The Little Carpathians (also: ''Lesser Carpathians'', sk, Malé Karpaty; german: Kleine Karpaten; hu, Kis-Kárpátok) are a low, about 100 km long,

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 ...

, part of the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretche ...

. The mountains are situated in Western

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 ...

, covering the area from

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 ...

Nové Mesto nad Váhom Nové Mesto nad Váhom (; german: Neustadt an der Waag, Neustadtl, Waag-Neustadtl, Waagneustadtl, Waag-Neustadt; hu, Vágújhely, Vág-Újhely) is a town in the Trenčín Region of Slovakia. Geography District town located at the northern edge ...

, and northeastern

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 ...

, where a very small part called

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 ...

(or Hainburger Berge) is located south of the

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 ...

. The Little Carpathians are bordered by Záhorie Lowland in the west and the

Danubian Lowland ::''The Serbian lowland is treated under Danube Plain (Serbia)'' The Danubian Lowland or Danube Lowland () is the name of the part of Little Alföld (Slovak: ''Malá dunajská kotlina'') situated in Slovakia, located between the Danube, the Lit ...

in the east. In 1976, the Little Carpathians were declared a protected area under the name Little Carpathians Protected Landscape Area, covering . The area is rich in flora and fauna diversity and contains numerous

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

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 ...

Driny Driny is a limestone cave in West Slovakia in the Little Carpathians Mountains. It is located around 2 km southwest of the village of Smolenice. The cave's entrance altitude is 399 m. The first attempt to enter the cave was made by Prus ...

is the only cave open to the public. The three highest mountains are

Záruby Záruby is the highest hill of the Little Carpathians. It is located at an altitude of 768 m, near the village of Smolenice Smolenice ( hu, Szomolány; german: Smolenitz) is a village and municipality of Trnava District in the Trnava Region ...

at , Vysoká at , and Vápenná at .

Description

Geomorphologically, the Little Carpathians belong into the

Alps-Himalaya System The Alpide belt or Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt,K.M. Storetvedt, K. M., ''The Tethys Sea and the Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt; mega-elements in a new global tectonic system,'' Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, Volume 62, Issues 1 ...

, the

sub-system, its province

Western Carpathians The Western Carpathians are a mountain range and geomorphological province that forms the western part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountain belt stretches from the Low Beskids range of the Eastern Carpathians along the border of Poland wit ...

, and its subprovince the

Inner Western Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. Below is a detailed overview of the major subdivisions and ranges of the Carpathian Mountains. The Carpathians are a "subsystem" of a bigger Alps-Himalaya ...

. The Little Carpathians are further divided into four parts (from south to north): Devín Carpathians ( sk, Devínske Karpaty),

Pezinok Carpathians Pezinok (; hu, Bazin; german: Bösing; lat, Bazinium) is a town in southwestern Slovakia. It is roughly northeast of Bratislava and, as of December 2018, had a population of 23,002. Pezinok lies near the Little Carpathians and thrives mainly ...

( sk, Pezinské Karpaty), Brezová Carpathians ( sk, Brezovské Karpaty) and

Čachtice Carpathians Čachtice (, hu, Csejte) is a village in Nové Mesto nad Váhom District in western Slovakia with a population of 4,010 (as of 2014). The village is situated between the Danubian Lowland and the Little Carpathians. It is best known for the ruin ...

( sk, Čachtické Karpaty). }) – in

, align="left",

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 ...

( sk, Devínska Kobyla) , - , align="left",

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) , - , align="left",

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) , - , align="left",

( sk, Devínska brána) , - , rowspan="8" align="left",

( sk, Pezinské Karpaty) – from Bratislava to Buková , align="left", Homoľa Carpathians ( sk, Homoľské Karpaty) , - , align="left", Kuchynská hornatina , - , align="left", Stupava Foothills ( sk, Stupavské predhorie) , - , align="left", Biele hory , - , align="left", Smolenická vrchovina , - , align="left", Lošonská kotlina , - , align="left", Plavecké predhorie , - , align="left", Bukovská brázda , - , rowspan="1" align="left", Brezová Carpathians ( sk, Brezovské Karpaty) – from Buková to Prašník , align="left", Dobrovodská kotlina , - , rowspan="2" align="left",

( sk, Čachtické Karpaty) – from Prašník to

, align="left", Plešivec , - , align="left", Nedze The mountains are densely forested (90% being

broad-leaved tree A broad-leaved, broad-leaf, or broadleaf tree is any tree within the diverse botanical group of angiosperms that has flat leaves and produces seeds inside of fruits. It is one of two general types of trees, the other being a conifer, a tree with ne ...

s), and the southeastern part contains extensive vineyards (e.g. Rača,

Pezinok Pezinok (; hu, Bazin; german: Bösing; lat, Bazinium) is a town in southwestern Slovakia. It is roughly northeast of Bratislava and, as of December 2018, had a population of 23,002. Pezinok lies near the Little Carpathians and thrives mainly ...

Modra Modra (german: Modern, hu, Modor, Latin: ''Modur'') is a city and municipality in the Bratislava Region in Slovakia. It has a population of 9,042 as of 2018. It nestles in the foothills of the Malé Karpaty (Little Carpathian mountains) and is ...

). Several castles or castle ruins are situated in the Little Carpathians, for example

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 ...

, Čachtice, Červený Kameň, and

Smolenice Smolenice ( hu, Szomolány; german: Smolenitz) is a village and municipality of Trnava District in the Trnava Region of Slovakia, on the foothills of the Little Carpathians. It is 60 km northeast of Bratislava and 25 km northwest of Trnava. ...

castles. Geologically, the mountain range is part of the Tatra-Fatra Belt of core mountains. There are several

active fault An active fault is a fault that is likely to become the source of another earthquake sometime in the future. Geologists commonly consider faults to be active if there has been movement observed or evidence of seismic activity during the last 10,0 ...

s, which have produced earthquakes. Of them the most notable is the Dobra Voda fault (1906 and 1930 produced 8.5° and 7.5°

EMS-98 The European macroseismic scale (EMS) is the basis for evaluation of seismic intensity in European countries and is also used in a number of countries outside Europe. Issued in 1998 as an update of the test version from 1992, the scale is referred ...

or equal to

M_\mathrm

= 5.7 and 5.0). This particular fault is closely monitored because of its proximity to the NPP Jaslovske Bohunice (approx. 15 km away). The Little Carpathians are seismically one of the most active regions in Slovakia and epicentres of earthquakes with approximate magnitude of 2.5 on

Richter magnitude scale The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 p ...

are located here.Moczo, P. (2011). ''Výsledky v seizmológii'' v r. 2009–2011 v SR. In Bratislava (Slovak Republic): ''Katedra astronómie, fyziky Zeme a meteorológie Fakulty fyziky, matematiky a informatiky'' Univerzity Komenského.: IX. Slovenská geofyzikálna konferencia. 22.6.2011 There are a total of eight

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 ...

areas in the Little Carpathians: the Devín Carpathians, Borinka (Pajštún), Cajlan, Kuchyňa-orešany, Plavecký, Smolenice, Dobrovodský, and Čachtice karsts. The most important karst forms include caves Deravá, Tmavá skala, Driny, and Čachtická, and caves along the Borinský potok.

, a limestone cave, is the only cave open to public. Major streams include Vydrica and Suchý jarok.

Highest peaks

History

While being a low mountain range, the Little Carpathians were always considered a mountain barrier, often attaining a height of 500 meters, as they were surrounded by various lowlands, . In the past, various types of ore were mined in the Little Carpathians used for the production of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

antimony Antimony is a chemical element with the symbol Sb (from la, stibium) and atomic number 51. A lustrous gray metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite (Sb2S3). Antimony compounds have been known since ancient ti ...

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of ...

and

pyrite The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Iron, FeSulfur, S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic Luster (mineralogy), lust ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the Little Carpathians were the birthplace of the partisan group ''Janko Kráľ''. Insurgency in the mountains lasted until the occupation by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

in 1945.

Tourism

The Little Carpathians are a popular tourist destination in Western

. The mountains are used for

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from ...

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 ...

, backpacking, automobile and motorcycle tourism,

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreatio ...

, and other winter sports. The mountain range contains a dense network of trails, and the recreational infrastructure is relatively well developed, especially in the south. The Little Carpathians are a popular destination for the inhabitants of

and other larger cities in the region. Since the Middle Ages, the area has been known for its wines and wine-making traditions. Well known centers of local wine-making include

Svätý Jur Svätý Jur (; german: Sankt Georgen; he, Yergen; hu, Szentgyörgy; formerly ''Jur pri Bratislave'') is a small historical town northeast of Bratislava, located in the Bratislava Region. The city is situated on the slopes of Little Carpathians ...

and

. The main tourist centers include the Slovak capital

, Pezinská Baba (halfway between

and

Pernek Pernek is a village and municipality in Malacky District in the Bratislava Region of western Slovakia. History In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1394. Geography The municipality lies at an altitude of 278 metres and co ...

) and Zochova chata (near

Images

File:Krslenica 12.jpg, Kršlenica rocks File:Sandberg 12.jpg,

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 ...

rock Sandberg File:Hlbociansky vodopad in summer.jpg, Hlboča

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ...

File:Cave Pieskova 01.jpg, Cave Piesková File:Cave Kabele 01.jpg, Cave Kabele File:PP01 2.jpg,

Speleothem A speleothem (; ) is a geological formation by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, dependi ...

s in the cave PP1

References

External links

Little Carpathians
a
Spectacular SlovakiaLittle Carpathians Wine Route
{{Authority control Mountain ranges of Slovakia Mountain ranges of Austria Mountain ranges of the Western Carpathians