By the way …

What do you know about Komárno?

The history of the city is very rich, the first settlement was established in the Celtic Ages.

During the 1st century AD the Roman Empire extended its frontiers over the region forming the province of Pannonia.

Gothic, 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.

In the early 10th century the territory came under the rule of the Hungarian tribes. According to the medieval chronicle Gesta Hungarorum, one of the Hungarian 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 Komárom 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.

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 the town as its main base during the Ottoman wars.

Maria Theresa’s charter of the March 16, 1745 granted Komárom the status and privilege of a free royal town. Komárom was soon influenced by the Baroque styles that represented and characterized the Habsburg Empire and its territories.

During the 18th century Komárom 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, Komárom 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 Hungarian Revolution of 1848. Komárom played a significant role in the revolution, remaining the last bastion of the Hungarian resistance against the Austrians until 1849, when the fortress and town were finally surrendered. Captain György Klapka handed over the fortress to the Austrians only after a statement that for every person in the fortress a free withdraw and passport is granted. The town was completely destroyed by the Austrian bombardment and left destitute. During the years of Austrian absolutism, Komárom quickly became a strategic military base. 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.