Žitný ostrov (Rye Island), also called Veľký Žitný ostrov (Great Rye Island), (german: Große Schüttinsel or Great Schütt Island, hu, Csallóköz) to differentiate it from

Malý Žitný ostrov Malý or Maly may refer to: People * Arturo Maly (1939–2001), Argentine actor * Dominik Malý (born 1996), Slovak footballer * Gerő Mály (1884–1952), Hungarian actor * Jakub Malý (1811–1885), Czech writer * Josef Malý (1894–1943), ...

(Small Rye Island) (german: Kleine Schüttinsel or Little Schütt Island, hu, Szigetköz), is a

river island River Island is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores and online. Best known for its trend focused womenswear offering, River Isla ...

in southwestern

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

, extending from

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

Komárno Komárno, ( hu, Komárom, german: Komorn, sr, Коморан, translit=Komoran), colloquially also called ''Révkomárom, Öregkomárom, Észak-Komárom'' in Hungarian language, Hungarian; is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube an ...

. It lies between the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

, its tributary

Little Danube The Little Danube ( Slovak: ''Malý Dunaj'', Hungarian: ''Kis-Duna'', German: ''Kleine Donau'') is a branch of the river Danube in Slovakia. It splits from the main river near Bratislava, and flows more or less parallel to the Danube until it ...

and

Váh The Váh (; german: Waag, ; hu, Vág; pl, WagWag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów ...

. The island is a major part of the Danubian Flat. It is the biggest river island in Europe, with an area of , measuring in length and in width. The main towns on the island are

(Révkomárom),

Dunajská Streda Dunajská Streda (; hu, Dunaszerdahely; german: Niedermarkt; he, דונהסרדהיי) is a town located in southern Slovakia ( Trnavský kraj). Dunajská Streda is the most culturally significant town in the Žitný ostrov area. The town has a p ...

(Dunaszerdahely) and

Šamorín Šamorín (; hu, Somorja, german: Sommerein) is a small town in western Slovakia, southeast of Bratislava. Etymology The name is derived from a patron saint of a local church Sancta Maria, mentioned for the first time as ''villa Sancti Marie'' ...

(Somorja). Boroughs of Bratislava, Vrakuňa and

Podunajské Biskupice Podunajské Biskupice ( hu, Pozsonypüspöki) (1927–1944 ''Biskupice pri Dunaji'', before 1927 ''Biskupice'') is a borough of Bratislava. It is the largest borough in the terms of area in Bratislava. History The first written account of Podunaj ...

are also located on the island. The

Slovnaft Slovnaft is an oil refining company in Slovakia. The company, located in Bratislava, is a subsidiary of MOL Group. History Slovnaft is the successor of the Apollo company. Apollo was established in 1895 in Bratislava. Its refinery was bom ...

refinery is also located on the island. The island is the biggest drinking water reservoir in Slovakia, and one of the biggest in Europe as well. Because of its warm climate, good soils and water reservoirs it is an important agricultural region, with the best conditions for crop production. It is the most fertile region in Slovakia, causing the majority of the island to be deforested. Southern parts of Žitný ostrov by the Danube are protected by

Dunajské luhy Protected Landscape Area Dunajské luhy Protected Landscape Area ( sk, Chránená krajinná oblasť Dunajské luhy; literally Danube Floodplains PLA) is one of the youngest of the 14 protected landscape areas in Slovakia. The Landscape Area consists of five separate parts ...

Etymology

The current Slovak name of the island is modern and it's derived from the phonetic similarity of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

''Schütt'' (meaning dike) and Slovak ''žito'' (rye). This name was accepted and is commonly used also because the island is a very fertile region used for crop production. The original name of the island is of Hungarian origin (1250 ''Chollocuz''). Stanislav incorrectly reconstructed the name as ''*Čalov'' (like

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

Čálovice, Serbian Čalovići or

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

Nieczałów, Varsik as ''*Čelov'' (like Čelovce in Eastern Slovakia). The Hungarian name ''Csallóköz'' is derived from the old Hungarian name of the

– ''Csalló''.

Image gallery

File:Maly dunaj - panoramio (10).jpg, Litlle Danube, which forms Žitný Ostrov, along with the Danube and Váh rivers File:Slovnaft with bridges.JPG, Slovnaft refinery in Bratislava File:Dunajská Streda 2.jpg, Dunajská Streda, one of towns located on Žitný ostrov File:Komarno city centre.JPG, Komárno, one of towns located on Žitný ostrov

References

External links

Žitný ostrov
a
Slovakia.travel
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zitny ostrov River islands of Slovakia Islands of the Danube Hungarian-speaking territories Historical regions in the Kingdom of Hungary

Etymology

Image gallery

See also

References

External links