ŠAMORÍN

I first learned about Šamorín from the poetry collections with the CD Rok v Šamorínne / Egy év Somorján and Šamorínske verše / Somorjai versek from the workshop of the author and partner pair of poet Judita Kaššovicová and bluesman Juraj Turtev. To feel in them the well-being of summer evenings, when the sun sets over the endless fields of corn fields, softly touches nature and people and invites you to stay. A personal visit to the town also enchanted me - with its rhythm of life, pulsating cultural events and harmonious symbiosis of the Slovak and Hungarian elements, which go hand in hand with life as naturally as breathing.

From the history of the city

The documents mention Šamorín for the first time in 1238 as the settlement of Villa Sancta Maria. The later name from 1287 Zentmária suggests a clear connection with the present name of the city and explains why the portrait of the Virgin Mary also got on the coat of arms, the flag and the stamp from 1405, by which King Sigismund confirmed to the settlement the privilege of a free royal city. They guaranteed him the same rights as Bratislava at the time. At the end of the 14th century, the town became the center of trade in Žitný ostrov and supplied the surrounding region with industrial goods. The first guild was founded in 1555 by furriers, and later by tailors, potters, locksmiths, strappers, goldsmiths, weavers, knife makers, soap makers and cattle traders. The development of the city was interrupted in the 16th century by Turkish invasions. At the end of the 19th century, a thriving layer of burghers lived in the town and educational and cultural institutions flourished. In the last years of the First World War and shortly after that, there was a Russian and Italian prisoner of war camp in the town, the only preserved monument of which is a linden alley planted by prisoners on today's Pomlejská cesta. During the 2nd vol. During the war, about 350 Jews were deported from Šamorín.

Present and sights

Šamorín belongs to the Dunajská Streda district, its population exceeds 12,000. It consists of five parts - Šamorín, Bučuháza, Čilistov, Mliečno, Kráľovianky and two historical parts - Gančháza and Šámot. It lies only 25 km from Bratislava. There are 50 active non-profit organizations and 265 companies active in the city, which strive to create a partnership for the development of the city. There are 8 kindergartens, 5 primary schools, two grammar schools, a hotel academy and facilities for the elderly. The city boasts good civic amenities. Visitors to the city can see a 13th-century Calvinist church, a Romanesque-Gothic building originally dedicated to the Virgin Mary, a Roman Catholic late Baroque church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary from the 18th century together with a Pauline monastery, and a classicist evangelical church from the late 18th century. in 1912, which is the seat of At home gallery. In the former settlement of Šámot, the Romanesque church of St. Margita of Antioch from the middle of the 13th century. It is also worth visiting the Municipal Homeland Studies House with an exhibition on Šamorín traditions and handicraft tools with an interactive demonstration of gold panning. In the Pomlé park, you can sit on the benches of Šamorín's personalities - e.g. poet Lajos Klimits, founder of the Rye Island Museum, pedagogue, ethnographer Antal Khín, ornithologist Lajos Csiba, composer Štefan Németh-Šamorínský and others from the distant and recent past.

A paradise for athletes and tourists

With the construction of the Gabčíkovo waterworks, the Hrušovská Reservoir and the supply canal with ideal conditions for water sports and water tourism were created in the city cadastre. Next to them is one of the cycling arteries in Europe - the international Danube cycle path. On the outskirts of Šamorín, there is also a 10-hectare forest park Pomlé with an educational trail, where the locals relax and is a place for organizing many cultural and social events and festivals. "Malý Žitný ostrov" is a unique example of the preservation of natural floodplain forests. After a large dose of tourism and sports, visitors to the city can strengthen themselves with gourmet specialties of Žitný ostrov in numerous small "barns", restaurants up to the Hotel Kormorán complex or the above-standard built x-bionic® sphere.

It lives in Šamorín!

The city regularly hosts domestic and international cultural events, such as Samaria - days of early music, New Music at Home, Summer music evening, Advent and carnival concerts, Carnival celebration with a 100-year tradition in the Mliečno district, Pomplé Festival and Roma Fest.