Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Devin Castle

Today I visited Devin Castle, the extraordinary remnants of a castle that dates back to the medieval era, on a site that has been occupied for almost two millenia. It is just northwest of the Old Town area, an easy trip for visitors.

From Novy Most (New Bridge), I took the #29 city bus, which runs about every 30 minutes during the day and terminates at the Castle. The trip takes 20 minutes on a busy two-lane highway that winds through forested areas, scattered housing, a mining operation of some kind, and finally through the village of Devin.



The trip ends at a big parking lot, with a hotel and refreshment stands at the base of the highest point of the hill with castle remains visible on top.






Bilingual signs throughout (in Slovak and English) make the site very visitor-friendly. Admission is 80 SKK (about $3.20).









The castle was blown up by Napoleon’s army in 1809, and the Communists used it as a border look-out post. It is now under the control of the City Museum of Bratislava.



During the Communist era, visitors were allowed, but fences prevented anyone from walking around to the back of the Castle grounds, as that would have been an easy escape to the West via the rivers.




The castle lies at the confluence of the Moravian and Danube Rivers. The Moravian forms the western border of Slovakia here, with Austria on the other side. The Danube cuts through Austria at this point to the west.




Archeological excavations, which began in 1965, are clearly marked in many places on the grounds. Several are foundations of buildings traced to the 15th century. The oldest I saw were remnants of a Christian church traced to the 5th century, but it is covered by a shelter that made photography impossible.




I climbed up every section of the Castle remains, as did the many other visitors at the site today.





Incredible views abound in all directions. It is easy to see why this was such a valuable military outpost through the centuries. This is the Danube, looking to the west.







Here is a shot of the village of Devin at the base of the castle. Many huge new homes are under construction.








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