Bratislava Coronation Celebrations to Feature Maria Theresa Again in Late July

Bratislava, 10 July (TASR) - At the end of July (24-26 July), Slovakia's capital will once again symbolically return to the past and become Pressburg, the Bratislava Cultural and Information Centre has reported on its website. The Bratislava Coronation Festivities will take place, once again commemorating Empress Maria Theresa, one of the most significant figures in European history. "For three days, Bratislava will travel back in time and once again become a city of coronations, celebrations and royal traditions. The streets of the historical centre will come alive with music, parades, knights and the atmosphere of an era when wine flowed from fountains during coronations and the entire city celebrated the new monarch," wrote the organisers. [Bratislava (then Pressburg) became the capital of Hungary after Budapest was taken over by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. Eleven Hungarian monarchs were crowned in St. Martin's Cathedral between 1535-1830. - ed. note] am/df