Šamorín
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Šamorín (; , ) is a small
town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
in western
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
, southeast of
Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
.


Etymology

The name is derived from a patron saint of a local church Sancta Maria, mentioned for the first time as ''villa Sancti Marie'' (1285). Today's name is an adaptation of the original name: ''Zent Maria – Samaria – Somoria – Šamorín''.


Geography

The town is located on the
Danubian Flat The Danubian Flat (Slovak language, Slovak and Czech language, Czech: ''Podunajská rovina'', German language, German: ''Donauebene''), also translated as Danubian Plain, is the south-western, flatter, part of the Danubian Lowland in Slovakia. T ...
in the
Žitný ostrov Žitný ostrov (), also called Veľký Žitný ostrov (; , ) to differentiate it from Szigetköz, Malý Žitný ostrov (; ; ), is a river island in southwestern Slovakia, extending from Bratislava to Komárno. It lies between the Danube, its tribu ...
island, near the Gabčíkovo dam by the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
around southeast of Bratislava and west of Dunajská Streda. Administratively, the town belongs to the
Trnava Region The Trnava Region (, ; ; ) is one of the eight Slovak administrative regions. It was established in 1996, before which date, most of its districts were parts of Bratislava Region which was established on the founding of Czechoslovakia in 1923. ...
,
Dunajská Streda District Dunajská Streda District ( Slovak: ''Okres Dunajská Streda'', Hungarian: ''Dunaszerdahelyi járás'') is a district in the Trnava Region of western Slovakia. Until 1918, the district was mostly part of the county of Kingdom of Hungary of Pozs ...
.


History

The oldest artifacts indicating the settlement of the area are dated to the
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
and Eneolithic Period. The settlement of the location is documented also for the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
and the
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
. Later archaeologic research (2008) uncovered artifacts from the Early and High Middle Ages (remnants of settlements, dwellings, farm buildings). After the
Mongol invasion The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire, the Mongol Empire (1206–1368), which by 1260 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...
, the village was settled by German "''guests''" who had the leading role in the town administration. The German minority was given a royal privilege to apply Pressburg Law (now
Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
) and lived in the town until the end of the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. The presence of other ethnic groups like
Pechenegs The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks, , Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: , , , , , , ka, პაჭანიკი, , , ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Pečenezi, separator=/, Печенези, also known as Pecheneg Turks were a semi-nomadic Turkic peopl ...
and
Székelys The Székelys (, Old Hungarian script, Székely runes: ), also referred to as Szeklers, are a Hungarians, Hungarian subgroup living mostly in the Székely Land in Romania. In addition to their native villages in Suceava County in Bukovina, a ...
is also documented. The small Hungarian town was mentioned for the first time in 1238 as ''ecclesia Sancte Mariae'' and was a prominent port by the Danube during the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
and the market center of Rye Island. Agriculture also played a major role in the town's development. As a result of this prosperity, its citizens enjoyed a brisk trade in the new technologies and many shipyards on the Danube. However, with rise of
Pressburg Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
, the importance of the town began declining. Šamorín eventually lost its right to the status of
royal free city A royal free city, or free royal city (Latin: ''libera regia civitas''), was the official term for the most important cities in the Kingdom of Hungary from the late 12th centuryBácskai Vera – Nagy Lajos: Piackörzetek, piacközpontok és város ...
granted in 1405 during the reign of Hungarian King
Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...
. In the sixteenth century, the city became notable again because of the witch trials held there. After the
Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
army disintegrated in November 1918, Czechoslovak troops occupied the area, later acknowledged internationally (contested by Hungary) by the
Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...
. Between 1938 and 1945 Šamorín (Somorja) once more became a part of Hungary under
Miklós Horthy Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya (18 June 1868 – 9 February 1957) was a Hungarian admiral and statesman who was the Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary Hungary between the World Wars, during the ...
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, whic ...
. From 1945 until the
Velvet Divorce The dissolution of Czechoslovakia, which took effect on December 31, 1992, was the self-determined partition of the federal republic of Czechoslovakia into the independent countries of the Czech Republic (also known as Czechia) and Slovakia ...
, it was part of
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
. Since then it has been part of Slovakia.


Demography

According to the 2011 census, the municipality had 12,726 inhabitants. 7,309 (56.1%) of the inhabitants were
Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...
, 4,365 (33.51%)
Slovaks The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...
, 63 (0.48%)
Czechs The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia ...
and 989 others were unspecified.
In 1910, the town had a total population of 2,930, which included 2,699 (92.12%) Hungarians, 112 (3.82%) Germans and 114 (3.89%) Slovaks. According to the 1991 census, ethnic groups included 71% Hungarians and 27.4% Slovaks.
According to the 2001 census, ethnic groups included 66.63% Hungarians and 30.96% Slovaks. According to the 2021 census, ethnic groups included 49.55% Hungarians and 41.11% Slovaks. The religious make-up in 2001 was 75.27% Roman Catholics, 4.42% Protestant, 11.75% without denomination and others. In 2021 it was 45.32% Roman Catholics, 3.31% Protestant, 29.9% without denomination.


Landmarks

*
The Reformed Church The Reformed Church is a historic Reformed church at 405 N. Main Street in Herkimer, Herkimer County, New York. It was built in 1835 and is a two-story, painted brick structure with a stone rear wing. It features a staged spire in the Federa ...
, originally Catholic and built in the 13th century in the late Romanesque style. *The
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and its former
cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...
from the 18th century in the
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
style. *The Protestant Church of 1784 *The Synagogue, built in 1912 in a
Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...
style *The Renaissance-style city hall


Municipal division

Šamorín has five districts: Šamorín () proper and the villages of Bučuháza (), Čilistov (), Kráľovianky (), and Mliečno ().


Historically incorporated villages

*1808: Gančháza *1960: Čilistov *1976: Mliečno


Notable people

* Livia Bitton-Jackson (1931–2023), Holocaust survivor and author, writing a three-part series on her journey from Šamorín to New York City * Pál Skriba (1932–2004), Hungarian painter and teacher * Tibor Linka (born 1995), sprint canoer, won a gold medal at the 2015 World Championships and a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics


Twin towns — sister cities

Šamorín is twinned with: * Mosonmagyaróvár,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
*
Hainburg an der Donau Hainburg an der Donau (also referred to simply as Hainburg) is a town located in the Bruck an der Leitha District, Bruck an der Leitha district in the state of Lower Austria of eastern Austria. In 2021 it had a population of about 7,000. Geography ...
,
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
*
Gheorgheni Gheorgheni (; ) is a Municipiu, city in Harghita County, Romania, with a population of 15,844, as of 2021. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. The city administers four villages: Covacipeter (''Kovács ...
,
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
*
Leiderdorp Leiderdorp () is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland near the city of Leiden. It had a population of in . The municipality covers an area of of which is water. Leiderdorp has now become a suburb ...
,
The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...


References

*''The information in this article is based on that in its German equivalent''. ;Notes


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samorin Populated places on the Danube Cities and towns in Slovakia Municipalities in Slovakia where Hungarian is an official language