PRESSBURG, (Hung. Pozsony). A royal free city and the capital of the County of Pressburg, Hungary. situated in a beautiful region. on the north bank of the Danube. 35 miles east of Vienna (Slap: Hungary. E 21. It is one of the finest cities of Hungary. The fortifications of the old town have given place to spacious boulevards. The Danube is here spanned by the new King Francis .Joseph iron bridge. The most attractive of the churches is the elev enth-century Gothic cathedral. in which the kings of Hungary were crowned. On the tower is a pyramid surmounted by a gilded royal crown. The old castle, burned in 1811 and existing now only as a ruin, was once the residence of the kings of Hungary. The beautiful thirteenth-century town ball contains a museum of Roman anti quities. The city has several handsome palaces, including the winter palace of the Primate of Hungary. Other interesting features are the Landhaus, the seat of the Hungarian Diet till 1848: the new theatre; the park with an open air theatre: and the race course. The equestrian statue of Maria Theresa, erected in 1897, is also noteworthy. Among the educational institutions are a royal law school, a Catholic gymnasium, a Protestant lyceum, a priests' seminary. several
industrial schools, and a rich library. The phil anthropic institutions of Pressburg are among the best in Hungary. Pressburg has a large dy namite factory, a famous brush factory, and a new petroleum refinery. It also manufactures pastry, turnery ware, cabinet-work, tobacco, rib bons, cloth, machinery, leather, chemicals, cham pagne. etc. There is a lively trade, chiefly in grain, cattle. and wine. Population. in 1390, 52,411; in 1900, 61,537, of whom about two thirds were Germans and three-fourths Catholics.
Pressburg is first mentioned in the ninth cen tury. In the twelfth century it was strongly fortified. and became a place of great strategic importance. From 1541 to 1784 it was the cap ital of Hungary. Here in 1687 the Hungarian Diet formally accepted the hereditary succession of the Hapsburgs. After the battle of Austerlitz in 1805, Napoleon and the Emperor Francis con eluded the Peace of Pressburg (December 26), by which Austria the former Venetian do minions to the Kingdom of Hal* and Tyrol to Bavaria. Consult Ortvay. Grschich c dcr Stadt Pressburg (Pressburg. 1892-98).