Dear Friends,
I would like to invite you to the closing event of Zážitková Bratislava, which we will enjoy beneath the walls of Devín Castle.
On Friday, we began with exploring Bratislava Castle, followed by Saturday's Zážitková Bratislava 2025, currently the only Slovak event with the Geocaching Block Party icon. Together, we had the opportunity to experience geocaching in Bratislava, enjoy 25 guided tours, attend lectures in the Klarisky concert hall in the city center, and participate in creative workshops.
Today, after the CITO event, we are meeting at the second castle of our capital city, right under the walls of Devín Castle.
Devín
After the Roman Empire expanded its borders to the Danube, the castle hill of Devín became part of a system of fortifications around the camp of Carnuntum (located on the right bank of the Danube near today’s Hainburg). A well-fortified hillfort arose on the castle hill, serving as a Great Moravian frontier fortress, where Prince Rastislav defended against Frankish King Louis in 864. The Devín fortification system comprised the central hillfort called Dowina (maiden), a water moat between the Morava and Danube, and two forward hillforts on Sand Hill above Devínska Nová Ves.
Devín Castle Under the Habsburgs
...The castle's function changed after the Habsburgs ascended to the Hungarian throne. Previously a Hungarian border castle guarding crossings of the Danube against Austrian attacks, Devín became a fortress after 1526. During the Turkish Wars and anti-Habsburg uprisings, it protected crossings from Hungary to Vienna. Consequently, the Habsburgs, as Hungarian kings, allocated the castle only to their loyal supporters. In the 16th century, it was given to the Báthory family, later to the Keglevich family in the 17th century, and finally to the Pálffy family, who owned castles along Carpathian crossings from Bojnice to Záhorie.
The Báthory family, lords of the castle from 1527 to 1605, expanded and renovated the palace in the Renaissance style and built additional outer fortifications. The Pálffy family, owning the castle from 1635, initially made minor internal renovations but later neglected its care. In 1809, the crumbling castle was blown up by Napoleon’s troops as they advanced through Devín to Bratislava, and finally, in 1918, the Palffy family was forced to sell the castle...
National Revival
...During the Slovak national revival, Devín became a symbol of interest for Slovak patriots, largely due to the epic poems of Ján Hollý, Svätopluk (1833) and Cirillo - Metodiada (1835), as well as patriotic outings by Štúr's followers. The most notable event occurred on April 24, 1836, when 16 members of the Czech-Slovak Society added Slavic-origin names to their given names as an expression of patriotism. A bronze plaque (by Jozef Pospíšil) commemorating this outing was placed in the central castle in 1936....
What Will the Event Be About?
We will exchange experiences from the entire weekend we spent together, not only in Bratislava's center but also discuss plans and share invitations to future events.
CCE
Sunday, February 23rd, 2025 from 4:01 PM to 6:02 PM
at the crossroads below Devín Castle
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN A CASTLE TOUR?
Additional program before the event:
The entrance gate, where you can purchase a ticket, is only a few meters away from the event coordinates.
For those interested, I will give a free, commented tour from 2:00 PM.
There will be only one commented tour, with a valid, purchased ticket, and it will be in Slovak language only.
We meet at 2:00 PM in the area behind the ticket sales point (see waypoint).
After the tour, the CCE event begins.
The castle grounds close at 4:00 PM.
The basic admission fee is € 6, discounted and family tickets can be found at:
https://muzeumbratislava.sk/hrad-devin
xWG will be available for € 0.5 / pc while supplies last (with the option to pre-order the entire set)