Although Bratislava belongs among the youngest capital cities of the world, its history dates back to the Old Ages. During the course of the centuries it changed its name several times: from the German Pressburg, Latin Possonium, Hungarian Pozsony, to the Slovak folk version Presporok.The city lies at the foot of the Small Carpathian Mountain Range and is inextricably linked to the Danube River, the second longest European river. This European waterway was also at the birth of the first settlement in Bratislava and the river served as a thoroughfare for nations, as well as for cultural trends. Suitable geographic position was a pre-determining factor for Bratislava's famous past and present.