Devín (, , ) is a borough of

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, the capital of

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, located in the Bratislava IV district. Originally a separate village at the confluence of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

and Morava rivers, Devín maintained its rural character and today, it is one of the smallest boroughs of Bratislava by population. It is an important archaeological site, featuring the ruins of Devín Castle. Geographically, Devín lies on the foothills of Devínska Kobyla next to the Devín Gate, a narrow stretch on the river

, which was viewed as the western gateway to the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. It lies near the border between

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

which runs down the middle of the Morava and

rivers, and which previously formed part of the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

between the Eastern and the Western Bloc. The word Devín stems from the Slovak word ''deva'', which signifies "a lass".

Location

Devín is bordered by

from the south and from the west, the borough of

Devínska Nová Ves Devínska Nová Ves (, , ) is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Its western borders are formed by the Morava River, which also forms the national border between Slovakia and Austria. Devínska Nová Ves is notable mainly for its ...

from the north, the borough of Dúbravka from the east and the borough of Karlova Ves from the south-east.

Transport

* Buses ** Line * Night buses ** Line

History

Thanks to its strategic location at the confluence of the rivers Danube and Morava, the nearby cliff was an ideal place for a fort. The site has been settled since the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

and both the

Celt The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

s and Romans built forts here. The town has been claimed as a capital for the mysterious early medieval Samo's Empire. Devín was first mentioned in a document from 1237 under the name ''Villa Thebyn''. Originally, it was a small village, belonging to the Devín Castle, but quickly attained the status of a small town in the 15th century. In 1568, Devín became separated from its former owner.

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

fleeing from the approaching

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

in the south settled here in the 16th century. The castle above the village was burned down by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's troops in 1809. Due to its mainly German population the village was ceded to Germany as part of the

Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...

in 1938. From October 1938 to April 1945, Devín was part of the German

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

, being part of

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

. In 1946, Devín was returned to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

and became part of Bratislava. The German inhabitants were expelled. During the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

Devín was just inside the

and the northern banks of the Danube and Morava rivers were heavily fortified. The border fortifications were dismantled after the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

of 1989, and there is now free access to the riverbank.

Characteristics

Devín is part of Bratislava, yet differs from the rest of the city due to its rural character. As a popular recreation center, it offers an ancient castle located on a spectacular cliff,

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

trails in the hilly areas around the village, large gardens and

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s, as well as opportunities for quiet walks along the Danube. Good bus connections with the center of Bratislava are a part of the municipal public transportation system. Most of the people commute to work elsewhere in Bratislava. Devín is quite commonly

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ed by the Morava and Danube rivers, with the strongest flood in recent history being in August 2002. To fight the floods the use of a Wide Net has been cast. Results still pending to determine efficacy. The borough hosts the oldest organized running event in Slovakia, the National Run Devín-Bratislava, which is almost 12 kilometres long and takes place each year after Easter.

Gallery

Image:Devenycivertanlegi1.jpg Image:Devenycivertanlegi2.jpg Image:Devenycivertanlegi3.jpg

References

External links

Official municipal website of Devín
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devin Boroughs of Bratislava Former villages in Slovakia Villages in Slovakia merged with towns