Bratislava is the seat of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, the Government of the Slovak Republic, national ministries and the other central bodies of the state administration of the Slovak Republic. It is situated in the centre of Europe in the southwestern part of Slovakia. It borders with Hungary in the south and with Austria in the west. The town spreads like a fan on the territory of 367,9 km2, on both banks of the Danube River at the foot of the Low Carpatians at the height of 127-514 m a.s.l. Thanks to its position on the border between the mild and warm climatic zones, it ranks among the warmest spots in Slovakia with an average temperature of 9,9°C. It has 1976,4 hours of sunshine a year and an annual total rainfall is 527,4 mm. Bratislava is the largest town in Slovakia with its population of 480 000.