(h), Braslavespurch, and Pressalauspruch, and then around 1000 on Hungarian coins as Preslav(v) a Civitas (meaning Bratislava Castle).

It became the seat of Pozsony county and protected the kingdom against Bohemian (Czech) and German attacks (e.g., in 1030, 1042, 1052, 1108, 1146) and played an important role in throne struggles, such as the one following the death of Stephen I.

The castle was turned into a proto-Romanesque palace of stone in the 12th century (probably after 1179), possibly because Béla III (1173–1196) decided to make Esztergom the definitive seat of kings of Hungary.

As a reaction to these attacks, a huge "tower for the protection of the kingdom" was constructed at the castle building in 1245, immediately next to two older palaces.

In addition, seven square towers were built into the old rampart, and a stone wall was added around the castle proper (i.e., the residential building).

In 1271, king Otakar II of Bohemia invaded Hungarian territory (today's western Slovakia) and charged the knight Egid with the administration of the conquered castle.

Shortly afterwards, in 1287–1291, the Austrian duke Albert of Habsburg, supporting Nicholas, occupied the castle but was defeated by Matthew III Csák, who was made head of Pozsony county.

Another ally of king Sigismund, especially in his fights against the Czech Hussites, was the noble family Rozgonyi, which received the Pozsony county head function in 1421.

At some point between 1420 and 1430, Sigismund (Holy Roman Emperor) decided to make Bratislava Castle –due to its central location —the center of his new German-Czech-Hungarian empire.

Experts from Germany were invited, material was transported from Austria, and towns were imposed special taxes specifically for the construction of the largest castle ever built.

At the same time, from the beginning of the 16th century, Pressburg and its castle had to face various anti-Habsburg uprisings in Royal Hungary on the territory of what is now Slovakia.

Shortly afterwards, however, this precious treasure was mostly destroyed by the new king Ferdinand I of Habsburg, who needed it to finance his participation in a civil war in Royal Hungary, and smaller parts went to the Treasury Chamber of Vienna (Wiener Schatzkammer) or became personal property of Maria, or were lost forever.

The main designer and supervisor of the construction was the Italian architect Pietro Ferrabosco, who had been serving the emperor in Vienna and knew Count Eck Salm, the captain of Pressburg from 1552 –1571.

The present-day Vienna Gate was constructed on the occasion of the coronation of Emperor Charles VI in 1712, and it has been used as the main entrance to the castle since then.

The stairs throughout the castle were rebuilt with a lower gradient, on Maria Theresa's request, to enable her to ride her horse upon them.

Because the governor did not have enough space, a new palace (later called the Theresianum) was built at the eastern wall of the castle building in 1767—1770, designed by F. A. Hillebrandt in the classic style.

In 1770, Maria Theresa herself ordered further valuable paintings and furniture to be provided to both the main castle and the Theresianum, and the governor moved into the completed building.

The office of governor of the Kingdom of Hungary was re-abolished in 1781 by the new king, Joseph II, and Albert of Sachsen-Teschen left the castle and took many parts of the equipment away.

In 1784, the Theresianum, some other secondary buildings of the site, and the gardens were adapted, as the castle became a "general seminary", which was a type of state school for Catholic priests introduced by Joseph II.

The destroyed castle gradually deteriorated, and the military sold parts of the main buildings as construction materials to the surrounding areas.

A new restoration has been planned for years, because since 1968, only minor adaptations have been performed, such as the 1988 creation of the Treasure Chamber, the 1995 replacement of glass in the arcades of the solemn staircase, and the 1996–97 complete repair of the roof.

[4] On 6 June 2010, the reconstruction of the Honorary Courtyard of Bratislava Castle was completed, with a nationally televised unveiling ceremony of an equestrian statue of Svatopluk I by sculptor Ján Kulich.