Langs de mooie blauwe Donau

When she gets you on her wavelength 

 she lets the river answer ...

Sketching along the beautiful blue Danube

"Hrad Devín" - Slovakia

in my sketchbook

29,7 / 21 cm

Het Kasteel van Devín (Hrad Devín of Devínsky hrad) is een burcht in het dorp Devín, een stadsdeel dat ongeveer 30 km van het centrum van de Slovaakse hoofdstad Bratislava ligt verwijderd.

History

Devín castle is one of the oldest castles in Slovakia. The castle was likely first mentioned in written sources in 864, when Louis the German besieged Prince Rastislav in one of the frequent wars between the Franks and Great Moravia respectively in the "castle of Dowina". On the other hand, the identification of Dowina with Devín Castle has been under debate based on alleged linguistic arguments and the absence of convincing archaeologic evidence.

During the Great Moravian period, Devín was the center of a larger agglomeration. Its defensive role was enstrengthen by smaller hill forts on Devínska Kobyla (Na pieskach, Nad lomom). A pre-romanesque church was built on the castle approximately between 850 and 863/870. Its rare style is closest to churches from the Dalmatia and Noricum, from the areas with a persisting tradition of late antique and Byzantine architecture. The interior of the church was decorated with frescoes painted by colors originated (according to chemical analysis) in northern Italy. Two styluses discovered by later research can indicate administrative or education work of the local priests. Along with other artifacts, six graves dated to the Great Moravian era were found near the church and are attributed to members of a retinue of the local ruler and their family members.

In the 13th century, a stone castle was built to protect the western frontier of the Hungarian Kingdom whose existence was documented in 1271 and a reference to a castelanus de Devin appeared in 1326. Between 1301 and 1323, the castle (together with Bratislava/Pressburg County) was held by the Dukes of Austria who granted it to Otto von Tellesbrunn. In 1323, the dukes transferred Pozsony County back to King Charles I of Hungaryand Devín Castle became the possession of the heads (ispáns) of the county. In 1385, the castle was occupied by Margrave Jobst of Moravia who held it until 1390 when King Sigismund of Hungary redeemed it and gave it to duke Stibor of Stiboricz. After that, the king mortgaged Devín Castle to an Austrian knight, Lessel Hering who transferred the castle to Nicholas II Garay (the Palatine of the Kingdom) in 1414. Around 1444, King Frederick IV of Germany occupied the castle but he granted it to Ladislaus Garai already in 1450.

A palace was added in the 15th century. Fortification was reinforced during wars against the Ottoman Empire. The Castle was never taken, but after the Hungarian Kingdom joined the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottomans were finally defeated, it ceased to be an important border fortress and was no longer used by the military. Stephen Báthory got the castle by the king as a donation. But according to Stephen Báthory was Keglević the owner of the castle. Keglević pawned the castle for 40,000 guilders to the Palocsai family and spent the money. In 1609, Matthias II confirmed that Keglević still was the owner of the castle, but Keglević did not have the money to take the castle out of pledge from the Palocsai family. Nearly 100 years later in 1635 Palatine Pál Pálffy took the castle out of pledge from the Palocsai family. The last owners of the Devín Castle were the Counts of the Pálffy family. Only in 1809, after the Siege of Pressburg, was the castle (still considered a threat) destroyed by the retreating forces of Napoleon I of France. Napoleon and Leopold Pálffy negotiated then and they both agreed that Vienna is supplied with products by Pálffy. 

Since the 19th century as its history inspired several Romantic poets, followers of Ľudovít Štúr, Devín has become an important national symbol for the Slovaks. It featured both on the reverse of the former 500 Czechoslovak koruna banknote and the 50 Halierov coin of the Slovak currency.

The Hungarians regarded it as the western gateway of the Kingdom of Hungary. The Hungarian poet Endre Ady used it as a symbol of modernism and Westernization in his poem :

I am the Son of Gog and Magog

By Verecke's ancient route I came,

In my ear ancient Magyar songs still blaze,

Am I free to break through at Dévény,

With modern songs fit for modern days?

 (by Endre Ady)

Some parts of the castle have been reconstructed in the 20th century and the castle hosts an interesting museum. Archaeological works at the site have revealed the remains of a Roman tower dating from the 1st century AD and evidence of a prehistoric settlement.

Sources : 

Illáš, Martin (2011). "Predrománsky kostol na Devíne" [The Pre-romanesque Church on Devín] (PDF) (in Slovak).
Ondruš, Šimon (2000). Odtajnené trezory slov I. (in Slovak). Martin: Vydavateľstvo Matice slovenskej. ISBN 80-7090-530-1.
Turčan, Vladimír (2013). Veľkomoravské hradiská (in Slovak). Bratislava: DAJAMA. ISBN 978-80-8136-013-8.
Štefanovičová, Tatiana (1989). Osudy starých Slovanov [Fate of the Ancient Slavs] (in Slovak). Osveta.
Engel, Pál: Magyarország világi archontológiája (1301–1457) (The Temporal Archontology of Hungary (1301-1457)); História - MTA Történettudományi Intézete, 1996, Budapest; ISBN 963-8312-43-2.

Wikipedia