In rustic Devin, a village of 1,000 at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers, fishermen are a common sight even on weekday mornings, keeping a sleepy vigil over much-used rods.

These hunched figures are as much a part of Devin as its castle, first mentioned in 10th century chronicles, and now a gaunt ruin guarding the frontier with Austria and the Czech Republic.