Devínska Nová Ves (, , ) is a borough of

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, the capital of

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. Its western borders are formed by the Morava River, which also forms the national border between Slovakia and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Devínska Nová Ves is notable mainly for its large

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

factory, for Sandberg, a world-known palaeontological site, where many fossils of prehistoric animals are found , and for the a cyclist bridge over Morava river linking it with Schloss Hof in Austria. Devínska Nová Ves is the last train station in Slovakia on the railway line from Bratislava to Vienna. Among other things, it is home to the largest Croatian community in Slovakia. Croatian is still spoken here, as well as in Čuňovo and Jarovce, villages on the southern bank of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. The wider presence of Croatian settlers is represented by local place names such as Chorvátsky Grob.

Geography

Devínska Nová Ves borders Devín to the south, the river Morava and

to the west, Záhorská Bystrica to the far north-east and Lamač and Dúbravka to the south-east.

Division

Devínska Nová Ves is divided into 6 local parts: Devínske Jazero, Kostolné, Podhorské, Paulinské, Sídlisko Stred and Vápenka. Unofficially it is also locally divided into four further parts: "Stara Dedina", ''Kolónia'', ''Grba'' and ''Slovinec''.

History

Devínska Nová Ves was mentioned for the first time around 1451 as ''Nová Ves''. During the 17th century, the village was growing and after an influx of

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

, the village acquired the name ''Chorvátska Nová Ves''. In the 18th century, a sand mine was built here near Sandberg and later in the 19th century, stone was quarried here as well. In 1848, the village was renamed once more to its current name. In 1918, the village was a site of battle between the Czechoslovak and Hungarian armies as part of fights for Bratislava, and Czechoslovak troops emerged victorious. In 1948, Devínska Nová Ves was near the border of two different political systems, and in 1955 the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

was constructed across the territory the village. It was also one of the escape routes to Austria, by swimming across the Morava river. On 1 January 1972, Devínska Nová Ves was made an official borough of Bratislava. In the 1970s and 1980s, new auto plants were built, first ''Bratislavské automobilové závody'' (BAZ, later a factory of

), which spurred the construction of new apartment blocks in the borough in the late 1980s. In the early 1990s, the Iron Curtain was dismantled. In part Kostolné there is the Holy Spirit's Church, which is on the list of cultural monuments of Slovakia. This church is situated on small hill over square and archaeological excavations certify its existence as sepulchral place since prehistory. Literature says it was built in renaissance style about year 1580. It is built from stone with a tile roof.

Transport

Devínska Nová Ves lies near the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

s to

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. Road traffic is some of the worst in Bratislava, because all of the access roads are busy and narrow. Relocation of these roads is planned to begin soon. In the future, there will be a motorway border crossing to Austria. Public transportation uses buses and is stressed as well, because the centre is quite distant, and buses are often late. More popular are therefore trains running to Main station twice an hour. In future, railway stop "Devínska Nová Ves - Sídlisko" is planned above Eisnerova street. A cycle bridge has been constructed across the nearby Morava River, linking Devínska Nová Ves to Schlosshoff castle and Marchegg, in

People

Devínska Nová Ves houses the greatest Croat minority in Slovakia and the Festival of Croatian Culture takes place annually. Croatian Culture Society () organizes annual Croatian Day (''Hrvatski dan''), with concerts (of klapas, vocal ensembles, tamburitzas), lectures and cultural programme.

Notable peoples

Simon Knéfacz Simon Knéfacz, or Simeon Knéfacz, alternative names ''Kniefacz, Šimon Knefac, Šimeon Kniefac'' (February 23, 1752 – August 3, 1819) was a Hungarian monk and Burgenland Croatian writer. Born in Devínska Nová Ves near Bratislava (originally M ...

Croatian writer * Rudolf Sloboda Slovak writer * Peter Pišťanek Slovak writer

Gallery

Image:DNV Morava river.jpg, Morava river near Devínska Nová Ves Image:DNV opona.jpg, Former

Image:DNV Devinska Kobyla.jpg, Mt. Devínska Kobyla Image:DNV Marchegg bridge.jpg, Marchegg bridge

References

External links

*
Unofficial website

Devinska Nova Ves - Spectacular Slovakia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devinska Nova Ves Boroughs of Bratislava Croatian communities in Slovakia Villages in Slovakia merged with towns