© Slovenská pošta, a.s., 2007 For a long time we did not know the oldest name of the capital of the Slovak Republic. The name traditionally used was Presburg, which originated from the German language and was adapted by the Slovak as Prešporok. In the Hungarian language the name Pozsony (Požoň) was used. In 1837, Slovak scientist P. J. Šafárik was the first to note that the seemingly German name concealed a Slovak first name – Brecislav. The Štúr generation thus called the town Bretislav (Bratislava). The newly found Salzburg Chronicles contain the oldest name, recorded in 907 in the following wording: Bellum pessimum fuit ad Brezalauspurc (Unsuccessful battle took place at Brezalauspurc). The name of the town contains the name of a Great Moravian duke who ruled from the present Bratislava castle. Archaeologists had unearthed its foundations dating back to the 9th century. The term burg (burgus) was used to designate a fortified object on the border of the Limes Romanus since the period of the Roman Empire. It is thus Braslav's burgus. The duke was later followed by Duke Poznan – which is the origin of the Hungarian form of the name. Our capital has borne its Slovak, or Slovak-Latin name, since as early as the 9th century. The stamp depicts Bratislava Castle from the Vienna Illustrated Chronicles dating back to the 14th century. The defenders of the castle are drilling holes in the ships of Emperor Henry III in 1052. The motif presented on the FDC represents the view of a medieval Bratislava with the town's coat of arms in the forefront (wood-carving from 1562). Prof. Matúš Kučera