Šaľa (, ; , ) is a

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 ...

Šaľa District Šaľa District (; ) is a district in the Nitra Region of western Slovakia. Until 1918, the district formed mostly part of the county of Kingdom of Hungary of Nyitra, apart from a small area in the west around Diakovce, Tešedíkovo and Žih� ...

within

Nitra Region The Nitra Region (, ; ) 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 () and 354 municipalities, from which 16 have a town status. T ...

in south-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 ...

Geography

Šaľa is located on the

Danubian Lowland ::''The Serbian lowland is treated under Danubian Plain (Serbia)'' The Danubian Lowland or Danube Lowland () is the name of the part of Little Alföld (Slovak: ''Malá dunajská kotlina'') situated in Slovakia, located between the Danube, the Litt ...

on both banks of the

Váh The Váh (; , ; ; Wag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich (''in Geograph ...

River, around 65 km from

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 30 km from

Nové Zámky Nové Zámky (; ) is a town in Nové Zámky District in the Nitra Region of southwestern Slovakia. Geography The town is located on the Danubian Lowland, on the Nitra River, at an altitude of 119 metres. It is located around 100 km fr ...

. Besides the town itself, it also includes the settlements of Hetméň and Veča on the left and right banks of the river respectively. The town lies in the

humid continental Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

climactic zone.

History

Šaľa was first mentioned in 1002 in a document of

Pannonhalma Pannonhalma (; ), called Győrszentmárton until 1965, is a town in Győr-Moson-Sopron county in western Hungary. With a little under 4,000 inhabitants, it is about south-southeast of Győr. Pannonhalma is home to the oldest extant religious and ...

Abbey. It was promoted into a market town in 1536. Šaľa was also ruled by

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

between 1663 and 1686 as part of Uyvar Eyalet. The railway, built in 1850 between

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

speeded development in Šaľa. After 1918, the town became 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 ...

, however belonging for a short time between 1938 and 1945 again to Hungary before being returned to Czechoslovakia again. Šaľa became part of Slovakia on 1 January 1993 when Czechoslovakia was formally dissolved.

Demographics

According to the 2011

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, the town had 23,554 inhabitants. 69% of inhabitants were

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 ...

, 12%

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 ...

, and 19% other nationality. According to the 2001

, the town had 24,564 inhabitants. 79.72% of inhabitants were

, 17.88%

, 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 0.40%

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

. The religious make-up was 66.63%

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, 23.62% people with no religious affiliation and 4.00%

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

Economy

The economy of the town is primarily based on the chemical industry by the company Duslo Šaľa, just east of the town. Other industries include textile and construction.

Twin towns — sister cities

Šaľa is twinned with: *

Końskie Końskie () is a town in south-central Poland with 20,328 inhabitants (2008), situated in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. Historically, Końskie belongs to the province of Lesser Poland, and since its foundation, until 1795 (see Partitions of P ...

, Poland *

Kuhmo Kuhmo (known as ''Kuhmoniemi'' until 1937) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and a municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland and is located at the south-eastern corner of the Kainuu regions of Finland, region. The municipali ...

, Finland *

Oroszlány Oroszlány () is a city in Hungary, Komárom-Esztergom county, Central Transdanubia region, located on the north-west flanks of the Vértes Mountains. The city has a population of 20.487. The main tourist attraction of the town is the 18th-century ...

, Hungary *

Telč Telč (; ) is a town in Jihlava District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,100 inhabitants. The town is well known for its historic centre, which is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservatio ...

, Czech Republic *

Mohyliv-Podilskyi Mohyliv-Podilskyi (, ) is a city in Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Mohyliv-Podilskyi Raion within the oblast. It is located in the historic region of Podolia, on the border with Bessarabia, Moldova, along th ...

, Ukraine

Notable people

* B-Complex, Slovak

drum & bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-bass lines, samples, and synthesizers. The genre ...

producer and DJ; born in Šaľa

References

External links

Official website

Map of Sala
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sala Cities and towns in Slovakia Villages and municipalities in Šaľa District