Devin Castle
One of the most picturesque castles in Slovakia is the Devin castle (Hungarian: Dévény, German: Burg Theben). The close proximity to Bratislava makes the castle one of the most popular destination for foreign visitors. The castle is situated on the hillock above the confluence of the rivers Danube and Morava. That site was continually settled from the New Iron Age till the 19th century. The second half of the 9th century is closely connected with the name of Prince Rastislav who had a huge fortress built there. The unearthed foundations of the Christian church in whose proximity six graves with rich inventories have been found testifies to the exceptional character of the locality in the period of the Great Moravian Empire.  Devin Castle The beginnings of the medieval castle date from the 13th century when a small border fortress was built on the top of the rocky cliff. The greatest building activity was recorded in the first third of the 15th century in gothic style, when the castle was owned by the prominent family of the Garays. At the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century the castle belonged to the Lords of St. Jur and Pezinok, in 1527-1605 to the Bathorys. In 1635 Palffys gained the castle but did not carry out any significant building adaptation there. In 1809 the castle was blown up by Napoleon’s soldiers. Today Devin castle is administered by the City Museum of Bratislava, which has been carrying out systematic archeological research there since 1965.  Devin Castle
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