Forest in Devín Carpathians Ruins of the Devín Castle Devín Carpathians ( sk, Devínske Karpaty, ) is a subdivision of the

Little Carpathians The Little Carpathians (also: ''Lesser Carpathians'', sk, Malé Karpaty; german: Kleine Karpaten; hu, Kis-Kárpátok) are a low, about 100 km long, mountain range, part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slo ...

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

, located entirely within

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the 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 — approximately 140% o ...

, the capital of

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 ...

. It is bordered by the city boroughs of

Devín Devín (, hu, Dévény, german: Theben) is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, located in the Bratislava IV district. Originally a separate village at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers, Devín maintained its rural ch ...

from the west,

Devínska Nová Ves Devínska Nová Ves ( hu, Dévényújfalu, hr, Devinsko Novo Selo, german: Theben-Neudorf) is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Its western borders are formed by the Morava (river), Morava River, which also forms the national bord ...

from the north, Dúbravka from the east and

Karlova Ves Karlova Ves ( hu, Károlyújfalu, german: Karlsdorf) is a borough in the city of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is located in the western part of the city close to the river Danube on the slopes of the Little Carpathians mountains and ...

from the south. Its highest mountain is Devínska Kobyla at 514 m (1,686 ft)

AMSL Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. The c ...

, it is also the highest point in Bratislava. The hills are mostly forested with

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, a ...

trees and most of the area is protected by numerous nature reserves, including two geologically important areas: ''Sandberg'' containing

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a soil texture, textur ...

s and

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

s from the

Cenozoic The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configu ...

Paratethys The Paratethys sea, Paratethys ocean, Paratethys realm or just Paratethys was a large shallow inland sea that stretched from the region north of the Alps over Central Europe to the Aral Sea in Central Asia. Paratethys was peculiar due to its p ...

ocean and ''Jezuitské Lesy'' containing rare granitic pegmatite bearing

niobium Niobium is a chemical element with chemical symbol Nb (formerly columbium, Cb) and atomic number 41. It is a light grey, crystalline, and ductile transition metal. Pure niobium has a Mohs hardness rating similar to pure titanium, and it ha ...

tantalum Tantalum is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as ''tantalium'', it is named after Tantalus, a villain in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a very hard, ductile, lustrous, blue-gray transition metal that is ...

oxide

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ...

s. Devín Carpathians are famous for its

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

s, most notably the

Bratislava Castle Bratislava Castle ( sk, Bratislavský hrad, ; german: Pressburger Burg; hu, Pozsonyi vár) is the main castle of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The massive rectangular building with four corner towers stands on an isolated rocky hill ...

and the ruins of

Devín Castle Devín Castle ( sk, hrad Devín, links=no or , hu, Dévényi vár, german: Burg Theben) is a castle in Devín, which is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Description The site has been settled since the Neolithic Age and fortifi ...

. The mountains feature numerous cultural monuments, caves,

tramping Tramping may refer to: Travel * Hiking * Trekking * Tramping in New Zealand, a style of backpacking or hiking *Czech tramping, a Czech outdoors pastime Places *Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380, Saskatchewan, Canada ** Tramping Lake, Sa ...

huts, an open-air geology

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and th ...

and a chemical waste dump. Military structures in the mountains include an abandoned rocket base and preserved artillery fortifications from the time of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. Featuring a dense network of forest trails, Devín Carpathians together with Bratislava Forest Park are frequented by citizens of the city and provide their main venue for hiking, mountain cycling, cross-country skiing and dog walking.

Location

The boundary of Devín Carpathians consists of the Slovak-Austrian border in the middle of the Morava and

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 , ...

rivers from the west, the road connecting

and Dúbravka from the north, the road connecting Dúbravka with the crossing at Patrónka from the north-west and east, and Mlynská dolina from the south. The mountain range is located entirely within the administrative boundaries of Bratislava.

Division

Devín Carpathians are divided into four

geomorphological Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or n ...

areas, separated by a series of faults: * Bratislava Foothills ( sk, Bratislavské predhorie) *

Devín Gate Devín Gate, Hainburger Gate or Hungarian Gates ( sk, Devínska brána, ; german: Hainburger Pforte) is a natural gate in the Danube valley at the border of Slovakia and Austria. It is one out of four geomorphological areas of the Devín Carpath ...

( sk, Devínska brána) * Devínska Kobyla ( sk, Devínska Kobyla) * Lamač Gate ( sk, Lamačská brána)

Highest peaks

* Devínska Kobyla - 514 meters

() * Švábsky vrch - 360 meters

() * V06040801 - 358 meters

() * Dúbravská Hlavica - 357 meters

() * Hrubý Breh - 316 meters

() * Kráľov vrch - 284 meters

() * Sitina - 264 meters

() * Brižite - 257 meters

() *

rock - 212 meters

()

Description

Geomorphology

Devín Carpathians consist of

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...

era landforms (south-eastern part),

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Creta ...

era landforms,

era landforms, the latter including Quaternary period landforms. There are 5 caves in Devín Carpathians: Abrázna cave, J06041401 cave, J06041402 cave, Medzivrstvová cave (original name ''Zlepencová jaskyňa'') and Štokeravská vápenka cave (original name ''Stockerau''). Abrázna cave is a 10 meters long karst

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

. Abrázna cave was created as a result of coastal modelling by a prehistoric Cenozoic sea and like all of the others, it is inaccessible to the public. It is supposedly the westernmost cave in

, although actually it is rather the J06041401 cave. None of the caves are open to the public. Notable rivers originating in the Devín Carpathians include Čierny potok and Mokrý jarok (also called ''Mokrý potok''), the latter is a short stream originating at the Devínska Kobyla mountain, draining its south-eastern part. It flows into the

near the quarry at Devínska cesta Street, near island Sihoť.

Notable areas

Sandberg mountain * Abandoned military rocket base ( sk, Rádiotechnická hláska protivzdušnej obrany štátu) located at the summit of Devínska Kobyla. * Sandberg is a

hill containing an important

paleontological Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

site, famous for its shark teeth, and bones of

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means ...

whales Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins a ...

and ancient

monkeys Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

. * ''

Sorbus domestica ''Sorbus domestica'', with the common name service tree or sorb tree (because of its fruit), is a species of ''Sorbus'' native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa (Atlas Mountains), and southwest Asia (east to the Caucasus) ...

'' of Devín is a protected tree, rare in Europe. This specimen is 80 years old and 10 meters tall. The tree is located in the

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vine ...

s above Devín castle. * Srdce ( en, Heart) is a former

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

named after its shape. It contains a chemical dump of artificial

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

waste from the bombed Apollo refinery, created in 1963 by 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 in Bratislava.

Flora and fauna

Roe deer is abundant in the Devín Carpathians Flora and fauna is similar to that of the

, yet the area of Devínska Kobyla represents the edge of the thermophilic dry vegetation of the pannonian plane. According to the phytogeorgraphical division of J. Futák (1964, 1972), Devínska Kobyla is grouped together with the neighboring Hundsheimer Berge in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, consisting of an area of xerothermic pannonian flora (Eupannonicum). Much of the area is densely forested with mostly

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornb ...

trees. Humans have been shaping the environment in this area for centuries and anthropic changes included cutting and burning forests, creating meadows, establishing

s and

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of la ...

s, grazing animals and planting new trees. Today, the area of Devín Carpathians contains a mixture of stony and grassy

forest steppe A forest steppe is a temperate-climate ecotone and habitat type composed of grassland interspersed with areas of woodland or forest. Locations Forest steppe primarily occurs in a belt of forest steppes across northern Eurasia from the easter ...

, shrublands and dense forests. Some areas are more often visited and continually being changed over the course of centuries, other areas are relatively intact. There are numerous

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

species living inside the protected areas. The mountains are rich in

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

diversity as the small area of Devínska Kobyla alone contains at least 234 species of identified mushrooms. Local flora contains approximately 1,100 species of

plants Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

, 25 species are protected in Slovakia. The area is notable for its ''

Viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

'' hybrids. Dominant flora includes '' Stipa pulcherrima'', '' Carex humilis'', '' Scabiosa suaveolena'', '' Festuca valesiaca'', '' Ranunculus illyricus'' and '' Bromus erectus''. Protected plants include ''

Adonis vernalis ''Adonis vernalis'', known variously as pheasant's eye, spring pheasant's eye, yellow pheasant's eye and false hellebore, is a perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is found in dry meadows and steppes in Eurasia. Mor ...

'', ''

Pulsatilla nigricans ''Pulsatilla pratensis'' (syn. ''Anemone pratensis''), the small pasque flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to central and eastern Europe, from southeast Norway and western Denmark south and east to Bul ...

'', ''

Pulsatilla grandis ''Pulsatilla grandis'', the greater pasque flower, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Pulsatilla'' of the family Ranunculaceae. It is a perennial plant that grows on calcium-rich soil in dry grasslands, in rocky outcrops, and in pine ...

'', '' Anemone sylvestris'', '' Lilium martagon'', '' Stipa joannis'', ''

Jurinea mollis ''Jurinea'' is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae. The species are native to Europe, Asia, and northwestern Africa.

'', '' Iris pumila'', '' Dictamnus albus'', ''

Cornus mas ''Cornus mas'', commonly known as cornel (also the Cornelian cherry, European cornel or Cornelian cherry dogwood), is a species of shrub or small tree in the dogwood genus '' Cornus'' native to Southern Europe and Southwestern Asia. Description I ...

'', ''

Prunus mahaleb ''Prunus mahaleb'', the mahaleb cherry or St Lucie cherry, is a species of cherry tree. The tree is cultivated for a spice obtained from the seeds inside the cherry stones. The seeds have a fragrant smell and have a taste comparable to bitter almo ...

'', ''

Fraxinus ornus ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of subtropical species are eve ...

'', ''

Chrysopogon gryllus ''Chrysopogon gryllus'' is a perennial bunchgrass of the family Poaceae, native to Europe and tropical and temperate Asia. The grass grows to in height. Spikelets are associated in threes, of which the fertile one is unisexual with the other ...

'', '' Vinca herbacea'', ''

Lathyrus pannonicus ''Lathyrus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae, and contains approximately 160 species. Commonly known as peavines or vetchlings, they are native species, native to temperate areas, with a breakdown of 52 species in Eu ...

'', ''

Platanthera bifolia ''Platanthera bifolia'', commonly known as the lesser butterfly-orchid, is a species of orchid in the genus ''Platanthera'', having certain relations with the genus ''Orchis'', where it was previously included and also with the genus ''Habenari ...

'', '' Iris variegata'', ''

Himantoglossum adriaticum ''Himantoglossum adriaticum'', the Adriatic lizard orchid, is a species of orchid native to Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is Europe's tallest orchid, often reaching the height of 1 metre. References ...

'', '' Limodorum abortivum'' and ''

Rhamnus saxatilis Rhamnus may refer to: * Rhamnus (city), or Rhamnous, an ancient Greek city in Attica * Rhamnus (Crete), or Rhamnous, an ancient Greek town in Crete * Rhamnus, an augur killed by Nisus and Euryalus in book IX of The Aeneid * ''Rhamnus'' (plant) or b ...

''. Other plants include ''

Ononis pusilla ''Ononis'' is a large genus of perennial herbs and shrubs from the legume family Fabaceae. The members of this genus are often called restharrows as some species grow as weeds on arable lands whose tough stems would stop the harrow. They are n ...

'', '' Lathyrus sphaericus'', '' Conringia austriaca'', '' Potentilla pedata'', '' Smyrnium perfoliatum'', ''

Bupleurum rotundifolium ''Bupleurum rotundifolium'', hare's ear or hound's ear, is a species of flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (f ...

'', ''

Consolida orientalis ''Consolida'' is a genus of about 40 species of annual flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, native to western Europe, the Mediterranean and Asia. Phylogenetic studies show that ''Consolida'' is actually an annual clade nested with ...

'' ssp. ''paniculata'' and '' Asplenium adiantum-nigrum''. Fauna of Devín Carpathians is notable especially for its large number of species of heat-loving

insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

. Insects include ''

Coleophora dianthi ''Coleophora dianthi'' is a moth of the family Coleophoridae. It is found in most of Europe, Russia, Turkey and Iraq. The wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. ...

'', ''

Coleophora adspersella ''Coleophora adspersella'' is a moth of the family Coleophoridae. It is found in most of Europe, except the Iberian Peninsula, Switzerland and Slovenia. It is also found in China. It occurs in forest and forest steppe biotopes, and in anthrop ...

'', ''

Coleophora virgatella ''Coleophora virgatella'' is a moth of the family Coleophoridae. It is found from Germany and Poland to the Pyrenees, Italy and Greece. It has also been recorded from southern Russia and central Asia. Adults are on wing from late June to Jul ...

'', ''

Pandemis dumetanz ''Pandemis'' is a genus of moths of the family Tortricidae and the tribe Archipini. Species *''Pandemis acumipenita'' Liu & Bai, 1983 *''Pandemis canadana'' Kearfott, 1905 *''Pandemis capnobathra'' (Meyrick, 1930) *'' Pandemis caryocentra'' Di ...

'', '' Trachismia rigana'', '' Mantispa styriaca'', '' Zanclognatha tarsipennalis'', '' Yponomeuta vigintipunctatus'' and '' Procris gerryon''. Protected insects include '' Saga pedo'', '' Mantis religiosa'', ''

Papilio machaon ''Papilio machaon'', the Old World swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. The butterfly is also known as the common yellow swallowtail or simply the swallowtail (a common name applied to all members of the family, but this spec ...

'', '' Iphiclides podalirius'', '' Ascalaphus macaronius'', ''

Lucanus cervus ''Lucanus cervus'', known as the European stag beetle, or the greater stag beetle, is one of the best-known species of stag beetle (family Lucanidae) in Western Europe, and is the eponymous example of the genus. ''L. cervus'' is listed as Near ...

'', '' Parnassius mnemosyne'' and others. Amphibians include '' Salamandra salamandra'', ''

Bufo bufo The common toad, European toad, or in Anglophone parts of Europe, simply the toad (''Bufo bufo'', from Latin ''bufo'' "toad"), is a frog found throughout most of Europe (with the exception of Ireland, Iceland, and some Mediterranean islands), in ...

'' and '' Bufo viridis'', reptiles include '' Lacerta viridis'', ''

Lacerta agilis The sand lizard (''Lacerta agilis'') is a lacertid lizard distributed across most of Europe from France and across the continent to Lake Baikal in Russia. It does not occur in European Turkey. Its distribution is often patchy. In the sand lizard ...

'', ''

Podarcis muralis ''Podarcis muralis'' (common wall lizard) is a species of lizard with a large distribution in Europe and well-established introduced populations in North America, where it is also called the European wall lizard. It can grow to about in total ...

'', ''

Anguis fragilis The slow worm (''Anguis fragilis'') is a reptile native to western Eurasia. It is also called a deaf adder, a slowworm, a blindworm, or regionally, a long-cripple and hazelworm. These legless lizards are also sometimes called common slowworms. Th ...

'', '' Zamenis longissimus'', '' Natrix natrix'', '' Natrix tessellata'' and ''

Coronella austriaca The smooth snake (''Coronella austriaca'')Street D (1979). ''The Reptiles of Northern and Central Europe''. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. 268 pp. . is a species of non- venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is found in northern and ...

''. Birds known to hunt here include

Common Rock Thrush The common rock thrush (''Monticola saxatilis''), also known as rufous-tailed rock thrush or simply rock thrush, is a chat belonging to the family Muscicapidae. It was formerly placed in the family Turdidae. The scientific name is from Latin. ...

and

Saker Falcon The saker falcon (''Falco cherrug'') is a large species of falcon. This species breeds from central Europe eastwards across the Palearctic to Manchuria. It is mainly migratory except in the southernmost parts of its range, wintering in Ethiopia ...

, birds known to nest here include

Common Buzzard The common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') is a medium-to-large bird of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles ...

. Mammals include the numerous

Roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

, also

Fallow deer ''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer. Name The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles A gazelle ...

Red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

only in the deep forest,

Wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

, Red fox and

European badger The European badger (''Meles meles''), also known as the Eurasian badger, is a badger species in the family Mustelidae native to almost all of Europe. It is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List as it has a wide range and a large stab ...

. There are no wolves or bears in the mountains.

Protected areas

Almost the entire area of the mountain range is protected by the

Little Carpathians Protected Landscape Area Little Carpathians Protected Landscape Area ( sk, Chránená krajinná oblasť Malé Karpaty) is one of the 14 protected landscape areas in Slovakia. The Landscape Area is situated in the Little Carpathians, part of the Carpathian Mountains, in ...

. A small 650 ha patch of Devín Carpathians is protected under the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

network of

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

. Additionally, Slovak law protects the following areas inside the mountain range: * National nature reserve Devínska Kobyla (''NPR Devínska Kobyla'') * National nature monument Devín Castle rock (''NPP Devínska hradná skala'') * National cultural monument

(''NKP Devín - Slovanské hradisko'') * National cultural monument Villa Rustica (''NKP Villa Rustica'') * Natural monument Devín

(''PP Devínska lesostep'') * Nature reserve Fialková valley (''PR Fialková dolina'') * Nature reserve Štokeravská vápenka (''PR Štokeravská vápenka'') * Nature reserve Slovanský island (''PR Slovanský ostrov'') * Protected area Lesné diely (''CHA Lesné diely'') * Protected tree

of Devín (''CHS Devínska oskoruša'')

Tourism

The main access point to Devín Carpathians is located at the parking lot underneath

. The mountains feature the following hiking trails: * Red trail TZT 0701a – from Devín, parking to

Slavín Slavín is a memorial monument and military cemetery in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is the burial ground of thousands of Soviet Army soldiers who fell during World War II while taking over the city in April 1945 from the occupying Ge ...

. Length: 15.7 kilometers, cumulative elevation gain 625 meters. * Yellow trail TZT 8104 – from Devín, parking to Dúbravka, House of Culture. Length: 6.6 kilometers, cumulative elevation gain 296 meters. * Blue trail TZT 2461 – from Devín, parking to Devínska Nová Ves. Length: 4.9 kilometers, cumulative elevation gain 244 meters. * Green trail TZT 5114 – from Devínska Nová Ves to Devínska Kobyla summit * Blue trail TZT 2436 – from Karlova Ves, OD Centrum to Dúbravka, House of Culture * Green trail TZT 5136 – from Dúbravka, House of Culture to Dúbravka, Technické sklo There are 4 educational trails ( sk, náučný chodník) in the area of Devín Carpathians. All of them are administered by the city boroughs, which is why they are usually well-kept, unlike educational trails in other part of

, especially those funded by a one-time money transfer from the

or the city of Bratislava. Educational trails in this area have not been damaged or destroyed by legal logging like in other areas (for example the Lamač – Železná studienka educational trail inside the

Bratislavský lesný park Bratislavský lesný park or Bratislava Forest Park is a forest park (actually a forest) in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, located in the foothills of the Little Carpathians. Officially, it is part of numerous boroughs of Bratislava: D ...

). * , length 4.5 km, cumulative elevation gain 149 m. * Devínska Kobyla educational trail (Náučný chodník Devínska Kobyla) - from Devín Castle to Sandberg, length 4.0 km, cumulative elevation gain 280 m. It features 5 information signs: * Slovak island educational trail (Náučný chodník Slovanský ostrov)- information signs from the original Slovak island educational trail were moved to Slovanské nábrežie. * Dendropark - information signs were vandalized in the past, but are restored as of 2011.

References

External links

Devín Carpathians on Google Maps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devin Carpathians Geography of Bratislava Mountain ranges of Slovakia Mountain ranges of the Western Carpathians

Location

Division

Highest peaks

Description

Geomorphology

Notable areas

Flora and fauna

Protected areas

Tourism

See also

References

External links