The myth of a border: The town of Devin in the collective memory of Slovaks, Hungarians, and Germans

The ruins of Devin Castle have created a picture which has been inseparable from the collective memory of the Slovaks, Hungarians and Germans/Austrians within two hundred years. Devin reflects a construction of collective entities in Central Europe, in multiethnic and multicultural area where the promotion of the principles of a national state was accompanied by a variety of problems. The aim of the present study is to investigate the origin of Devin idea, its development and specification. The author has been interested in the ideas and symbols which participated in the formation of collective memory, she also investigated which personalities or groups contributed to its origin. The role of institutions and instruments in its construction cannot be neglected either. The author deals with the time development of the formation and stabilization of the memorial place, as well as with the Devin's role in the context of other symbols in the reconstruction of collective (national) identity during the two recent centuries.