Picture Gallery
The Primatial Palace
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The Archbishop's Winter Palace, in its current classicist form known as the Primatial Palace, was built by Archbishop Jozef Batthyány (1727–1799). It was completed in 1781 and belonged to Hungarian Primates until 1903, when church leaders sold it to the town. The Primatial Palace is closely connected with the history of Bratislava City Gallery, which was located there until 1975 and regularly held temporary exhibitions in the current Justi Hall on its ground floor. Prior to reconstruction of the building in 1986, the city's art collections were installed in various arrangements, mainly within state rooms on the first floor.
In 1993, a new permanent exhibition was opened in the Palace. Entitled Picture Gallery, it featured more than 60 items from the GMB collection. Apart from minor changes, the selection of works remained constant until 2018, when, at the request of the municipality, modification was made to the exhibition content of the three transitional rooms in the north wing facing the courtyard. The previously exhibited works were replaced by portraits of personalities with whom the history of Bratislava (or Pressburg) is associated. Thematically, they are divided into representatives of the church hierarchy, nobility, and city administration. The entrance hall features portraits of selected monarchs of the Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine families, the oldest of which were originally located in the now defunct council chamber of the Old Town Hall. A unique and highly regarded collection of six English woven tapestries from Mortlake is installed in five rooms overlooking the square, while other exhibited artworks primarily include paintings with biblical themes by Italian authors of the 16th and 17th centuries. The small, south-facing rooms display sets of paintings of 17th-century Dutch and Flemish genre.
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Admission\
The Primate's Palace is under the administration of the municipality of Bratislava. For more information on admission and opening hours, please contact:
tel. č. 02/593 563 94
[email protected]
tel. č. 02/593 563 94
[email protected]