In the last decade of the 19th century the Danube riverbank adjacent to the city center of Bratislava (called Pressburg or Pozsony at that time) underwent major changes.

These activities were driven mainly by the commercial interests of transport companies on the Danube and the state of Austria-Hungary financially participated only minimally.

The current port area was developed from 1897 with the start of construction on the north pool of the Winter harbor and the establishment and gradual extension of the railway network.

Today, numerous historical buildings, machines and ships still remain in the Port of Bratislava including the Warehouse Nr.

7, the Old Boatmen's House and a pumping station (Slovak: budova prečerpávacej stanice) - the last three being protected as national cultural monuments.

Šturec (formerly Štúr) was built in the Komárno shipyard in 1937 and it was christened by Prime minister Milan Hodža and the first Slovak maritime ship captain Július Thurzo.

The reconstruction of the passenger port building is in planning for several years but the process was slowed down by local activists as well as the cultural monuments protection office of the municipal government.

The height of the proposed reconstruction was lowered several times from the original 5 floors to 3 by the owner and investor Slovenská plavba a prístavy - lodná osobná doprava, a.s.