St. George Fountain stands at the centre of the elegant courtyard of the Primate’s Palace in Bratislava. I photographed it through the dark arched entrance during a quiet Sunday evening in late September. The passage creates a natural frame around the brightly lit courtyard, while the columns, hanging lantern and decorative ironwork lead the eye directly towards the sculpture.
The Renaissance fountain dates from the 17th century and depicts St. George on horseback fighting a three-headed dragon. It originally stood in the garden of the Summer Archbishop’s Palace and was moved to the courtyard of the Primate’s Palace in 1930. The sculpture is associated with Archbishop Juraj Lippay, whose patron saint was St. George. According to local tradition, the knight’s victory over the dragon also symbolised the Catholic Church’s struggle against the Reformation.
The fountain now forms one of the most distinctive features of the palace courtyard. The Primate’s Palace itself was completed in 1781 as the winter residence of the Archbishop of Esztergom. It later became part of Bratislava’s civic history, and its Hall of Mirrors famously hosted the signing of the Peace of Pressburg between France and Austria in 1805.
Despite the peaceful Sunday evening, the courtyard was surprisingly busy. I had to wait for quite some time, until there were no people in the composition. At one point, a bride and groom arrived with their photographer to record a video in front of the fountain. Of course, their wedding shoot had a priority over my photos and they had more spots to cover. So I had to wait some more.
Copyright Milan Hutera, 2026. All Rights Reserved.
