The history of this City dates back more than ten centuries; certain authors even attribute its foundation to the Romans. Under the Arpad kings, Pozsony developed rapidly, and became a strategical and commercial centre; after the catastrophe of Mohacs, when the country was divided into three portions, Ferdinand I made it the capital of the kingdom. The vicissitudes of the troubled epochs, caused this town to suffer also; at the beginning of the 19th Century, Napoleon I exacted an enormous war contribution from it; in 1848, it fought heroically for the national independence; and lastly, in 1866, the last battle of the Austro-Prussian war took place at Lamacs, in the immediate vicinity.

Pozsony is indebted for its beauty, in a great degree, to the charming landscape in which Nature has set it. The lovely mountain chain of the Little Carpathians, which begins at the Danube with Mounts Theben and Deveny (the latter crowned by a Millennium Memorial Column) ascends gradually towards the North East and borders a fertile plain, called Matyasfold, studded with pretty towns and villages. Four ancient little towns follow one upon the other: St. Gyorgy, with its old castle ruins, once occupied by the Counts Bazin and St. George, whose grave monuments are to be seen in the catholic church; then Bazin, the birthplace of the famous Hungarian painter Kupeczky, with an old Castle belonging to the Palffy family; Modor, with a State College for teachers; and lastly, the town Nagyszombat (called Little Rome, on account of its many churches) which, at the time of the Turkish rule, was the seat of the Archbishop of Esztergom, and of the university founded by Peter Pazmany. Not far from these towns, is the district of Cseklesz, with the magnificent castle of Count Eszterhazy, which contains rich collections.

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Adapted from Illustrated Description of Hungary and its Capital