Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

BRATISLAVA 309

Devín Castle e
Zámok Devín

8 km (5 miles) W of Bratislava.
Map F1. Tel (02) 6573 0105.
@ 28, 29. 4 from Central
Bratislava. # 10am–5pm Tue–Fri,
11am–6pm Sat & Sun. &

At the confluence of the
Morava and the Danube rivers
lie the ruins of Devín Castle,
perched on a high rock. The
rock was once the site of a
Celtic settlement. Later, the
Romans built a fortress here
and in the 9th century, Prince
Rastislav, king of Great
Moravia between 846 and 870,
chose it for his strong hold. It
changed hands many times
until 1809, when it was blown
up by the French Army during

The ruins of Devín Castle, high above the Danube river

Red Stone Castle r

hrad Červený Kameň

155 km (96 miles) N of Bratislava.

Map F1. Tel (033) 690 5803. @

# Nov–Feb: 9:30am–3:30pm daily;

Apr–Aug: 9am–5pm daily; Sep & Oct:

9am–4pm daily (till 5pm Sat & Sun).

& 8 http://www.hradcervenykamen.sk

The remarkable Red Stone

Castle is regarded as one of

the best-preserved castles in

Slovakia. A mighty edifice with

four cor ner tow ers, it was

acquired in the 16th century

by a German banking family,

the Fuggers. Anton Fugger,

one of the rich est men in 16th-

cen tury Europe, con verted the

original 13th-century fort into

a Renaissance castle. When

the Pálffy family took it over

in 1580, they con verted it into

a Baroque residence.

The castle’s interior includes

finely preserved porcelain and

fur nish ings while the castle

chapel has lav ishly deco rated

walls and marble altars. An

unu sual fea ture is the 1656

sala terrena, an artificial grotto

with trompe-l’oeil paint ings

and stuccoes. The castle also

houses collec tions from the

Slovak National Museum,

including a gallery of paint ings

with portraits of the Habsburgs

and Pálffy family members.

Environs

Častá, about 1 km (0.6 mile)

east of Red Stone Castle, has

been a centre of wine-making

for centuries and sev eral cellars

offer tastings. Its 15th-century

Gothic Church of St Imre has

interesting medieval paintings.

Coat of arms from the well in the courtyard of Red Stone Castle

the vast housing estates of
Petržalka on the south. Built
by Communists, this estate
houses more than 150,000
of the city’s inhabitants.
The construction of New
Bridge and the Staromestská
Highway, which cuts through
the city and over the bridge,
involved the complete
destruc tion of the former
Jewish quarter at the foot of
Bratislava Castle (see p305).

the Napoleonic Wars. In the

19th cen tury, dur ing the period

of national rebirth, the castle

became a symbol in the shap-

ing of Slovak national iden tity,

promoted by L’udovít Štúr, the

leader of the Slovak Nationalist

Movement (see p298).

During the 1980s the castle

area, separated from Austria

by the Danube, was closed

to the public. Now, it is a

pop ular recreational spot

for Bratislavans. One sec-

tion of the castle has been

reconstructed, and features

the remains of a Roman

fortress and an archae o-

logical museum.