Being placed directly behind the iron curtain, Bratislava takes a unique place in history. This fact explains the number of bunkers and other military objects that could be found in the city and its surroundings.
Border fortifications were built from 1935 to 1938 as a defensive countermeasure against possible attacks of Nazi Germany.
Some of the bunkers are accessible for anyone and in bad conditions, other bunkers were rented or sold to enthusiasts who turned them turned into museums. The best kept is the B-S 4 bunker which became Czechoslovak fortification museum. It is highly recommended for a visit to all military and history enthusiasts. The museum was organized by volunteers and it has been open to the public since 2011.
We partnered with the non-profit organisation that keeps the historical bunker B-S 4 open for the public along with original equipment and you can book the Bratislava bunker tour together with shooting WW2 rifles with us.
Here is a list of heavy fortification bunkers built by the First Czechoslovak Republic:
- B-S-1 “Štěrkoviště” – at the Danube riverbank, approximately 700 meters against the river stream from the Lafranconi bridge
- B-S-2 “Mulda” – in the forest
- B-S-3 “Paseka” – in the forest
- B-S-4 “Lány” – visible from the road near the border crossing Petržalka – Berg, at the edge of the forest
- B-S-5a,5b “Vídeň I a II” – double-object, destroyed during road construction
- B-S-6 “Vrba” – to the right going across Bratská Street towards the highway
- B-S-7 “Cvičiště” – near Kopčianska Street
- B-S-8 “Hřbitov” – near Kopčianska Street
- B-S-9 “Kittsee” – across Kopčianska Street towards the border with Austria
- B-S-10 “Tři hranice” – near the highway to Hungary
- B-S-11 “Janík” – destroyed during the construction of Petržalka
- B-S-12 “Oroszvár” – destroyed during the construction of Petržalka
- B-S-13 “Stoh” – public transport terminal on Betliarska Street near the Danube
- B-S-14 “Duna” – near an anti-flood wall near the Danube
- B-S-15 “Ostrov” – on Starohájsky island opposite the Slovnaft refinery
One more place for a military tour in Bratislava is Slavin cemetery. It is the burial ground of thousands of Soviet Army soldiers who fell during the World War. Slavin was constructed between 1957 and 1960 on the site of a field cemetery and opened on April 3, 1960. The architectural style of Slavin is similar to the Palace of Culture and Science in Stalinist architectural style. In 1961 it was declared a National Cultural Monument.