is the space directly before the castle entrance dates from the late 18th century. Inside the Sigismund Gate and below the Court of Honor, is the Leopold Yard with bastions, constructed in the 17th century. To the east of the castle building the constellation of the Great Moravian basilica (9th century), the Church of St Savior (11th century) and other Early medieval objects is indicated on the ground. The true archaeological findings are directly below this indicated constellation. Adjacent to the Nicholas Gate, a Gothic gateway from the 15th century in the northeast quadrant, is the Lugiland Bastion. This is a long three-floor building from the 17th century which currently houses the National Council of the Slovak Republic, and a Baroque stable (today a famous restaurant). An English landscape garden is located to the south of the stable. The northern border of the site is formed by a long Baroque building from the 18th century, which today houses the Slovak National Museum and the castle administration. History Prehistory (2800 – 450 BC) The castle's site, like today's city, has been inhabited for thousands of years, because it is strategically located in the center of Europe at a passage between the Carpathians and the Alps, at an important ford used to cross the Danube river, and at an important crossing of central European ancient (trade) routes running from the Balkans or the Adriatic Sea to the Rhine river or the Baltic Sea, the most important route being the Amber Route. The people of the Boleráz culture (the oldest phase of the Baden culture) were the first known culture to have constructed settlements on the castle hill. This happened around 3500 BC (i.e. in the high Eneolithic Period). Their "castle" was a fortified settlement and a kind of acropolis for settlements in today's Old Town of Bratislava. Further major findings from the castle hill are from the Hallstatt Period (Early Iron Age, 750 – 450 BC). At that time the people of the Kalenderberg Culture constructed a building plunged into the rock of the castle hill. Again, the "castle" served as an acropolis for settlements found in the western part of the Old Town. Celts and Romans (450 BC – 5th Century AD) During the La Tène Period (Late Iron Age, Celtic Period, 450 BC – 1 BC ), the castle hill became a very important center of the Celts. In the