Bratislava →
Trnava

The shortest motorway carpool in Slovakia

Bratislava and Trnava are only about 45 km apart on the D1 motorway. In good traffic you'll cover the whole distance in 35 minutes. In rush hour (morning into Bratislava, afternoon out of it), the trip extends to 50–60 minutes, especially at the Bratislava exits and Trnava entries where the D1 transitions into city traffic.

Across the country, this is one of the most heavily travelled routes: thousands of commuters use it daily, especially heading to Stellantis (formerly PSA) in Trnava and to industrial parks around Bratislava. Carpool prices are around €3–5 per seat. At this short distance, more of a symbolic fuel contribution.

Trnava: churches in every alley

The town that received its free royal city status from Béla IV back in 1238 is today best known for the dense concentration of churches and monasteries in its centre. The relatively compact medieval core contains nearly ten sacred buildings, which is why Trnava is called Slovakia's Little Rome.

The most prominent building is the Gothic Basilica of St. Nicholas, which served between 1543 and 1820 as a temporary cathedral for the Archdiocese of Esztergom (after the Turks captured Esztergom, the church centre of the Kingdom of Hungary moved here). The architectural ensemble is completed by the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist from 1637, the first fully Baroque structure built on Slovak territory. There's also Trinity Square with the town tower from 1574 and the perimeter medieval city walls from the 13th century, of which a portion is preserved including the adjacent moat and ford.

Trnava is also a university town: Universitas Tyrnaviensis (founded 1635) was the first Catholic university in the Kingdom of Hungary. After it relocated to Buda in the 18th century, the town lost its academic function, which it only regained in the 1990s. Today Trnava University and the University of SS. Cyril and Methodius operate here.