Forest in Devín Carpathians Ruins of the Devín Castle Devín Carpathians ( sk, Devínske Karpaty, ) is a subdivision of the Little Carpathians

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have ari ...

, located entirely within

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

, the capital of

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), 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 ...

. It is bordered by the city boroughs of

Devín Devín (, hu, Dévény, german: Theben) is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, located in the Bratislava IV district. Originally a separate village at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers, Devín maintained its rural cha ...

from the west,

Devínska Nová Ves Devínska Nová Ves ( hu, Dévényújfalu, hr, Devinsko Novo Selo, german: Theben-Neudorf) 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 Slov ...

from the north, Dúbravka from the east and Karlova Ves from the south. Its highest mountain is

Devínska Kobyla Devínska Kobyla (; hu, Dévényi-tető; german: Thebener Kogel) is the highest peak in the Devín Carpathians, part of the Little Carpathians mountain range, and the highest point of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is located between the ...

at 514 m (1,686 ft)

AMSL Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. The ...

, it is also the highest point in Bratislava. The hills are mostly forested with

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

trees and most of the area is protected by numerous nature reserves, including two geologically important areas: ''Sandberg'' containing

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class ...

s and

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...

s from the

Cenozoic The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configu ...

Paratethys The Paratethys sea, Paratethys ocean, Paratethys realm or just Paratethys was a large shallow inland sea that stretched from the region north of the Alps over Central Europe to the Aral Sea in Central Asia. Paratethys was peculiar due to its p ...

ocean and ''Jezuitské Lesy'' containing rare granitic pegmatite bearing

niobium Niobium is a chemical element with chemical symbol Nb (formerly columbium, Cb) and atomic number 41. It is a light grey, crystalline, and ductile transition metal. Pure niobium has a Mohs hardness rating similar to pure titanium, and it has s ...

tantalum Tantalum is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as ''tantalium'', it is named after Tantalus, a villain in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a very hard, ductile, lustrous, blue-gray transition metal that ...

oxide An oxide () is a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion of oxygen, an O2– (molecular) ion. with oxygen in the oxidation state of −2. Most of the E ...

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

s. Devín Carpathians are famous for its

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

s, most notably the

Bratislava Castle Bratislava Castle ( sk, Bratislavský hrad, ; german: Pressburger Burg; hu, Pozsonyi vár) is the main castle of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The massive rectangular building with four corner towers stands on an isolated rocky hill ...

and the ruins of

Devín Castle Devín Castle ( sk, hrad Devín, links=no or , hu, Dévényi vár, german: Burg Theben) is a castle in Devín, which is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Description The site has been settled since the Neolithic Age and fortifi ...

. The mountains feature numerous cultural monuments, caves,

tramping Tramping may refer to: Travel *Hiking *Trekking *Tramping in New Zealand, a style of backpacking or hiking * Czech tramping, a Czech outdoors pastime Places * Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380, Saskatchewan, Canada ** Tramping Lake, Sas ...

huts, an open-air geology

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

and a chemical waste dump. Military structures in the mountains include an abandoned rocket base and preserved artillery fortifications from the time of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. Featuring a dense network of forest trails, Devín Carpathians together with

Bratislava Forest Park Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

are frequented by citizens of the city and provide their main venue for hiking, mountain cycling, cross-country skiing and dog walking.

Location

The boundary of Devín Carpathians consists of the Slovak-Austrian border in the middle of the Morava and

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

rivers from the west, the road connecting

and Dúbravka from the north, the road connecting Dúbravka with the crossing at

Patrónka Patrónka is an area in the western part of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, it is also the name of a major transport junction within the area and an important bus stop. Patrónka is located at the boundary of Bratislava I Old Town and Bratis ...

from the north-west and east, and

Mlynská dolina Mlynská dolina (literally: Mill valley; before 1894 german: Mühltal, hu, Malomvölgy) is a neighborhood of Karlova Ves borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is located in the Bratislava IV district. Geographically and historica ...

from the south. The mountain range is located entirely within the administrative boundaries of Bratislava.

Division

Devín Carpathians are divided into four

geomorphological Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or ...

areas, separated by a series of faults: *

Bratislava Foothills Bratislava Foothills ( sk, Bratislavské predhorie) is a small mountain range located in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is part of the Devín Carpathians mountain range, located in the northwest of the city. Mean altitude of the mountain ...

( sk, Bratislavské predhorie) *

Devín Gate Devín Gate, Hainburger Gate or Hungarian Gates ( sk, Devínska brána, ; german: Hainburger Pforte) is a natural gate in the Danube valley at the border of Slovakia and Austria. It is one out of four geomorphological areas of the Devín Carpathi ...

( sk, Devínska brána) *

( sk, Devínska Kobyla) *

Lamač Gate Lamač Gate ( sk, Lamačská brána) is a tectonic erosion subsidence in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is one out of four geomorphological areas of the Devín Carpathians, part of the Little Carpathians mountain range, separating Devín ...

( sk, Lamačská brána)

Highest peaks

- 514 meters

() * Švábsky vrch - 360 meters

() * V06040801 - 358 meters

() * Dúbravská Hlavica - 357 meters

() * Hrubý Breh - 316 meters

() * Kráľov vrch - 284 meters

() * Sitina - 264 meters

() * Brižite - 257 meters

() *

rock - 212 meters

()

Description

Geomorphology

Devín Carpathians consist of

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ...

era landforms (south-eastern part),

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...

era landforms,

era landforms, the latter including

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million year ...

period landforms. There are 5 caves in Devín Carpathians: Abrázna cave, J06041401 cave, J06041402 cave, Medzivrstvová cave (original name ''Zlepencová jaskyňa'') and Štokeravská vápenka cave (original name ''Stockerau''). Abrázna cave is a 10 meters long

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, Dolomite (rock), dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathe ...

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

. Abrázna cave was created as a result of coastal modelling by a prehistoric Cenozoic sea and like all of the others, it is inaccessible to the public. It is supposedly the westernmost cave in

, although actually it is rather the J06041401 cave. None of the caves are open to the public. Notable rivers originating in the Devín Carpathians include Čierny potok and Mokrý jarok (also called ''Mokrý potok''), the latter is a short

stream A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams ...

originating at the Devínska Kobyla mountain, draining its south-eastern part. It flows into the

near the quarry at Devínska cesta Street, near island

Sihoť Sihoť is the largest river island on the Danube in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, located in the district of Karlova Ves. The island lies between the main flow of the Danube to the north and the parallel channel Karloveské rameno to the ...

Notable areas

Sandberg mountain * Abandoned military rocket base ( sk, Rádiotechnická hláska protivzdušnej obrany štátu) located at the summit of Devínska Kobyla. * Sandberg is a

hill containing an important

paleontological Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of foss ...

site, famous for its shark teeth, and bones of

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

whales Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

and ancient

monkeys Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incom ...

. * ''

Sorbus domestica ''Sorbus domestica'', with the common name service tree or sorb tree (because of its fruit), is a species of ''Sorbus'' native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa (Atlas Mountains), and southwest Asia (east to the Caucasus) ...

'' of Devín is a protected tree, rare in Europe. This specimen is 80 years old and 10 meters tall. The tree is located in the

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyard ...

s above Devín castle. * Srdce ( en, Heart) is a former

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

named after its shape. It contains a chemical dump of artificial

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

waste from the bombed Apollo refinery, created in 1963 by the

Slovnaft Slovnaft is an oil refining company in Slovakia. The company, located in Bratislava, is a subsidiary of MOL Group. History Slovnaft is the successor of the Apollo company. Apollo was established in 1895 in Bratislava Bratislava (, als ...

refinery in Bratislava.

Flora and fauna

Roe deer is abundant in the Devín Carpathians Flora and fauna is similar to that of the Little Carpathians, yet the area of

represents the edge of the thermophilic dry vegetation of the pannonian plane. According to the phytogeorgraphical division of J. Futák (1964, 1972), Devínska Kobyla is grouped together with the neighboring

Hundsheimer Berge The Hundsheimer Berge (also Hainburger Berge) is a hill range located in Lower Austria and Burgenland, Austria next to the Devín Gate. It is the most southern part of the Devín Carpathians. The mountain range covers approximately 36 km2 and ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, consisting of an area of xerothermic pannonian flora (Eupannonicum). Much of the area is densely forested with mostly

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

- oak or oak-

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam ...

trees. Humans have been shaping the environment in this area for centuries and anthropic changes included cutting and burning forests, creating meadows, establishing

s and

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of ...

s, grazing animals and planting new trees. Today, the area of Devín Carpathians contains a mixture of stony and grassy

forest steppe A forest steppe is a temperate-climate ecotone and habitat type composed of grassland interspersed with areas of woodland or forest. Locations Forest steppe primarily occurs in a belt of forest steppes across northern Eurasia from the eastern ...

, shrublands and dense forests. Some areas are more often visited and continually being changed over the course of centuries, other areas are relatively intact. There are numerous

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

species living inside the protected areas. The mountains are rich in

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

diversity as the small area of Devínska Kobyla alone contains at least 234 species of identified mushrooms. Local flora contains approximately 1,100 species of

plants Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclude ...

, 25 species are protected in Slovakia. The area is notable for its ''

Viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

'' hybrids. Dominant flora includes '' Stipa pulcherrima'', ''

Carex humilis ''Carex humilis'' (also known as dwarf sedge) is a species of sedge that can be found in Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the ...

'', '' Scabiosa suaveolena'', '' Festuca valesiaca'', '' Ranunculus illyricus'' and ''

Bromus erectus ''Bromus erectus'', commonly known as erect brome, upright brome or meadow brome, is a dense, course, tufted perennial grass. It can grow to . Like many brome grasses the plant is hairy. The specific epithet ''erectus'' is Latin, meaning "erect" ...

''. Protected plants include ''

Adonis vernalis ''Adonis vernalis'', known variously as pheasant's eye, spring pheasant's eye, yellow pheasant's eye and false hellebore, is a perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is found in dry meadows and steppes in Eurasia. Mor ...

'', '' Pulsatilla nigricans'', ''

Pulsatilla grandis ''Pulsatilla grandis'', the greater pasque flower, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Pulsatilla'' of the family Ranunculaceae. It is a perennial plant that grows on calcium-rich soil in dry grasslands, in rocky outcrops, and in pine ...

'', '' Anemone sylvestris'', '' Lilium martagon'', '' Stipa joannis'', '' Jurinea mollis'', ''

Iris pumila ''Iris pumila'', sometimes known as pygmy iris or dwarf iris, probably originated as a natural hybrid between '' Iris pseudopumila'' Boissier & Heldreich and '' I. attica'' Tineo. It ranges from Austria through eastern Europe and the Balkans, in ...

'', ''

Dictamnus albus ''Dictamnus albus'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae. It is also known as burning bush, dittany, gas plant or fraxinella. This herbaceous perennial has several geographical variants. It is native to warm, open woodland habit ...

'', ''

Cornus mas ''Cornus mas'', commonly known as cornel (also the Cornelian cherry, European cornel or Cornelian cherry dogwood), is a species of shrub or small tree in the dogwood genus '' Cornus'' native to Southern Europe and Southwestern Asia. Description I ...

'', ''

Prunus mahaleb ''Prunus mahaleb'', the mahaleb cherry or St Lucie cherry, is a species of cherry tree. The tree is cultivated for a spice obtained from the seeds inside the cherry stones. The seeds have a fragrant smell and have a taste comparable to bitter alm ...

'', ''

Fraxinus ornus ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of subtropical species are evergr ...

'', '' Chrysopogon gryllus'', ''

Vinca herbacea ''Vinca herbacea'', with common name herbaceous periwinkle, is a flowering plant native to eastern and southeastern Europe, from Austria south to Greece, and east to the Crimea, and also in northern Western Asia, in the Caucasus and Alborz mount ...

'', ''

Lathyrus pannonicus ''Lathyrus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae, and contains approximately 160 species. Commonly known as peavines or vetchlings, they are native to temperate areas, with a breakdown of 52 species in Europe, 30 species ...

'', ''

Platanthera bifolia ''Platanthera bifolia'', commonly known as the lesser butterfly-orchid, is a species of orchid in the genus ''Platanthera'', having certain relations with the genus '' Orchis'', where it was previously included and also with the genus ''Habenar ...

'', ''

Iris variegata ''Iris variegata'', commonly known as the Hungarian iris, is a plant species in the genus ''Iris'', also in the subgenus ''Iris''. It is a rhizomatous perennial from eastern Europe. It has dark green, ribbed leaves. The branched flowering stems c ...

'', '' Himantoglossum adriaticum'', ''

Limodorum abortivum ''Limodorum abortivum'', also known as Violet Limodore or Violet bird's-nest orchid, is a species of myco-heterotrophic, achlorophyllous orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of f ...

'' and ''

Rhamnus saxatilis Rhamnus may refer to: * Rhamnus (city), or Rhamnous, an ancient Greek city in Attica * Rhamnus (Crete), or Rhamnous, an ancient Greek town in Crete * Rhamnus, an augur killed by Nisus and Euryalus in book IX of The Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ...

''. Other plants include '' Ononis pusilla'', '' Lathyrus sphaericus'', '' Conringia austriaca'', '' Potentilla pedata'', ''

Smyrnium perfoliatum ''Smyrnium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae. Range in country of S. Europe to Asia. Occasionally naturalised in Britain. Species include:

'', ''

Bupleurum rotundifolium ''Bupleurum rotundifolium'', hare's ear or hound's ear, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Bupleurum ''Bupleurum'' is a large genus of annual or perennial herbs or woody shrubs, with about 190 species, belonging to the family Apiac ...

'', '' Consolida orientalis'' ssp. ''paniculata'' and '' Asplenium adiantum-nigrum''. Fauna of Devín Carpathians is notable especially for its large number of species of heat-loving

insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...

. Insects include '' Coleophora dianthi'', ''

Coleophora adspersella ''Coleophora adspersella'' is a moth of the family Coleophoridae. It is found in most of Europe, except the Iberian Peninsula, Switzerland and Slovenia. It is also found in China. It occurs in forest and forest steppe biotopes, and in anthropoge ...

'', '' Coleophora virgatella'', '' Pandemis dumetanz'', '' Trachismia rigana'', ''

Mantispa styriaca ''Mantispa styriaca'', the Styrian praying lacewing, is a species of predatory mantidfly native to Europe. It is a yellow-brown insect as an adult and has multiple larval stages. Description The adult Styrian praying lacewing is a yellow-brown ...

'', ''

Zanclognatha tarsipennalis ''Zanclognatha tarsipennalis'', the fan-foot, is a species of Herminiinae, litter moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in Europe and east across the Palearctic to Siberia, Amur river, Amur, Ussuri river, Ussuri, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and China ...

'', '' Yponomeuta vigintipunctatus'' and '' Procris gerryon''. Protected insects include ''

Saga pedo ''Saga pedo'' is a species of bush cricket, spread throughout the European part of the Mediterranean, and Asia as far east as China. It is a wingless bush cricket, with the body size of up to , which makes it one of the largest European insects ...

'', '' Mantis religiosa'', ''

Papilio machaon ''Papilio machaon'', the Old World swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. The butterfly is also known as the common yellow swallowtail or simply the swallowtail (a common name applied to all members of the family, but this speci ...

'', ''

Iphiclides podalirius The scarce swallowtail (''Iphiclides podalirius'') is a butterfly belonging to the family Papilionidae. It is also called the sail swallowtail or pear-tree swallowtail. Subspecies Subspecies include:Ascalaphus macaronius'', ''

Lucanus cervus ''Lucanus cervus'', known as the European stag beetle, or the greater stag beetle, is one of the best-known species of stag beetle (family Lucanidae) in Western Europe, and is the eponymous example of the genus. ''L. cervus'' is listed as Near T ...

'', '' Parnassius mnemosyne'' and others.

Amphibian Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbo ...

s include '' Salamandra salamandra'', ''

Bufo bufo The common toad, European toad, or in Anglophone parts of Europe, simply the toad (''Bufo bufo'', from Latin ''bufo'' "toad"), is a frog found throughout most of Europe (with the exception of Ireland, Iceland, and some Mediterranean islands), in ...

'' and ''

Bufo viridis The European green toad (''Bufotes viridis'') is a species of toad found in steppes, mountainous areas, semi-deserts, urban areas and other habitats in mainland Europe, ranging from far eastern France and Denmark to the Balkans and Western Russi ...

'', reptiles include ''

Lacerta viridis The European green lizard (''Lacerta viridis'') is a large lizard distributed across European midlatitudes from Slovenia and eastern Austria to as far east as the Black Sea coasts of Ukraine and Turkey. It is often seen sunning on rocks or lawns, ...

'', '' Lacerta agilis'', '' Podarcis muralis'', ''

Anguis fragilis The slow worm (''Anguis fragilis'') is a reptile native to western Eurasia. It is also called a deaf adder, a slowworm, a blindworm, or regionally, a long-cripple and hazelworm. These legless lizards are also sometimes called common slowworms. Th ...

'', ''

Zamenis longissimus The Aesculapian snake (now ''Zamenis longissimus'', previously ''Elaphe longissima''), is a species of nonvenomous snake native to Europe, a member of the Colubrinae subfamily of the family Colubridae. Growing up to in length, it is among the l ...

'', '' Natrix natrix'', ''

Natrix tessellata ''Natrix'' is a genus of Old World snakes found across Eurasia (although the range of '' Natrix tessellata'' extends into Egypt and those of '' N. astreptophora'' and '' N. maura'' into north-west Africa) in the subfamily Natricinae of the ...

'' and ''

Coronella austriaca The smooth snake (''Coronella austriaca'')Street D (1979). ''The Reptiles of Northern and Central Europe''. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. 268 pp. . is a species of non-venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is found in northern and cen ...

''. Birds known to hunt here include Common Rock Thrush and

Saker Falcon The saker falcon (''Falco cherrug'') is a large species of falcon. This species breeds from central Europe eastwards across the Palearctic to Manchuria. It is mainly migratory except in the southernmost parts of its range, wintering in Ethiopia ...

, birds known to nest here include

Common Buzzard The common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') is a medium-to-large bird of prey which has a large range. A member of the genus '' Buteo'', it is a member of the family Accipitridae. The species lives in most of Europe and extends its breeding range acr ...

. Mammals include the numerous

Roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

, also

Fallow deer ''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer. Name The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes ...

Red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of ...

only in the deep forest,

Wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species i ...

Red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

and

European badger The European badger (''Meles meles''), also known as the Eurasian badger, is a badger species in the family Mustelidae native to almost all of Europe. It is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List as it has a wide range and a large stab ...

. There are no wolves or bears in the mountains.

Protected areas

Almost the entire area of the mountain range is protected by the

Little Carpathians Protected Landscape Area Little Carpathians Protected Landscape Area ( sk, Chránená krajinná oblasť Malé Karpaty) is one of the 14 protected landscape areas in Slovakia. The Landscape Area is situated in the Little Carpathians, part of the Carpathian Mountains, in ...

. A small 650 ha patch of Devín Carpathians is protected under the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

network of

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respecti ...

. Additionally, Slovak law protects the following areas inside the mountain range: * National nature reserve

(''NPR Devínska Kobyla'') * National nature monument Devín Castle rock (''NPP Devínska hradná skala'') * National cultural monument

(''NKP Devín - Slovanské hradisko'') * National cultural monument Villa Rustica (''NKP Villa Rustica'') * Natural monument Devín

(''PP Devínska lesostep'') * Nature reserve Fialková valley (''PR Fialková dolina'') * Nature reserve Štokeravská vápenka (''PR Štokeravská vápenka'') * Nature reserve Slovanský island (''PR Slovanský ostrov'') * Protected area Lesné diely (''CHA Lesné diely'') * Protected tree

of Devín (''CHS Devínska oskoruša'')

Tourism

The main access point to Devín Carpathians is located at the parking lot underneath

. The mountains feature the following hiking trails: * Red trail TZT 0701a – from Devín, parking to Slavín. Length: 15.7 kilometers,

cumulative elevation gain In running, cycling, and mountaineering, cumulative elevation gain refers to the sum of every gain in elevation throughout an entire trip. It is sometimes also known as cumulative gain or elevation gain, or often in the context of mountain travel, ...

625 meters. * Yellow trail TZT 8104 – from Devín, parking to Dúbravka, House of Culture. Length: 6.6 kilometers, cumulative elevation gain 296 meters. * Blue trail TZT 2461 – from Devín, parking to Devínska Nová Ves. Length: 4.9 kilometers, cumulative elevation gain 244 meters. * Green trail TZT 5114 – from Devínska Nová Ves to Devínska Kobyla summit * Blue trail TZT 2436 – from Karlova Ves, OD Centrum to Dúbravka, House of Culture * Green trail TZT 5136 – from Dúbravka, House of Culture to Dúbravka, Technické sklo There are 4 educational trails ( sk, náučný chodník) in the area of Devín Carpathians. All of them are administered by the city boroughs, which is why they are usually well-kept, unlike educational trails in other part of Little Carpathians, especially those funded by a one-time money transfer from the

or the city of Bratislava. Educational trails in this area have not been damaged or destroyed by legal

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply cha ...

like in other areas (for example the Lamač – Železná studienka educational trail inside the Bratislavský lesný park). * , length 4.5 km, cumulative elevation gain 149 m. * Devínska Kobyla educational trail (Náučný chodník Devínska Kobyla) - from Devín Castle to Sandberg, length 4.0 km, cumulative elevation gain 280 m. It features 5 information signs: * Slovak island educational trail (Náučný chodník Slovanský ostrov)- information signs from the original Slovak island educational trail were moved to Slovanské nábrežie. * Dendropark - information signs were vandalized in the past, but are restored as of 2011.

References

External links

Devín Carpathians on Google Maps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devin Carpathians Geography of Bratislava Mountain ranges of Slovakia Mountain ranges of the Western Carpathians

Location

Division

Highest peaks

Description

Geomorphology

Notable areas

Flora and fauna

Protected areas

Tourism

See also

References

External links