Komárno

For the Ukrainian city, see Komarno.

Komárno (Hungarian: Komárom, informally often Révkomárom to distinguish from the city with the same name in Hungary, German: Komorn) is a town in Slovakia at the Danube and the Váh rivers.

Komárno is the larger part (the part on the left river bank) of the former town of the Kingdom of Hungary situated on both banks of the Danube. Following World War I, the border of the newly created Czechoslovakia was set along the Danube which divided the northern and the southern parts of the city. The smaller part, based on the former suburb of Újszőny (on the other river bank), is in Hungary (present-day town of Komárom). Komárno and Komárom are connected by a bridge.

Komárno is Slovakia's principal port on the Danube. It is also a center of the Hungarian ethnic minority in Slovakia.

Name

One disputed record of the name of the settlement can be dated back to 1075 as Camarum. Further documents mention the settlement as Kamarn(iensis) / Komarn(iense) (1218), Kamarum (1266), Camarum (1268), Kamar (1283) and many other, e.g. Camaron, Comaron (between 1372-1498). Villa Camarun was one of the 23 settlements belonging to the domain of the Komárom castle.

For the better distinction between the south and the north part of the town Komárno is often called Révkomárom in Hungarian. This name appeared in the 19th century. At first the boatmen of the Danube called the harbour of the town Rév-Komárom ie. Komárom-Port. In the 19th century it was sometimes used as an alternative name for the whole town (for example by Mór Jókai), although it became really popular only in the 1990's, especially in Hungarian media. The official Hungarian version used by the local government is still simply Komárom.

History

Komárno, located at the confluence of the Danube and Váh rivers, 108 - 115 meters above sea level, is an old settlement. Findings stem from the Neolithic, Eneolithic period, the Bronze Age and the early Slavic period. Many archaeological remains found throughout the region surrounding Komarno also indicate the area was settled by the Celts toward the end of the 1st century BC.

During the 1st century AD the Roman Empire extended its frontiers over the region forming the province of Pannonia (present day Transdanubia). Here the Romans, on the southern shore of the Danube, established the military camp and the settlement Brigetio. A chain of fortifications built along the Danube shores protected the camp and town. On the northern shore of the Danube, the fortified bridgehead of Celemantia (near present-day Iža), which was built at the beginning of the 2nd century, protected Brigetio. Some historians suppose that there was a similar Roman fortress on site of the Komárno Castle because of the strategic importance of the place but excavations have not yet proved this theory. The Romans remained in Pannonia until the end of the 4th century when they were gradually pushed out by the strengthening attacks of barbarian tribes.

Slavic and Avar findings have been excavated here from the 7th and 8th century AD. After the collapse of the Avar empire at the end of the 8th century, Komárno had remained one of the last resorts of the Avars, surrounded by Slavic inhabitants. From the late 8th century to the early 10th century, the territory belonged to the Principality of Nitra and to Great Moravia.

In the early 10th century the territory came under the rule of the Magyar tribes. According to the medieval chronicle Gesta Hungarorum, one of the Magyar tribal chieftains, Ketel established his domain near the mouth of the Váh river, his son Alaptolma later built a castle there and named it Komárom. Two-thirds of their people settled around the castle. Both Ketel and Alaptolma were buried in Komárom according to the pagan fashion. Soon after, during the time of the formation of the Hungarian State in the age of Stephen I the fortified settlement with its castle became the center of the Comaromiensis county. The factual accuracy of the Gesta Hungarorum is often disputed and according to excavations, the present-day Komárno Castle was built only in the 12th century.

King Béla IV, in his charter of April 1, 1265, granted the settlement town status and privileges. These privileges contributed to the development of medieval Komárno, helping it establish a flourishing trade market and craft industry. Medieval Komárno prospered, especially under the reign of Mathias Corvinus. He built a renaissance palace within the castle complex and frequented it for rest and pleasure. Mathias Corvinus also established the royal Danube flotilla, which used Komárno as its main base during the Ottoman wars. In the 16th century Komárno became one of centers of defense for the Habsburg Empire against the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. During the middle of the 16th century, under the reign of Ferdinand I, the medieval castle was rebuilt into a well-defensible fortification. The rebuilt fortification became known as the Old Fortress when in the 17th century it was enlarged and expanded to form the New Fortress. Both the Old and New Fortresses successfully resisted the attacks of the Turkish army during the course of the Turkish wars. In the 18th century, after the end of the Turkish wars and expulsion of the Turks from the region, Komárno, one of the biggest towns in the country, again began to flourish. Maria Theresa's charter of the March 16, 1745 granted Komárno the status and privilege of a free royal town. Komárno was soon influenced by the Baroque styles that represented and characterized the Habsburg Empire and its territories. The local nobles and burgers built palaces and the newly arrived Trinitarians, Franciscans and Jesuits built churches.

During the 18th century Komárno experienced many natural disasters including floods, fires, earthquakes, and cholera and plague epidemics. Most notable of these natural disasters were the two earthquakes that completely destroyed the town in 1763 and 1783. Despite these calamities, Komárno continued to be an important center for trade and crafts until the middle of the 19th century. Beginning in the early 19th century, the fortifications surrounding Komárno underwent extensive reconstruction. The reconstruction was interrupted by the Revolution of 1848. Komárno played a significant role in the revolution, remaining the last bastion of the Magyar resistance against the Austrians until 1849, when the fortress and town were finally surrendered. The town was completely destroyed by the Austrian bombardment and left destitute. During the years of Austrian absolutism, Komárno quickly became a strategic military base of Austro-Hungary. Various military buildings were constructed and in 1876 reconstruction of the fortification system was completed. The town itself only slowly recovered from the destruction during the revolutionary war. It lost its former economic importance and influence as a major town of the region.

20th century

Komárno's recovery began at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, when construction of iron bridges across the Danube and Váh began as well as the first railway lines linking Komárno to the rest of Austro-Hungary. Komárno soon became an important transport junction, attracting industry and trade. In 1896 the town of Újszőny on the south side of the Danube was combined with Komárno, allowing the town to expand its territory and development across the Danube.

With the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy after WWI, Komárno again found itself under new rule. The forming of Czechoslovakia, whose natural border in the south became the Danube River, separated Komárno from its southern half. In 1919 (confirmed by the Treaty of Trianon in 1920), the territory to the north of the Danube was ceded to Czechoslovakia with the territory to the south of the Danube going to Hungary. Following the territory reorganization the town officially became known as Komárno (its Slovak name, which had been in use for centuries besides the Magyar, Latin and German names) and in 1923 it was reduced from a county seat to a district seat. In the 1920's the newly founded tobacco business and the construction of the Danube harbor and shipyard created employment opportunities for the local inhabitants as well as bringing an influx of newcomers. Although this resulted in a dramatic change in the national composition of Komárno, the majority remained Hungarian. In fact Komárno became the center of cultural and social life of the "new" Hungarian minority in Czechoslovakia. In 1938, under the First Vienna Award of that year, Komárno (now again as Komárom) was annexed to Hungary. Its former name and status of town and county seat of the Komárom county was restored. At the onset of WWII Komárom/Komárno became a military center for the Germans and eventually the frontline for the Germans defending the oil refineries to the south. Although there was no heavy fighting in the Komárno area, it was bombarded several times. The bridges connecting the two territories were destroyed and most of the territory lying on the south bank of the Danube lay in ruins. On March 30th 1945 the territory on the north bank of the Danube became part of Czechoslovakia again. After the war, large-scale reconstruction of Komárno's industries began. The reconstruction of the shipyard, the town's largest industrial facility, was completed in 1950 and greatly promoted the economic development of the town. New factories were constructed in the west side of town near the shipyard creating a new industrial district. An urban development plan was implemented as well. Residential districts were created with new housing estates and wide roads were laid across the town.

Sights

The majority of the historical and cultural sites, including the town center of the former Komárno, were well preserved and remain to this day. The county and town halls, the courthouse, St. Andrews Church, the Danube Museum, and other buildings are examples of some of the many historical structures still standing today. Of course Klapka Square (named after the Hungarian general who defended Komárno against the Austrians in the War of Independence) and the well preserved remains of the fortification structure are Komárno's main historical monuments symbolizing both the pride and resilience of this historical important town.

Demographics and culture

In 2001, the town had a population of 37,366. 60% of the inhabitants are Hungarians, the second-highest proportion in the country after Dunajská Streda. Slovaks make up 34.7%. In 2004 the first Hungarian-language university in Slovakia since 1919, the J. Selye University was established in Komárno.

Famous People

• Hans Selye - biologist
• Moriz Ludassy (Gans)
• Mór Jókai (1825-1904) - one of the greatest Hungarian writers
• Ivan Reitman (1946-) - film producer and director born here, but raised in Canada.

External link

• Official Slovak homepage
• Official Hungarian homepage