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 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 ...

, extending from

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% of ...

to Komárno. 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 Komárno (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 (Somorja). Boroughs of Bratislava,

Vrakuňa Vrakuňa ( hu, Vereknye, german: Fragendorf), is a borough of Bratislava, Slovakia. It is divided by into two parts by the Little Danube river. Transport * Buses ** Line ** Line ** Line ** Line ** Line ** Line * Trolleybuses ** Line ** ...

and Podunajské Biskupice 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 Bratislava (, als ...

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.

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 **Ge ...

''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 Čálovice,

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation ...

Čalovići or Polish 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