Šaštín-Stráže (, , ) 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 ...

in the

Senica District Senica District (''okres Senica'') is a district in the Trnava Region of western Slovakia. The district is relatively rich in natural resources oil, gas, lignite. It is an industrial district, in the late period had been established here new ind ...

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. ...

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 ...

. Originally two separate villages, now it is one of the youngest towns in Slovakia, having received

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

on 1 September 2001.

Etymology

The name "Šaštín" consists of two parts: ''šáš'' (''šašina'', ''šáchor'', present also in other

Slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavs, Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic language, Proto- ...

– a sedge) and ''týn'' (initially a fence, later also a small medieval fort). The name Stráže (guards) refers to a historic settlement of border guards.

Geography

The town lies in the

Záhorie , the Romanian village of Dumbrava, called Erdőhát in Hungarian, Pestişu Mic Záhorie () is a region in western Slovakia between the Little Carpathians to the east and the Morava River to the west. Although not an administrative region, it is ...

lowlands, around from

Senica Senica (; ; ) is a town in Trnava Region, western Slovakia. It is located in the north-eastern part of the Záhorie lowland, close to the Little Carpathians. Etymology The name is derived from the word ''seno'' ' hay' with the suffix ''-ica'' us ...

and 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. ...

. The Myjava River flows through the town, dividing the town's two parts.

History

The first written mention about Šaštín-Stráže was in 1218. Although the town's two parts, Šaštín and Stráže nad Myjavou were for long two separate villages, their history is closely connected to each other. The villages merged in 1961 under name Šaštínske Stráže, changed in 1971 to the current name.

Demographics

According to the 2001

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 5,005 inhabitants. 95.44% 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 ...

, 2.06% Roma and 1.50%

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 ...

. The religious makeup was 88.45%

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 ...

, 7.31% people with no religious affiliation, and 1.34%

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 ...

Importance

Šaštín-Stráže is one of the most important

Marian shrine A shrine to the Virgin Mary, or Marian shrine, is a shrine marking an Marian apparitions, apparition or other miracle ascribed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or a site on which is centered a historically strong Blessed Virgin Mary, Marian devotion ...

s in Slovakia. Several pilgrimages are held there annually, especially on

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

and

Our Lady of Sorrows Our Lady of Sorrows (), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows (), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are Titles of Mary, names by which Mary, mother of Jesus, is referr ...

Day (15 September).

Twin towns – sister cities

Šaštín-Stráže is twinned with: *

Bełżyce Bełżyce is a town in eastern Poland, in the Lublin Voivodeship, in Lublin County, and about to the west of the city of Lublin. Bełżyce belongs to the historical region of Lesser Poland. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 6,290. ...

, Poland *

Brody Brody (, ; ; ; ) is a city in Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in the valley of the upper Styr, Styr River, approximately northeast of the oblast capital, Lviv. Brody hosts the administrati ...

, Ukraine

References

External links

Official website
Cities and towns in Slovakia Catholic pilgrimage sites {{Trnava-geo-stub