The Bratislava metropolitan region

Although small as compared with other national capital regions, the Bratislava Metropolitan Region’s (BMRs) location in southwestern Slovakia and at the confluence of four Central and Eastern European nations (CEE), has for centuries placed it at the center of Europe’s major politico-ideological and military battles. Nevertheless, despite its strategic location and its central role in Slovakia’s rise to European Union (EU) and European Monetary Union (EMU) status, relatively little has been written about it in English. This profile attempts to help rectify this situation by chronicling some of the region’s historical milestones and describing how the joint efforts of the Slovak Government, Volkswagen (VW), and other foreign automakers, have transformed the post-Socialist BMR into a vibrant hub for capitalist automotive production.

► This profile chronicling some of the BMR’s historical milestones. ► Foreign automakers have transformed the BMR into a hub for capitalist production. ► In 1993, Bratislava became the capital city of an independent Slovak Republic. ► The fall of State Socialism opened the city’s economy to global capitalist forces. ► Bratislava’s the core of the tri-national Bratislava–Zilina Auto Agglomeration (BZAA).