The local fort was included into the settlement structure of the arising early feudal Hungarian Kingdom. Arpád`s direct descendant Stephen I elected  as the first King of Hungary in 1000 was even seated at the Bratislava castle for some time. The date of December 2nd 1291 is not the date of birth  of Pressburg. One should take it rather as the date of its school leaving certificate, which confirms the aptness of its inhabitants to become the free citizens of a royal borough. Imoprtant group of privileges provided  for the economic development of the town. It concerned trade and the carfts. Another municipal privilege worth mentioning concerned the defence of the town. Only the royal boroughs were allowed to have municipal fortifications.

A special and abovestandard relation originated between Pressburg and the King Sigismund of Luxembourg who ascended to the throne in 1387 and reigned for fifty years, longer than any other Hungarian ruler. In 1430 Pressburg received another privilege, the right to strike coins in its own mint. The prestige of the town grew with the granting of a coat of arms in 1436. Ladislav`s successor was Hunyady`s son Matthias Corvinus.


Traditional sympathy of the Hungarian sovereigns to Pressburg also continued during his thirty-year reign. Ceremonious confirmation of the privileged position of the town by The Golden Bull of King Matthias in 1464 and the addition of a new privilege, that of the sword, in 1468 manifested it. The name of King Matthias is connected with the penetration of humanistic ideas into Central Europe. The result of one such inspiration was the opening of university, which followed the example of the oldest university at Bologna. Pressburg was chosen for the seat of this university and its name was Universitas Istropolitana.

The deafeat of combined Hungarian forces against Turks at the battle of Mohács in 1526 was disastrous for the country. The army of the Ottoman Sultan Süleyman II first deprived the country of its king and then of its freedom. But Pressburg paradoxically benefited from the situation. Ferdinand of Habsburg, confirmed by repeated coronation in Székesfehérvar a year after the Pressburg congress, compensated the town for its goodwill and promoted it to the capital of Hungary by the law approved by the Hungarian Parliament in 1536. It was a temporary act. It would be in force only until the entire territory was won back from the Turks. The fall of Székesfehérvar meant that Hungary lost its traditional coronation town. This is how Pressburg won another privilege, the one of coronation of the Hungarian kings and their spouses. It was another, though temporary function to be kept until 1830 and used nineteen times.

The period of greatest prosperity and expansion is connected with the forty-year rule of Maria Theresia on the Hungarian throne. Her indeed unusually positive relation to Pressburg may have originated on the day of her pompous coronation on June 25th 1741. After this she used every occasion to visit the beloved town. Thanks to the queen`s favour the life of the town became more varied and refreshed by various attractive events and feasts. For the sake of comfort, many aristocrats decided to own residences or fashionable palaces in Pressburg.

Maria Theresia`s wars with Prussia luckily did no affect Pressburg at all. A long period of peace similar to that in the 14th cebtury was repeated. All areas of human activity throve in such a favourable epopch: Trade, crafts, learning, education, arts, and spiritual life. The spirit of enlightenment and tolerance entered Pressburg. Number of its population increased more than threefold. The town sheltered 33 thousand inhabitants and it meant that Pressburg was the largest city in Hungary. Pressbur was larger than Buda, Pest or Debrecen. The town was expanding and new suburbs were originating outside the inner walls.

The municipal fortifications  again became the principal obstacle to the further urbanistic development of Pressburg. It was obvious that the town had to be liberated from its restraining ring of the town walls. Son of Maria Theresia, Emperor Joseph II was much  less interested in Pressburg than his mother. The political position of Pressburg weakened during the reign of Joseph II although the city still had good conditions for economic growth.