Dunajská Streda

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Dunajská Streda
Dunajská Streda coat of arms
Region (kraj) Trnava Region
District (okres) Dunajská Streda
Location 47°59′30″N, 17°37′14″E
Altitude 118 m
Population 23,562 (as of 2004)
Area 31.45 km²
Time Zone
• Summer DST
CET: UTC+1
CEST: UTC+2
Telephone prefix +421-31
Postal code 929 01
Car registration plate DS
Dunajská Streda location map

Dunajská Streda (Hungarian: Dunaszerdahely; German: Niedermarkt) is a town in southern Slovakia (Trnavský kraj). Dunajská Streda is the most important town of the Žitný ostrov (Csallóköz) region. It has a Hungarian ethnic majority and it's population is 23,562 (2004 census)

Contents

[edit] Name

The name of Zerda was first mentioned in 1250 in a document issued by Palatinus Lórant. Other early orthographic forms of the name were Svridahel (1254), Zeredahely (1270), Zerdahel (1283) and Zredahel (1358). Szerdahely means "Wednesday (market)place" in Hungarian and it indicates the town had the privilege to hold a market on Wednesdays (although it was later changed to Fridays). The attribute Duna- (Dunajská; i.e. Danubian) was added in the 19th century. The modern Slovak name means the same as the Hungarian (streda means Wednesday in Slovak). The German name Niedermarkt means "Lower Market".

[edit] History

According to archeological evidence the territory was inhabited in the Neolithic, Bronze, Roman and Great Moravian period. The region was part of the arising Hungarian state since the late 10th century.

In the Middle and Modern Ages the settlement was a little market town in the southern part of Pozsony county and a commercial and administrative centre for the neighbouring villages. After 1808, after 1863, and in 1960 it was amalgamated with several smaller settlements.

The population of the town has been predominantly Hungarian at least since the late Middle Ages. The first detailed description of the territory of the town is a charter of King Charles I of Hungary from 1341 when the king gave the estate of Pókafölde to comes Tamás. In the middle of the 15th century Szerdahely became an oppidum, or market town. The first conscription of the population happened in 1574 (26 royal serf families and 3 noble families). The next conscription in 1646 indicates that most citizen were craftsmen. The town was under the feudal jurisdiction of the Pálffy family between 1600 and 1848. Many Jews came in the 18th century. In 1880 the town had 4182 inhabitants out of which were 3,531 Hungarian and 416 German by mother tongue. The number of the Jewish population was 1,874. In 1910 there were 4,679 Hungarian by mother tongue from a total 4,762. In 1930, the town had 5,706 inhabitants, including 2,944 Hungarians, 2,186 Jews (mostly Hungarian-speaking) and 503 Slovaks. In 2001 it had 23,519 inhabitants, with 18,756 Hungarians and 3,588 Slovaks.

In 1919 it became part of Czechoslovakia. It became part of Hungary again in the First Vienna Award in 1938, but was returned to Czechoslovakia in 1945 after World War II. In 1947-48 part of the population was forced to emigrate to Hungary according to the Hungarian-Czechoslovakian population exchange agreement.

During the communist era the town underwent rapid modernization and industrialization. Almost all of the old houses of the centre and 85% of the town-apartments were replaced with modern ones. In the 1990s the centre of the town was totally rebuilt and revitalized according to the plans of Imre Makovecz, a Hungarian architect of the "Organic" school. Today, it is one of the centres of the Hungarian national minority in Slovakia. According to the 2001 census, 18,756 Hungarians, 3,588 Slovaks, 353 Roma people, 147 Czechs and 24 Germans live in the city. Over 80% of the population are ethnic Hungarians, the highest proportion of any municipality in the country. It is the fastest growing city of Southern Slovakia.

[edit] Sights

[edit] Coat-of-arms

The 19th century seal of the market town depicted St Peter with the inscription "Sigillum Oppidi Szerdahely". According to the tradition the old coat-of-arms of the town depicted this figure in blue clothes, in a green field, on a silver shield, but it is disputed whether it was a real coat-of-arms or only a seal symbol. In 1910 the town applied to the State Municipality Registration Committee for a new seal without any picture (inscription: "Pozsony vármegye Dunaszerdahely község 1910"). After that the St Peter figure was finally dropped from the municipal symbols.

The modern symbol of town is a talking coat-of-arms: "a split shield with the right field five times divided by blue and gold and with the left red field with the gold sign of Wednesday (Mercurius’ symbol)." The six stripes on the right symbolize the six villages amalgamated in the course of history to compose the modern town. The blue and gold colours refer to the river Danube and the large wheatfields of the region. The antique Mercurius/Wednesday symbol refer to the old Wednesday markets which gave the name of the town.

[edit] Education

There are Slovak - language (called Gymnázium s vyučovacím jazykom slovenským) and Hungarian - language (called Vámbéry Ármin Magyar Tanítási Nyelvű Gimnázium [Gymnázium Ármina Vámbéryho]secondary schools in the town.

[edit] Famous people

[edit] Twin cities

[edit] External links


edit Municipalities of Dunajská Streda District Flag of Slovakia

Dunajská Streda | Šamorín | Veľký Meder
Báč | Baka | Baloň | Bellova Ves | Blahová | Blatná na Ostrove | Bodíky | Boheľov | Čakany | Čenkovce | Čiližská Radvaň | Dobrohošť | Dolný Bar | Dolný Štál | Dunajský Klátov | Gabčíkovo | Holice | Horná Potôň | Horné Mýto | Horný Bar | Hubice | Hviezdoslavov | Jahodná | Janíky | Jurová | Kľúčovec | Kostolné Kračany | Kráľovičove Kračany | Kútniky | Kvetoslavov | Kyselica | Lehnice | Lúč na Ostrove | Macov | Mad | Malé Dvorníky | Medveďov | Mierovo | Michal na Ostrove | Nový Život | Ňárad | Ohrady | Okoč | Oľdza | Orechová Potôň | Padáň | Pataš | Povoda | Rohovce | Sap | Štvrtok na Ostrove | Topoľníky | Trhová Hradská | Trnávka | Trstená na Ostrove | Veľká Paka | Veľké Blahovo | Veľké Dvorníky | Vieska | Vojka nad Dunajom | Vrakúň | Vydrany | Zlaté Klasy


Coordinates: 47°59′N, 17°37′E