Museum of Viticulture – Apponyi Palace

Why visit

Wine has been made around Bratislava since antiquity, and for centuries the town’s burghers lived off their vineyards. This exhibition of the Bratislava City Museum tells that story in the Rococo Apponyi Palace, next to the Old Town Hall.

It is also where Bratislava’s sparkling wine story begins: Hubert sparkling wine was born in the city, and Hubert and Palugyay wines won prizes at international exhibitions.

What to see

• Viticulture exhibition: grape growing, harvesting and processing from antiquity to the 20th century, plus vineyard self-government and old winegrowers’ prayers for a good harvest.
• Hubert and Palugyay: the two family firms that put Bratislava wine on the international map.
• Wine-making equipment: presses, large barrels and decorated barrel heads.
• Slovak National Collection of Wines: in the palace’s historic cellar, with its own entrance, a selection of Slovak wines you can taste.
• Courtyard: a place to rest, with refreshments and a giant chess set.

Plan your visit

Paid admission; the combined ticket also covers the Old Town Hall next door and is sold at both ticket offices. The exhibition takes about 20 minutes. Tastings at the Slovak National Collection of Wines are separate from the museum ticket.

The palace is only partly accessible to people with reduced mobility. The Main Square is a 1-minute walk.