Western Carpathians
The Western Carpathians are a mountain range and geomorphological province that forms the western part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountain belt stretches from the Low Beskids range of the Eastern Carpathians along the border of Poland with Slovakia toward the Moravian region of the Czech Republic and the Austrian Weinviertel. In the south the North Hungarian Mountains cover northern Hungary; the area of the Western Carpathians comprises about 70,000 km². The highest elevation is the Gerlachovský štít. Most of the perimeter of the Western Carpathians is quite defined by valleys. To the northwest and north they are separated from the Bohemian Massif by the Forecarpathian Lowland and the Lesser Poland Upland. To the south the mountain chain falls away towards the Pannonian Plain, a large plain situated between the Alps, the Dinaric Alps, the main mass of the Eastern Carpathians; the boundary between the Western Carpathians and the Eastern Alps is formed by the Vienna Basin, the Hainburg Hills of the Little Carpathians at Devín Gate, a gap carved by the Danube.
To the east and northeast the mountains are bounded by the East Slovak and Sandomierz Basins, but it is less striking and passes through highland terrain that continues to the Eastern Carpathians. The Western Carpathians are part of the northern branch of alpine orogeny, formed by the closure of the Tethys Ocean millions of years ago; the Western Carpathians are part of the Alpide belt. To the west they longitudinally join the Alps, but the exact boundary is hidden under the Neogene sedimentary fill of the Vienna Basin. To the east, their boundary with the Eastern Carpathians is the valley of the Uzh River; the northern boundary with the East European craton and Bohemian Massif is well marked by the thrust of nappes of the Carpathian flysch belt. The southern boundary is less clear, because postorogenetic evolution caused formation of basins, penetrating the mountain chain non-uniformly; the Western Carpathians have a complicated geological structure, formed since the Paleozoic era. The oldest Paleozoic rocks experienced the first stage of deformation during the Hercynian orogeny, but younger Alpine overprint is common.
Alpine orogeny affected the area in several stages from Jurassic to Neogene. During this period, parts of Tethys Ocean were subducted under the African plate and Western Carpathian blocks were thrust over the margin of the Eurasian plate. Tectonic units of the Western Carpathians are arranged in belt-like order, with the external units in the north and internal units in the south. Alpine evolution of the Western Carpathians is dominated by extension and closure of two or three oceanic domains: Triassic-Jurassic Meliata-Halstatt Ocean, Jurassic-Cretaceous Piemont-Vahic Ocean/Zone and Cretaceous-Tertiary Valais-Magura Ocean. After a subduction of the Meliata Ocean, the Internal Western Carpathians were formed. Suturing of Vahic domain finalized thrusting in the Central Western Carpathians, consuming the crust of Carpathian Flysch Basins caused the formation of the External West Carpathian accretionary wedge
Bratislava Castle
Bratislava Castle is the main castle of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The massive rectangular building with four corner towers stands on an isolated rocky hill of the Little Carpathians directly above the Danube river in the middle of Bratislava; because of its size and location, it has been a dominant feature of the city for centuries. The location provides excellent views of Bratislava, Austria and, in clear weather, parts of Hungary. Many legends are connected with the history of the castle; the castle site includes the following: The castle building includes four towers and a courtyard with a 80 m deep water well. The largest and tallest tower is the Crown Tower on the southwest corner; the 47 m tower dates from the 13th century and for 200 years beginning in the mid-1500s housed the crown jewels of Hungary. The exterior walls and inside corridors contain fragments of old Gothic and Renaissance construction elements; the walled-up entrance gate from the 16th century is still visible to the east of the main entrance.
Behind the entrance, is an arcade corridor leading to a large Baroque staircase which, in turn, leads to the exhibitions of the Slovak National Museum on the second floor. The west wing of this floor houses the 4 halls of the Treasure Chamber with a collection of the most precious archaeological finds and other objects of Slovakia, including the prehistoric statue called the Venus of Moravany; the third floor houses the exhibition on the History of Slovakia. The first floor in the south wing of the building houses the rooms of Slovak parliament — the National Council of the Slovak Republic - including furnishings from the 16th century; the northern wing of the building- the former Baroque chapel, houses the Music Hall in which concerts are held. The courtyard includes the entrance to the Knights Hall. Sigismund Gate in the southeast– the best preserved original part of the site, built in the 15th century Vienna Gate in the southwest – built in 1712 Nicholas Gate in the northeast – built in the 16th century Leopold Gate To the west of the main building, is the newly reconstructed Hillebrandt building which dates from 1762 and was destroyed by the 1811 fire.
The Yard of Honor is the space directly. Inside the Sigismund Gate and below the Court of Honor, is the Leopold Yard with bastions, constructed in the 17th century. To the east of the castle building the constellation of the Great Moravian basilica, the Church of St Savior and other Early medieval objects is indicated on the ground; the true archaeological findings are directly below this indicated constellation. Adjacent to the Nicholas Gate, a Gothic gateway from the 15th century in the northeast quadrant, is the Lugiland Bastion; this is a long three-floor building from the 17th century which houses the National Council of the Slovak Republic, a Baroque stable. An English park is located to the south of the stable; the northern border of the site is formed by a long Baroque building from the 18th century, which today houses the Slovak National Museum and the castle administration. The castle's site, like today's city, has been inhabited for thousands of years, because it is strategically located in the center of Europe at a passage between the Carpathians and the Alps, at an important ford used to cross the Danube river, at an important crossing of central European ancient routes running from the Balkans or the Adriatic Sea to the Rhine river or the Baltic Sea, the most important route being the Amber Route.
The people of the Boleráz culture were the first known culture to have constructed settlements on the castle hill. This happened around 3500 BC, their "castle" was a fortified settlement and a kind of acropolis for settlements in today's Old Town of Bratislava. Further major findings from the castle hill are from the Hallstatt Period. At that time the people of the Kalenderberg Culture constructed a building plunged into the rock of the castle hill. Again, the "castle" served as an acropolis for settlements found in the western part of the Old Town. During the La Tène Period, the castle hill became a important center of the Celts. In the last century BC, the "castle" served as the acropolis of an oppidum of the Celtic Boii. A great number and diversity of findings testifies this; the castle hill, situated at the Danube and thus since 9 BC at the border of the Roman Empire, was settled by the Romans during the Roman Period as findings of bricks of Roman legions and some parts of architecture suggest.
The developments in the 5th century are unclear. The situation changed with the arrival of the Slavs in the territory of Bratislava, they used older Roman and Celtic structures and added some fortifications. At the end of the 8th century, at the time of the Principality of Nitra, a Slavic castle with a wooden rampart was constructed with a huge area of 55,000 square metres. In the second half of the 9th century, at the time of Great Moravia, a palace of stone surrounded by dwellings and a big basilica were added; the basilica is the largest Great Moravian basilica from th
Geomorphological division of Slovakia
This page gives an overview of the geomorphological division of Slovakia. It is ordered in a hierarchical form, belonging to the Alps-Himalaya System and to the sub-systems of the Carpathian Mountains and of the Pannonian Basin; these subsystems are subsequently divided into sub-provinces and areas. Terminology: Vepor Mountains Spiš-Gemer Karst Stolica Mountains Revúca Highlands Volovec Mountains Black Mountain, Slovakia Rožňava Basin Slovak Karst and Aggtelek Karst Little Carpathians Považský Inovec Tribeč Strážov Mountains Žiar Malá Fatra Veľká Fatra Starohorské vrchy Chočské vrchy Tatra Mountains Low Tatras Kozie chrbty Branisko Žilinská kotlina Hornonitrianska kotlina Turčianska kotlina Podtatranská kotlina Hornádska kotlina Horehronské podolie Vtáčnik Pohronský Inovec Štiavnické vrchy Kremnické vrchy Poľana Ostrôžky Javorie Krupinská planina Zvolenská kotlina Pliešovská kotlina Žiarska kotlina Bodvianska pahorkatina Juhoslovenská kotlina Košická kotlina Burda Cerová vrchovina Slanské vrchy Zemplínske vrchy White Carpathians Javorníky Myjavská pahorkatina Považské podolie Moravsko-sliezske Beskydy Turzovská vrchovina Jablunkovské medzihorie Kysucké Beskydy Oravské Beskydy Kysucká vrchovina Podbeskydská brázda Podbeskydská vrchovina Oravská Magura Oravská vrchovina Pieniny Ľubovnianska vrchovina Čergov Skorušinské vrchy Podtatranská brázda Spišská Magura Levočské vrchy Bachureň Spišsko-šarišské medzihorie Šarišská vrchovina Oravská kotlina Vihorlat Mountains Bukovské vrchy Busov Ondavská vrchovina Laborecká vrchovina Beskydské predhorie Borská nížina Chvojnická pahorkatina Dolnomoravský úval Podunajská pahorkatina Podunajská rovina Východoslovenská pahorkatina Východoslovenská rovina Mazúr E. Lukniš M. Balatka B.
Loučková J. Sládek J.. Geomorfologické členenie SSR a ČSSR. Mapa mierky 1:500 000, Slovenská kartografia, SUGK, Bratislava
Čachtice Castle
Čachtice Castle is a castle ruin in Slovakia next to the village of Čachtice. It stands on a hill featuring rare plants, has been declared a national nature reserve for this reason; the castle was a residence and the prison of the Countess Elizabeth Báthory, alleged to have been the world's most prolific female serial killer. Čachtice was built in the mid-13th century by Kazimir from the Hont-Pázmány gens as a sentry on the road to Moravia. It belonged to Máté Csák, the Stibor family, to Elizabeth Báthory. Čachtice, its surrounding lands and villages, was a wedding gift from the Nádasdy family upon Elizabeth's marriage to Ferenc Nádasdy in 1575. Čachtice was a Romanesque castle with an interesting horseshoe shaped residence tower. It was turned into a Gothic castle and its size was increased in the 15th and 16th centuries. A Renaissance renovation followed in the 17th century. In 1708 the castle was captured and plundered by the rebels of Ferenc II Rákoci AKA Francis II Rákóczi, it has been in decay since.
Along with the Orava Castle, the Čachtice Castle was used as the location for Count Orlok's castle in Nosferatu. A dressed up version of Čachtice is used for the exterior shots of Baron Gorc's castle in the 1981 Czechoslovakian comedy The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians. Čachtice was used as the castle ruins set featured in the opening sequence of the 1996 fantasy movie Dragonheart by Universal Pictures starring Dennis Quaid. The live album Channeling of Lady Elizabeth Bathory by multigenre jam band Štefánik, Perný & Kollár feat. Kofi was recorded in Višňové village, under the Čachtice Castle in 2010; the Čachtice Castle was featured in the "Castle of the Blood Countess" episode of the ABC Family show The Scariest Places on Earth, as well as the August 2008 episode "Tortured Souls" on the SyFy channels series Ghost Hunters International. Juraj Jakubisko's 2008 film Bathory is set in the Čachtice Castle, where some scenes were filmed.. In English: Craft, Kimberly. Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsébet Báthory.
ISBN 1-4495-1344-1. McNally, Raymond T.. Dracula Was a Woman: In Search of the Blood Countess of Transylvania. New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN 0-07-045671-2. Penrose, Valentine; the Bloody Countess: Atrocities of Erzsébet Báthory. Solar Books. ISBN 0-9714578-2-4. Thorne, Tony. Countess Dracula. Bloomsbury. ISBN 0-7475-2900-0. In French: Périsset, Maurice. La comtesse de sang. Pygmalion. ISBN 2-85704-700-2. In German: Farin, Michael. Heroine des Grauens. Elisabeth Báthory. Munich: P. Kirchheim. ISBN 3-87410-038-3. In Hungarian: Bessenyei, József. A Nádasdyak. General Press Kiadó. ISBN 963-9598-65-8. Lengyel, Tünde and Várkonyi, Gábor. Báthory Erzsébet, Egy asszony élete. General Press Kiadó. ISBN 978-963-643-168-6. Nagy, László. A rossz hírű Báthoryak. Kossuth Könyvkiadó. ISBN 963-09-2308-4. Nagy, László. Az erős fekete bég: Nádasdy Ferenc. Zrínyi Katonai Könyv és Lapkiadó. ISBN 963-326-933-4. Nemere, István. Báthory Erzsébet magánélete. Könyvmolyképző Kiadó. ISBN 978-963-245-193-0. Péter, Katalin. A csejtei várúrnő: Báthory Erzsébet.
Helikon. ISBN 963-207-652-4. Rexa, Dezső. Báthory Erzsébet Nádasdy Ferencné. Benkő Gyula Udvari Könyvkereskedése. Supka, Géza. Az átkozott asszony: Nádasdy Ferencné, Báthory Erzsébet bűnügye. Erdélyi Egyetemes Könyvtár. Szádeczky-Kardoss, Irma. Báthory Erzsébet igazsága. Nestor Kiadó. ISBN 963-7523-26-X. In Slovak: Dvořák, Pavel. Krvavá grófka: Alžbeta Bátoryová, fakty a výmysly. Slovart. ISBN 978-80-85501-07-0. Nižnánsky, Jožo. Čachtická pani. Media klub. ISBN 80-88963-52-4. Čachtice castle and the blood countess Alžbeta Báthory Slovakia Cachtice Castle
Devín Gate
Devín Gate or Hainburger Gate 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 Carpathians, part of the Little Carpathians mountain range. Passau, Devín Gate, the Iron Gates divide the Danube river into four distinct sections. Devín Gate has been inhabited since prehistoric times, with continuous settlement since 5000 BC, it was a strategic part of the ancient Amber Road connecting Northern Europe with the Mediterranean and during the Middle Ages, five castles have been built here, Heimenburg Castle, Rothelstein Castle, Pottenburg Castle, Devín Castle, Bratislava Castle. It was continually guarded since the Roman times and it has served as a border of the Roman Empire, Austrian Empire, the Iron Curtain during the Cold War and a border between Austria and Czechoslovakia, today Slovakia. On 1 May 2004 Slovakia entered the Schengen Zone, allowing free movement of persons for the first time in history; the gate was called in Latin: Porta Hungarica and in Hungarian: Dévényi kapu.
In a wider sense it begins below Bratislava Castle and in a narrower sense it begins below Devín Castle. It ends near Hundsheimer Berg, the highest peak of the Austrian Carpathians at 480 meters AMSL, in Austria on the right bank of the Danube. To the east, it borders the Lamač Gate. Geologically, Devín Gate was created during the Pleistocene epoch. A large part of its core consists of granite massifs from the Carboniferous period, it features limestones and dolomites from the Cenozoic era. Neogene period sediments include conglomerates and others. On the Upper Danube, comprising the section between the springs where the river begins and Devín Gate upstream of Bratislava, the extension of the morphological floodplain is smaller as compared to the rest of the river. Neolithic farmers settled in the area 5000 - 3500 BC, establishing continuous human settlement which lasts until present time. Geography of Bratislava
Hundsheimer Berge
The Hundsheimer Berge is a hill range located in Lower Austria and Burgenland, Austria next to the Devín Gate. It is the most southern part of the Devín Carpathians; the mountain range covers 36 km² and is bordered by the river Danube to the north and east, the Vienna plate to the south and west. Its highest peak is Hundsheimer Berg. While low, the Hundsheimer Berge rise from only 140 meters above sea level by the Danube; the mountains are densely forested with beech trees. The southern slopes are traditionally used by humans for agriculture and wine-making. There are many vineyards in the area. South of Edelstal are wine cellars offering wine-tasting; the mountains feature the ruins of the Pottenburg Castle. Major peaks: Hundsheimer Berg Weisses Kreuz Braunsberg Königswarte Pfaffenberg Teichberg Spitzerberg Hindlerberg Galgenbergl
Summit
A summit is a point on a surface, higher in elevation than all points adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex and zenith are synonymous; the term top is used only for a mountain peak, located at some distance from the nearest point of higher elevation. For example, a big massive rock next to the main summit of a mountain is not considered a summit. Summits near a higher peak, with some prominence or isolation, but not reaching a certain cutoff value for the quantities, are considered subsummits of the higher peak, are considered part of the same mountain. A pyramidal peak is an exaggerated form produced by ice erosion of a mountain top. Summit may refer to the highest point along a line, trail, or route; the highest summit in the world is Everest with height of 8844.43 m above sea level. The first official ascent was made by Sir Edmund Hillary, they reached the mountain`s peak in 1953. Whether a highest point is classified as a summit, a sub peak or a separate mountain is subjective; the UIAA definition of a peak is.
Otherwise, it's a subpeak. In many parts of the western United States, the term summit refers to the highest point along a road, highway, or railroad. For example, the highest point along Interstate 80 in California is referred to as Donner Summit and the highest point on Interstate 5 is Siskiyou Mountain Summit. A summit climbing differs from the common mountaineering. Summit expedition requires: 1+ year of training, a good physical shape, a special gear. Although a huge part of climber’s stuff can be left and taken at the base camps or given to porters, there is a long list of personal equipment. In addition to common mountaineers’ gear, Summit climbers need to take Diamox and bottles of oxygen. There are special requirements for crampons, ice axe, rappel device, etc. Geoid Hill – Landform that extends above the surrounding terrain Nadir Summit accordance Peak finder Summit Climbing Gear List
