Over in tree-lined Hviezdoslavovo Square is a statue of someone you might not immediately associate with Bratislava: Hans Christian Andersen. The Danish author visited what was then Pressburg in 1841 and paid the city one of its warmest compliments. When asked if he would write something about it, he said that there was no need to, as the city was a fairytale in itself. Bratislava Castle was at the time a ruin, which perhaps added to the romantic atmosphere of the small metropolis, then surrounded by fields and vineyards.