Žitný ostrov (), also called Veľký Žitný ostrov (; , ) to differentiate it from
Malý Žitný ostrov (; ; ), is a
river island
River Island (stylised as RiverIsland and abbreviated as RI) is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis (entrepreneur), Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores ...
in southwestern
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 ...
, extending from
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. ...
to
Komárno
Komárno (, , ), colloquially also called ''Révkomárom'', ''Öregkomárom'', ''Észak-Komárom'' in Hungarian language, Hungarian, is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube and the Váh rivers. Historically it was formed by the "old ...
. It lies between 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 ...
, its tributary
Little Danube and
Váh. The island is a major part of the
Danubian Flat. It is the biggest river island in Europe, with an area of ,
measuring in length and in width.
The main towns on the island are
Komárno
Komárno (, , ), colloquially also called ''Révkomárom'', ''Öregkomárom'', ''Észak-Komárom'' in Hungarian language, Hungarian, is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube and the Váh rivers. Historically it was formed by the "old ...
,
Dunajská Streda and
Å amorÃn. Two boroughs of Bratislava,
Vrakuňa and
Podunajské Biskupice, are also located on the island. The
Slovnaft refinery is also located on the island. The island is the biggest drinking water reservoir in Slovakia, and one of the biggest in Europe as well. Because of its warm climate, good soils and water reservoirs it is an important agricultural region, with the best conditions for crop production. It is the most fertile region in Slovakia, causing the majority of the island to be deforested.
Southern parts of Žitný ostrov by the Danube are protected by
Dunajské luhy Protected Landscape Area.
Etymology
The current Slovak name of the island is modern and it's derived from the phonetic similarity of
German ''Schütt'' (meaning dike) and Slovak ''žito'' (rye). This name was accepted and is commonly used also because the island is a very fertile region used for crop production.
The original name of the island is of
Hungarian origin (1250 ''Chollocuz'').
Stanislav incorrectly reconstructed the name as ''*ÄŒalov'' (like
Czech Čálovice,
Serbian Čalovići or
Polish Nieczałów,
Varsik as ''*ÄŒelov'' (like
ÄŒelovce in Eastern Slovakia).
The
Hungarian name ''Csallóköz'' is derived from the old Hungarian name of the
Little Danube – ''Csalló''.
Image gallery
File:Maly dunaj - panoramio (10).jpg, Little Danube, which forms Žitný Ostrov, along with the Danube and Váh rivers
File:Slovnaft with bridges.JPG, Slovnaft refinery in Bratislava
File:Dunajská Streda 2.jpg, Dunajská Streda, one of towns located on Žitný ostrov
File:Komarno city centre.JPG, Komárno, one of towns located on Žitný ostrov
See also
*
Malý Žitný ostrov
References
External links
Žitný ostrova
Slovakia.travel*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zitny ostrov
River islands of Slovakia
Islands of the Danube
Historical regions in the Kingdom of Hungary