Jewish Museum
The Testimony
About
The Museum of the Jewish Culture guides you through the history of Jews in this region since the Middle Ages. The artifacts demonstrate the community’s daily life, holidays, and key personalities, as well as the interior design of a synagogue. It also features a commemorative exhibition dedicated to 70,000 victims of the Holocaust from Slovakia.
The museum, a specialized branch of the Slovak National Museum, is housed in a 17th-century late Renaissance mansion located in what was once the Jewish quarter—an area nestled between the Walls once protecting the inner city and the Bratislava Castle. Sadly, most of this historic quarter no longer exists. Time, devastating fires, and ultimately the construction of a major road leading to the SNP “UFO” Bridge during the Communist era erased much of it from the city’s landscape.
Tips
Nearby restaurants
Just steps from the Museum, you can enjoy Jasmin, a charming Chinese restaurant. On your way to the Bratislava Castle, you’ll find Modra Hviezda, a restaurant serving traditional Slovak meals in a folksy atmosphere. Note its limited opening hours on weekdays. Alternatively, you can head back to the Old Town and choose from a variety of dining options.
Things to do nearby
Pay a visit the Bratislava Castle, the city’s most impressive landmark. If you seek some fun, be sure to visit Multium, a gallery creating eyes-pleasing illusions through mirrors. To continue your Jewish history path, head to Chatam Sofer Memorial and Jewish cemeteries on Ziskova Street. Finally, enter the Old Town through the City Walls that were for centuries protecting it from invaders.
Bratislava is known for its laid-back atmosphere. Enjoy walks in the historic city center, have a cup of coffee in one of the countless coffee shops, and relax. In the Old Town, everything is within the walking distance. Explore romantic alleys, a Gothic cathedral, medieval city walls, beautiful palaces, and lively historic squares without any haste.
During the Middle Ages, Bratislava’s massive City Walls played an important defensive role. The inner city was only accessible through three main fortified gates, and later a smaller one in the Danube direction. The Michael’s Gate featuring an iconic tower is the only one that survived until today. As the walls’ relevance decreased after the defeat of the Ottoman forces in the 18th century, their large part was destroyed to allow the city’s further expansion. Travel back in time by entering the preserved part of the walls through a bridge connecting it with the Castle Hill, a gate opposite to the St. Martin’s Cathedral, or a passage from Kapitulska Street. The Walls are open every day of the week.
Perched on a hill where people have dwelled since the Stone Age and where the Celts minted their well-known Biatec coins, Bratislava Castle stands tall as the most impressive landmark in the city. For centuries, it was overseeing the intersection of Europe’s major trade routes – the Danube River and the Amber Road. Today, it exhibits a historical museum and a baroque garden. The castle walls and the castle park remain accessible at all times, offering one of the finest views of the city’s panorama.
Immerse in an illusion of infinity achieved through six mirror installations that will leave you with an unforgettable experience! The author of the space and mirror gallery Multium, inspired by similar exhibitions in cities such as New York and Tokyo, placed multiple mirrors against each other to incite specific emotional responses. Each room features a unique combination of art and optical effects. Physical objects, colors and lights interplay in a visual symphony. Find yourself in an alternative space outside your day-to-day existence!
The burial shrine houses 23 graves of prominent Orthodox rabbis and scholars, including Chatam Sofer (Moses Schreiber), the founder of the influential Pressburg Yeshiva and one of the key Jewish scholars of the 19th century. This site represents the most treasured section of an old Jewish cemetery that dates back to the 17th century. In 1942, the cemetery was covered with concrete, but it was restored in 2002 in a new form of the Chatam Sofer Memorial.
Bratislava features one of the world’s most unique bridges, housing an open-air observation deck and a fancy restaurant atop of its pylon, with a stunning view on the Bratislava Castle and the Old Town. Thanks to its futuristic flying-disc shape, it has become known as UFO.
