Čataj ( hu, Csataj) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in western

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 s ...

Senec District Senec District (''okres Senec'') is a district in the Bratislava Region of western Slovakia. It had been established in 1996. The district is largely a bedroom community for Bratislava and is also known for its recreational possibilities, foremost ...

in the

Bratislava region The Bratislava Region ( sk, Bratislavský kraj, , german: Pressburger/Bratislavaer Landschaftsverband (until 1919), hu, Pozsonyi kerület) is one of the administrative regions of Slovakia. Its capital is Bratislava. The region was first esta ...

. This typical agricultural village has fewer than 1000 inhabitants and is located aside from major roads, roughly between Senec and

Trnava Trnava (, german: Tyrnau; hu, Nagyszombat, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a ''kraj'' (Trnava Region) and of an '' okres'' (Trna ...

Etymology

''Čata'': the archaic name for residents responsible for guarding the assigned area (in the modern Slovak ''čata'': a squad). Chatey ''1244'', Czataj ''1773''. See also Čata in the Levice District.

History

Early archaeological digs show that people settled the area around Čataj as early as 5000 BC. The town was mentioned for the first time in 1244, under the name "posesio Chatey". In the next few centuries the town and surrounding lands were given as gifts to several different families loyal to the Hungarian crown. In the 14th century, German colonists settled in Čataj, and until the 18th century the town was almost exclusively German. During this period, the town built a Catholic

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

(1397) and a church in 1721. Later, in 1845 the current church was built in Neoclassical style. The church was repaired twice in the second half of the twentieth century, and along with a much newer Catholic Evangelical church serve the local community.http://www.cataj.sk Official home page

Culture and entertainment

Čataj is famous primarily for its ornamental

embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen on c ...

of blouses and tablecloths. These artworks have been sold all over the world, and one of them is said to have served as

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

's tablecloth. Folk art also survives in the form of two music bands, the brass band ''Čatajanka'' and the gypsy folk band ''Farkašovci'', which have toured beyond the borders of Slovakia. In addition, the village has a local folk dance group, ''Tulipán''. Due to its quiet and slow life and its agricultural character, Čataj has been often used as backdrops for movies and other art by movie directors

Martin Slivka Martin Slivka (1 November 1929 in Spišský Štiavnik – 23 September 2002 in Bratislava) was a Slovak documentary filmmaker, director, screenwriter, and ethnographer. He is best remembered for his documentaries ''Metamorfóza vlákna'' (1968) ...

and

Martin Ťapák Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Aust ...

, the cinematographer, photographer and folk art collector

Karol Plicka Karol may refer to: Places * Karol, Gujarat, a village on Saurashtra peninsula in Gujarat, west India * Karol State, a former Rajput petty princely state with seat in the above town Film/TV *''Karol: A Man Who Became Pope'', a 2005 miniseries *'' ...

and others. In addition to folk art, the village organizes annual hunts and has a soccer team, which is regularly on the last place of Slovakia's lowest, sixth division of its soccer league. The village also organizes numerous dances in its cultural center.

Demographics

In 2004 the town had 972 inhabitants: 471 men and 501 women. 99.1% were of Slovak ethnicity; the only two declared minorities were Hungarian and Czech. 64.3% of inhabitants were Roman Catholic, 24.8% Evangelical Catholic and 7.3% atheist. Of the 314 houses in the village 261 were permanently inhabited