Želiezovce (, until 1895: ; ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

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 ...

in the

Nitra Region The Nitra Region (, ; ) is one of the administrative regions of Slovakia. It was first established in 1923 and from 1996 exists in its present borders. It consists of seven districts () and 354 municipalities, from which 16 have a town status. T ...

in the

Levice District Levice District (; ) is a district in the Nitra Region of western Slovakia. It is the largest of Slovakia's 79 districts. The west of the district was in the Hungarian county of Bars until 1918, while the east of the district was in Hont County ...

, near the

Hron The Hron (; ; ; ) is a long left tributary of the DanubeP ...

river.

Districts

* Jarok () * Karolína * Mikula (1967 established) () * Rozina (), named after Rozina Esterházy (Festetics) (1779 - 1854) * Svodov (1976 established) (, ) * Veľký Dvor () * Želiezovce

History

The territory of the settlement was inhabited as early as the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, the

Quadi The Quadi were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people during the Roman era, who were prominent in Greek and Roman records from about 20 AD to about 400 AD. By about 20 AD they had a kingdom centred in the area of present-day western Slovakia, north ...

period and the

Great Moravia Great Moravia (; , ''Meghálī Moravía''; ; ; , ), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to emerge in the area of Central Europe, possibly including territories which are today part of the Czech Repub ...

n period. The town was first mentioned in 1274. It was heavily damaged 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 ...

Archeology

The town gave name to the archeological

Želiezovce group The Želiezovce group was an archaeological group ("archaeological culture, culture") during the first part of the Middle Neolithic period in western Slovakia, Spiš, Transdanubia, adjacent Austria, southern Moravia, and southern and south-eastern ...

(named after a find in Veľký Pesek, now part of the village

Sikenica Sikenica () is a village and municipality in the Levice District in the Nitra Region of Slovakia. History In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1307. Geography The village lies at an altitude of 150 metres and covers an area o ...

, which was part of Želiezovce in 1986-1992).

St James Church

The most notable monument of Želiezovce is the medieval church of St James the Greater, situated in the town centre. It was built in its current form in the mid-fourteenth century, combining a polygonal apse with a single nave. The building has been richly decorated with at least four different layers of wall painting, which survive from the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. The original context of these murals has been analysed in detail in the recent monograph (2018) by Krisztina Ilko, "The Medieval Wall Paintings of the Church of St James in Želiezovce." Ilko has investigated how the wall paintings were connected to the patronage of the Becsei family who intended to develop a new dynastic seat in Želiezovce. The focal point of this research was the unique iconography of a fresco from the 1380s in the apse which depicts a celestial trial for the departing soul of the local landlord and knight George Becsei. Other surviving murals include a Man of Sorrows on the south-eastern wall of the apse, St Catherine in a sedilia in the nave, and SS Martin and Leonard of Noblac further down on the south wall of the nave.

Demographics

According to the 2001

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, the town had 7,522 inhabitants. 51.25% of inhabitants were

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

, 47.10%

Slovaks The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...

, 0.55%

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

and 0.49%

Czechs The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia ...

. The religious make-up was 61.27%

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, 18.43% people with no religious affiliation, and 6.37%

Lutherans Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

Features

The town is known for a former Neoclassical residence of Count Johann Karl

Esterházy The House of Esterházy, also spelled Eszterházy (), is a Hungarian nobility, Hungarian noble family with origins in the Middle Ages. From the 17th century, the Esterházys were the greatest landowner magnates of the Kingdom of Hungary, durin ...

, where the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n composer

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

taught music to the Count's daughters Maria and Karoline in the summers of 1818 and 1824. Apart from a nice large park, there is another important building: the Schubert House or Owl Chateau (Slovak: ''Soví zámoček'', Magyar: ''Baglyosház''), where Franz Schubert stayed, and composed some of his works. Finally, the town features a Gothic

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church, severely damaged in 1945.

People

, wrote his Grand Duo and Marche militaire here * Eduard Sacher, born here (de) * Timea Majorova, lived here

Twin towns — sister cities

Želiezovce is twinned with: *

Miercurea Ciuc Miercurea Ciuc (; ; ) is the county seat of Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, a mainly Hungarian-speaking ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, and is situated in the Olt River valley. The city administers three ...

, Romania *

Makó Makó (, , Makowe, or , ) is a town in Csongrád County, in southeastern Hungary, from the Romanian border. It lies on the Maros River. Makó is home to 21,913 people and it has an area of , of which is arable land. Makó is the fourth-larges ...

, Hungary *

Barcs Barcs (; ; or ) is a border town in Somogy County, Hungary, and the seat of Barcs District. The Drava River marks the southern boundary of the settlement. Geography Located at the Croatian border and the River Drava, the town is surrounded by ...

, Hungary *

Trstená Trstená ( or ''Árvanádasd''; ; German: ''Bingenstadt'') is a town in Tvrdošín District, Žilina Region, Northern Slovakia. Location Trstená is situated on the Orava River at the Orava (reservoir) in the Slovak part of the Orava valle ...

, Slovakia

References

External links

* * https://www.muzeumzeliezovce.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeliezovce Cities and towns in Levice District Cities and towns in Slovakia Municipalities in Slovakia where Hungarian is an official language 1274 establishments in Europe Esterházy family Franz Schubert