Petržalka

Petržalka
Borough
Country	Slovakia
Region	Bratislava
District	Bratislava V
Elevation	126 m (413 ft)
Coordinates	48°08′00″N 17°07′00″E / 48.13333°N 17.11667°E / 48.13333; 17.11667Coordinates: 48°08′00″N 17°07′00″E / 48.13333°N 17.11667°E / 48.13333; 17.11667
Area	28.7 km2 (11.1 sq mi)
Population	114,862
Density	4,002/km2 (10,365/sq mi)
Postal code	85XXX
Area code	+421-02
Car plate	BA, BL
Location of Petržalka in Slovakia

Petržalka (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈpetr̩ʒalka]; German: Engerau / Audorf; Hungarian: Pozsonyligetfalu) is the largest borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Situated on the right bank of the river Danube, the area shares a land border with Austria, and is home to around 120,000 people.

Historical records of Petržalka exist from 1225. The settlement was originally inhabited by Pecheneg mercenaries on guard duty near the river Danube. In 1493, the village Ungerau was mentioned in the area. In the 1750s, the maps of the show two German villages in the area, Flocendorf and Engerau. During this period, the neighbouring Pressburg (Pozsony, today Bratislava) was the capital of the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary. Later as a recreation area famous for its garden, its Hungarian name, Ligetfalva, (later Pozsonyligetfalu, literally "parkland village") originates from the 1860s. In 1866, the village had only 594 inhabitants and 103 houses.

In 1891 Pozsonyligetfalu became permanently connected with Pressburg when the first railway bridge, 460 meters long, was built for the Pressburg-Csorna-Szombathely railway as the first bridge not made of wood, those wooden bridges often damaged by frost and floods.

A 1910 census shows that of its 2947 inhabitants, 1997 spoke German, 495 spoke Hungarian, and 318 spoke Slovak as their native language. On August 14, 1919 - The village came under control of the Czechoslovak Legions on August 14 and subsequently officially named Petržalka.