Iža ( hu, Izsa, Hungarian pronunciation:) 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 ...

in south-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 ...

Geography

The

lies at an

altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...

of and covers an

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

of . It is situated in the

Komárno District Komárno District ( sk, okres Komárno, hu, Komáromi járás) is a district in the Nitra Region of western Slovakia. Until 1918, the district was mostly part of the Komárom county within the Kingdom of Hungary. The district has a populati ...

of Slovakia's

Nitra Region The Nitra Region ( sk, Nitriansky kraj, ; hu, Nyitrai kerület) is one of the administrative regions of Slovakia. It was first established in 1923 and from 1996 exists in its present borders. It consists of seven districts ( sk, okres) and 354 ...

, very close to the town of

Komárno Komárno, ( hu, Komárom, german: Komorn, sr, Коморан, translit=Komoran), colloquially also called ''Révkomárom, Öregkomárom, Észak-Komárom'' in Hungarian language, Hungarian; is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube an ...

History

The biggest

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

castellum A ''castellum'' in Latin is usually: * a small Roman fortlet or tower,C. Julius Caesar, Gallic War; 2,30 a diminutive of ('military camp'), often used as a watchtower or signal station like on Hadrian's Wall. It should be distinguished from a ...

in present-day Slovakia was located in Celemantia, an ancient settlement discovered on the territory of Iža. Celemantia was already mentioned by

Claudius Ptolemaios Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

in the 2nd century CE and it was abandoned in around 400 CE. The modern village of Iža was first mentioned in 1268. Kelemantia was probably a bridgehead for the larger fortress of Brigetio, across the river near Komárom. But it was still fairly big, at square. The excavated and partly reconstructed fort, which is accessible via a rough lane fro
Iža
was the second to be built on the site. It contained barracks, stable blocks and a bathhouse and was surrounded by a stone wall thick and up to high. Parts of these structures are now visible and described by information boards in four languages, including English. The first fort on the site, whose foundations have been partly surveyed, was an earth and timber construction. It is believed to have been destroyed by barbarian attacks less than five years after it was built. Evidence of temporary encampments nearby - presumably built to house the large expeditionary force despatched by Rome to wallop the natives in turn - were revealed by an aerial survey in 1990. In the 9th century, the territory of Iža became part of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

. After the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

army disintegrated in November 1918,

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

troops occupied the area, later acknowledged internationally by the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (french: Traité de Trianon, hu, Trianoni békeszerződés, it, Trattato del Trianon) was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in ...

. Between 1938 and 1945 Iža once more became part of

Miklós Horthy Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya ( hu, Vitéz nagybányai Horthy Miklós; ; English: Nicholas Horthy; german: Nikolaus Horthy Ritter von Nagybánya; 18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957), was a Hungarian admiral and dictator who served as the Regent o ...

's Hungary through the

First Vienna Award The First Vienna Award was a treaty signed on 2 November 1938 pursuant to the Vienna Arbitration, which took place at Vienna's Belvedere Palace. The arbitration and award were direct consequences of the previous month's Munich Agreement, which ...

. From 1945 until the

Velvet Divorce The dissolution of Czechoslovakia ( cs, Rozdělení Československa, sk, Rozdelenie Česko-Slovenska) took effect on December 31, 1992, and was the self-determined split of the federal republic of Czechoslovakia into the independent countries o ...

, it was part of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. Since then it has been part of Slovakia.

Sights

* ''Roman Castellum and Settlement'' - Roman military camp Celemantia is located 7 km east of Komárno in the village of Iža, on the bank of Danube. There are no doubts that the Romans during their greatest territorial expansion came to the far North and crossed the Danube river. A memento of their former presence is also a military camp Celemantia that originated near the village of Iža during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The camp was part of the famous border defense system Limes Romanus, which however fell in the year 179 after the raid of Germanic tribes. * ''Roman and Ethnographical Museum'' - In Iža you can find Kelemantia Roman and Ethnographic Museum, which was opened in 2013. The museum was created as part of the project "Connecting to an international tourist route: In the footsteps of Romans on the Danube". There are two expositions in the museum: Roman and ethnographic. * ''Turkish Bridge'' - Not far from the pumping-station, on the bank of the River Danube there is a tiny bridge with arched supporting structure. It is said that the bridge remained form the turkish times, its name is the „Turkish Bridge“ and it is in good technical conditions. * ''The monument of the victims of World War I.-'' Next to the Catholic church is a monument to those who fell in World War I. *''The monument of the victims of World War II. -'' The monument to those who fell in World War II with the names stands around the center of the cemetery. The monument was built in 1996 and is made of artificial stone. *''The flood memorial from 1965'' - In a small park on the main street (opposite the sports field) there is a flood memorial from 1965. * ''The Persei-mill'' - At the end of the village on the left side there is the Persei-mill, which was built by Lajos Persei in 1939. The remained part functions as a store today. * ''The Géza-chapel'' - The graveyard is for people of Catholic, Evangelic and Reformed religion. A remarkable point of the cemetery is the small chapel of the Kurucz family, the Géza-chapel. The memorial of Lujza Kurucz is the artwork of János Nagy, on the left. Behind the chapel, on the highest point of the cemetery, stands the main cross with two graves of local priests in front of it (Kálmán Nádai, parson of Iža (1884-1956), Károly Jánoki priest (1782-1840)). The main cross is made of red marble from the village Süttő, Hungary, created in baroque style. As a rarity we can mention the white wooden crosses of the cemetery, covered with small triangle roof, which can not be found elsewhere. The second main, red-marble cross of the cemetery is from the year 1878. We can see a typical Hungarian wooden column, the work of the Transylvanian (Romania) wood-carving master Sándor Felszegi. The typical carved Transylvanian gate is also his work from the year 2018. *''Sandstone statue of St. John Nepomuk'' - Next to the Catholic church, about thirty steps from the monument to the fallen in World War I, stands on a marble pedestal (marble is from the village of Süttő in MR) sandstone statue of St. John Nepomuk. *''St. Michael, the Archangel Roman Catolic Church'' - The Catholic church, which was probably built in the 16th century, has its main axis running in an east-west direction, with a single nave, a sanctuary with a sacristy added on the south side. The church bears the name of St. Michael the Archangel. *''The Evangelical Church'' - The foundation stone of the Evangelical church in Iža was laid and consecrated on July 19, 1997, at a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the settlement of Slovaks relocated from the Great Plain. *''The Reformed Church'' - The year of construction of the Reformed church is 1871. It has a rectangular floor plan and its interior is distinguished by its puritanism: benches, pulpit, lord's table and harmonium. Iron pillars hold the ceiling. Its windows are finished with a semicircle. *''The Sikul Gate'' - is located in front of the municipal office in 2018, is the work of woodcarver Sándor Felszegi of Székelyudvarhely (Romania). *''The Artesian well'' - In the middle of the village towards Štúrovo there is an artesian well, the water of which springs from a depth of 220 m. Above the well is a filagory where travelers can relax. *''The Bokors Saline Protected Area'' - Bokros is a tiny island home to special salt-loving species in the middle of an intensively cultivated agricultural landscape. It is the northernmost extension of the Hungarian saline steppes. This area is a habitat for special plant and animal species.

Actively

''Bicycle tour Komárno - Iža (Celemantia):'' Discover the unique cultural and natural beauty of the Danube region by bike. However, bicycling does not have to mean only hard physical activity. The beautiful panorama of the Danube also provides refreshment for the soul, cultural heritage and enriching programs with many pleasant feelings. Regional specialties, products and wines provide great gastronomic experiences. Thanks to the new cycling route, we can experience many different programs every day.

Demographics

The village has a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of about 1,630 people. According to the 2001 census, the ethnic makeup was about 73% Hungarian, 25% Slovak, 1% Romany and 1%

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

Facilities

The village has a public

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

, a

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...

and a

football pitch A football pitch (also known as soccer field) is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is typically made of natural tu ...

. Recently a new museum was opened in the village, which focuses specifically on the history of the Danube Lands

Genealogical resources

The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive "Statny Archiv in Nitra, Slovakia" * Roman Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1722-1901 (parish A) * Lutheran church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1783-1908 (parish B) * Reformated church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1827-1895 (parish B)