Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia, is divided into five national administrative districts (: I, II, III, IV, V) and into 17 boroughs (; literally: city parts, also translated as (city) districts or wards). These boroughs vary in size and population, from the smallest Lamaàand least populated ÃÂunovo to the largest Podunajské Biskupice and most populated Petrà ¾alka.
Each of the boroughs has its own mayor and council. The number of councillors in each depends on the size and population of that borough. Mayor and the local council are elected in municipal election every four years. The boroughs are responsible for issues of local significance such as urban planning, local roads maintenance, budget, local ordinances, parks maintenance, safety and so on.
Cadastral areas coincide with boroughs, except in two cases: Nové Mesto is further divided into the Nové Mesto and Vinohrady cadastral areas and Ruà ¾inov is divided into Ruà ¾inov, Nivy and Trnávka. Further divisions often, but not always include various unofficial quarters and localities.
Until 1943, Bratislava consisted more or less of the boroughs Staré Mesto, Nové Mesto and a part of Ruà ¾inov. That year, the village of Karlova Ves was annexed to Bratislava. In 1946, the formerly independent villages of DevÃÂn, Dúbravka, LamaÃÂ, Petrà ¾alka, Prievoz (part of Ruà ¾inov), RaÃÂa and Vajnory were annexed to Bratislava, increasing the total area of the city to 193.6 km<sup>2</sup>. The last territorial expansion of Bratislava to date occurred in 1972, with the villages of DevÃÂnska Nová Ves, Záhorska Bystrica, Vrakuà Âa, Podunajské Biskupice, Jarovce, Rusovce and ÃÂunovo being annexed, creating the so-called Greater Bratislava (Veþká Bratislava) with an area of 367.5 km<sup>2</sup>. This was done in order to gain more space for massive apartments construction, which resulted in population growth from 143,000 in 1946 to around 450,000 in 1989.
The following table gives an overview of the boroughs, along with the district, population, area, founding or annexation date (if applicable) and location within Bratislava.
The following table shows various quarters or localities in the boroughs.