Primate's Palace, Neoclassical palace in Old Town, Bratislava, Slovakia

The Primate's Palace is a Neoclassical building in Bratislava's Old Town featuring grand columns, symmetrical proportions, and white walls decorated with sculptures and a central tympanum bearing Cardinal Batthyányi's coat of arms. Inside, five rooms are arranged in different color schemes and furnished with period pieces.

The building was constructed as a residence for a high-ranking church official and became a landmark of 18th-century urban architecture. Its Hall of Mirrors served as the setting for significant diplomatic negotiations between European powers.

The six tapestries found behind a wall in 1903 depict the legend of Hero and Leander. They were woven in the 1630s at the Mortlake Tapestry Works near London. Between the world wars, literary evenings in the Hall of Mirrors featured writers such as Zsigmond Móricz and Thomas Mann.

The palace is open to the public as a tourist attraction, and the Hall of Mirrors still hosts Bratislava City Council meetings. The city bought the building in 1903 and it served as the temporary seat of the President of Slovakia before 1996. Look for the Roman-style bust of Emperor Francis I on the staircase next to the Hall of Mirrors.

The palace served as the temporary seat of the President of Slovakia before the Grassalkovich Palace became the permanent residence in 1996. The scholar Paracelsus lived here briefly, and a memorial plaque marks his stay. The Hall of Mirrors, where the Peace of Pressburg was signed in 1805, still hosts Bratislava City Council meetings.