hrad Devín/Devín Castle, Bratislava

4 more images

Devin castle is a wonderful day (or half-day) trip from bratislava.. it's just over 120 kilometres far, which means about 20 minutes by car/bus or 90 minutes by boat (but only 30 minutes back). The castle sits perched above a tall cliff at the confluence of the Morava and Danube rivers.

What you see is in fact not the castle as it once was, but the (stunning) ruins of the castle, and you can blame Napoleon for this, as he was the one who blew it up.

The castle is closed in winter - and entrance is 60 Sk. Inside you can also see an exhibition of roman artfacts that were found on the site

3 more images

Devin is a place just outside Bratislava (around 30 minutes by bus from the city centre) where a pictoresque castle lies. However, besides the castle there is a breathtaking scenery where one can also see where 2 rivers meet.

Right next to the border is Denvin Castle, the pride of Slovakia as it defended Slovakia from Austria. A small river mounds in the Danube here, the small river also indicates the Austrian/Slovakian border.

From Bratislava take bus 2. The bus leaves from the bus station in Bratislava underneath the large bridge with the UFO shaped building, the last stop is at the castle. The ride takes about 25 minutes. Buy 2 30 minutes tickets as you need to go back as well. Busses go every 30 minutes.

You can walk around, get in the castle and see the small village of Denvin as well. There are some tourist facilities nearby the castle but not that much. There is a small entrance fee, but worth the money as from the top of the hill you have a nice view. The riverside area is good for walking around, if it's not too hot.

Certainly the last photo of the Devin Castle before we bid goodbye. Maybe one day I would have the chance to go & see the top.The Castle is opened from :
10 AM to 5 PM; Daily except MONDAY,
May Through October.
Price : 20 SkTook a bus back to Bratislava.

Another view of the ruins. More green surrounding this time. I wanted to make the ruins looked impressive surrounding by green hill. Am I succeeded ?In the Communist days, the paths surrounding the castle Ruins that me & Marek took were lined with barbed-wire fences.
Now, it'll make a shady walk...

Me & Marek backtracked ourself from the point we entered the areas & I took times to captured more sights...
You can see more visible views of the Castle now, yes ?
In the 19th century, Slovak nationalist called Ludovit Stur encouraged to make Devin Castle as the National Treasure.

This is my favourite photo of the castle ruins. They looked like 2 towers to me.
This castle was occupied by several occupants; The Garay Family who added the castle; The Bathorys who lived here in the 16th century;
Sadly, in 1809, Napoleon's Army reduced it all to ruins...

Marek was probably felt weird I took many photos from the bottom than on top seeing the real thing.
I said well, we couldn't go in to see the real thing. So, I am just capturing the ruins from another angles.
Point taken.
A small fort was built in the 13th century & later a palace was added in the 15th century.

Me & Marek kept on walking surrounding the hill where the Castle ruins were situated. I felt good even seeing the ruins from the bottom of the hill.
These walls dated from Roman times;
The Great Moravian Prince Ratislav fortified this & also the adjacent hills in the 9th century.

The Castle is in ruins now. The story surrounding this castle is impressive so a visit there is a must for me, at least.
Read it all in my Travelogue.
[Please click]
This fortress sits on the confluence of 2 rivers :
MORAVA ROVER
DANUBE RIVER