Komárom (Hungarian: ; or ; , later ; ) is a city in

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 ...

on the south bank of 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 ...

Komárom-Esztergom County Komárom-Esztergom (, ; ; ) is an administrative Hungarian county in Central Transdanubia Region; its shares its northern border the Danube with Slovakia. It shares borders with the Hungarian counties of , , and and the Slovakian Nitra Regio ...

. Komárom fortress played an important role in the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...

and many contemporary English sources refer to it as the Fortress of Comorn. Komárom on the south bank was formerly known as a separate village called Újszőny (or Szony). Komarom on the north bank and Újszőny were connected in 1892 with an iron bridge across the Danube. The two towns were united under the name of city of Komárom in 1896. On 4 June 1920, 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 ...

that broke up the Austria-Hungary Empire split the city in two, because the southern border 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 ...

was determined by the river

. This division separated the historical

Komárom county Komárom (Hungarian: ; or ; , later ; ) is a city in Hungary on the south bank of the Danube in Komárom-Esztergom County. Komárom fortress played an important role in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and many contemporary English sources re ...

of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

and the city of Komárom. The bigger, northern part of the city was attached to

and renamed

Komárno Komárno (, , ), colloquially also called ''Révkomárom'', ''Öregkomárom'', ''Észak-Komárom'' in Hungarian language, Hungarian, is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube and the Váh rivers. Historically it was formed by the "old ...

. Its population resulted in a sizable ethnic Hungarian minority in present-day

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 ...

. The southern part of the city, lying south of the Danube, remained in Hungary. On 2 November 1938 by 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 ...

, the northern part of the city was returned to Hungary, and divided Komárom was reunified. At the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the city was again divided between Czechoslovakia and Hungary. Following the breakup of Czechoslovakia, two nations were established: the Czech Republic to the north and Slovakia to the south. Komárno is in today's

on the northern bank of the Danube.

History

Following the

Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin The Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin, also known as the Hungarian conquest or the Hungarian land-taking (), was a series of historical events ending with the settlement of the Hungarians in Central Europe in the late 9th and early 10t ...

at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries, Prince

Árpád Árpád (; 845 – 907) was the head of the confederation of the Magyar tribes at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. He might have been either the sacred ruler or '' kende'' of the Hungarians, or their military leader or '' g ...

gave Komárom and the

vicinity to tribal chieftain Ketel. Ketel was the first known ancestor of the famous Koppán (genus) clan. At the beginning of the 12th century, this tribe founded the town's Benedictine Monastery in honor of the Blessed Virgin, mentioned in 1222 by the name of Monostorium de Koppán. The Turks destroyed much of the monastery and its surroundings in 1529, and the area was depopulated. Later, it was referred to as the Pioneer Monastery (Pusztamonostor) in documented sources. In the 21st century, it is called Koppánymonostor (Koppán's Monastery) in honor of its founding family. Roman ruins (including a stone mile marker and watchtowers) still stand today. The town was heavily damaged in the 1763 Komárom earthquake. Between 1850 and 1871, the Fort Monostor (Monostori Erőd) was built nearby. On 10 January 1919, the Czechoslovak army occupied the northern part of the city. On 30 April Hungarian forces unsuccessfully attempted to recapture that part of the city. Following the Great War (World War I), on 4 June 1920 Hungary was forced to sign the

recognizing new imposed borders in the breakup of the Austria-Hungary Empire. These include the border with

. The loss of Upper-Hungary resulted in a sizable Hungarian minority in Slovakia. The Treaty of Trianon split the city in two, as the state of Czechoslovakia was based on a border formed by the river

. It divided the historical

on the south side from the city of Komárom on the north of the river. The northern part of the city, which was the bigger part of the city, became part of Czechoslovakia, which renamed the town on the northern shore as

. After the Czechoslovak administration was set up, the ethnic composition of Komárno partially expanded, but Hungarians still outnumbered the Slovak population. During the years of the

First Czechoslovak Republic The First Czechoslovak Republic, often colloquially referred to as the First Republic, was the first Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak state that existed from 1918 to 1938, a union of ethnic Czechs and Slovaks. The country was commonly called Czechosl ...

, Komárno became the cultural and social centre of the Hungarians in Czechoslovakia. The southern part of the city in Hungary, called Komárom-Újváros, was for a few years the seat of the truncated Komárom County. During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, it was possible to travel between Komárom and Komárno with a passport; the only restriction was that the bridge was closed at 23:00, and people had to return home by then. On 2 November 1938 by the

, Komárno was returned to Hungary. Komárom was reunified and became a county town once again. Regent of

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 ...

, received a tumultuous welcome from the citizens as he crossed the old bridge and entered the formerly dismembered part. During

, the city was bombarded many times. At the end of war, new treaties divided the city again between Hungary and Czechoslovakia. After World War II, the occupying Soviets built the country's biggest ammunition storage in the Fortress of Monostor. Thousands of wagons of ammunition were forwarded from this strictly guarded area. One of a series of forts, the Monostor is today open to the public as a museum. Komárom and Komárno are connected by two bridges: The older iron bridge, and a newer lifting bridge. A third bridge was projected for completion by 2020/2021. The vast majority of its funding came from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

's Connecting Europe Facility. The two towns used to be a border crossing between Czechoslovakia (today Slovakia) and Hungary, until both countries became part of the

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

. All immigration and customs checks were lifted on 12 December 2007.

Notable people

* Franz Heckenast (1889–1939), Austrian artillery officer and opponent of Nazism * Jovan Monasterlija (d. 1706), Serb vice-voivode and Habsburg imperial officer * Julie Kopacsy-Karczag (1867–1957), operatic soprano * Cardinal Leopold Karl von Kollonitsch (1631–1707), Catholic prelate *

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is '' The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life and career L ...

(1870–1948), Austro-Hungarian composer * Theodor Körner, Austrian President *

Mór Jókai Móricz Jókay of Ásva (18 February 1825 – 5 May 1904), known as Mór Jókai, was a Hungarian novelist, dramatist and revolutionary. Outside of Hungary, he was also known as Maurice Jókai or Maurus Jókai or Mauritius Jókai. He was a le ...

(1825–1904), writer *

Hans Selye János Hugo Bruno "Hans" Selye (; ; January 26, 1907 – October 16, 1982) was a Hungarian-Canadian endocrinologist who conducted important scientific work on the hypothetical non-specific response of an organism to stressors. Although he did ...

(1907–1982), Hungarian-Austrian-Canadian

endocrinologist Endocrinology (from ''endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental events ...

* Tünde Szabó (1945–2021), Hungarian actress *

Péter Szijjártó Péter Szijjártó (; born 30 October 1978) is a Hungarian politician who has been Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Hungary), Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade since 2014. He previously served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade and ...

(born 1978), Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade * Endre Komaromi-katz, painter

Twin towns – sister cities

Komárom is twinned with: * Gratwein-Straßengel, Austria * Khust, Ukraine *

, Slovakia *

Lieto Lieto (; ) is a municipalities of Finland, city and municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a populatio ...

, Finland *

Naumburg Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNES ...

, Germany *

Sebeș Sebeș (; German: ''Mühlbach''; Hungarian: ''Szászsebes''; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Melnbach'') is a city in Alba County, central Romania, southwestern Transylvania. Geography The city lies in the Mureș River valley and straddles the river ...

, Romania *

Sosnowiec Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Metropolis GZM municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Industrial Re ...

, Poland

References

External links

* in Hungarian, English, German and Slovak
Aerial photography: Komárom

Komárom on wiki.utikonyvem.hu

"The Battle at Comorn in Hungary on 11th July 1849" - painting by Albrecht Adam, 1855
{{DEFAULTSORT:Komarom Populated places in Komárom-Esztergom County Divided cities Hungary–Slovakia border crossings Populated places on the Danube

History

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

See also

References

External links