Mocsa is a village in Komárom-Esztergom county,

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Early history

The village is first mentioned in 1237–1240 under the name of Mocha in the notes of Albeus, Dean of

Nitra Nitra (; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra (river), Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of ...

, who had been asked by

Béla IV of Hungary Béla IV (1206 – 3 May 1270) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258. As the oldest son of Andrew II of Hungary, King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group ...

to catalogue the territories of the villages in the area. During the

Árpád Dynasty The Árpád dynasty consisted of the members of the royal House of Árpád (), also known as Árpáds (, ). They were the ruling dynasty of the Principality of Hungary in the 9th and 10th centuries and of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 130 ...

, the village was a property of the king; income from the land was used to maintain the queen's court. The king's hunters and falconers lived in Mocsa. In 1291, Fennena of Kujavia, the first wife of

Andrew III of Hungary Andrew III the Venetian (, , ; – 14 January 1301) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1290 and 1301. His father, Stephen the Posthumous, was the posthumous son of Andrew II of Hungary although Stephen's older half brother ...

, granted the village's territory to

Lodomer Lodomer (; 1235 – 2 January 1298) was a prelate in the Kingdom of Hungary in the second half of the 13th century. He was Archbishop of Esztergom between 1279 and 1298, and Bishop of Várad (now Oradea in Romania) from 1268 till 1279. He was an ...

, the Archbishop of

Esztergom Esztergom (; ; or ; , known by Names of European cities in different languages: E–H#E, alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the righ ...

. From this point on, the land was largely the property of the bishops. During the reign of Béla IV, Mocsa had about 450 residents. The villages in the area were mostly razed to the ground during the

Tatar invasions These are lists of battles of the Mongol invasion of Europe. Lists of battles Mongol invasions of Eastern Europe Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus' (1223, 1237–1241) Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria (1223–1236) * 1223: First Mongol ...

, but the survivors helped to repopulate Mocsa by grouping together. Through the centuries the village was attacked on more than one occasion. Its survival is due to its location: a swampy, weedy, low-lying land that was unattractive to the invaders who preferred to travel over hilly lands that gave them a wide view of the places below. Mocsa's location also provided plenty of hiding places for the people and their animals. In times of draught, the residents survived because of their close proximity to water. After the

Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; , ) took place on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, in the Kingdom of Hungary. It was fought between the forces of Hungary, led by King Louis II of Hungary, Louis II, and the invading Ottoman Empire, commanded by Suleima ...

, the country suffered with years of taxation and occupation by the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

. Many villages died out entirely, and their territories were connected to the surviving villages—Mocsa being one of the survivors.

World wars

530 soldiers from Mocsa fought in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, of whom 61 died. In

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 ...

, there were 740 soldiers from the village; 215 were killed. Between March 18–26, 1945, Mocsa was liberated by

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

troops after a bloody battle. Over the following years,

unexploded ordnance Unexploded ordnance (UXO, sometimes abbreviated as UO) and unexploded bombs (UXBs) are explosive weapons (bombs, shell (projectile), shells, grenades, land mines, naval mines, cluster munition, and other Ammunition, munitions) that did not e ...

from the war injured at least 20 people, with four (including a ten-year-old boy) killed.Page 24, Gutai István (1988). ''Mocsai Mozaik.''

Churches

Mocsa's

Roman Catholic 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 ...

church was built in 1756 in the

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

. It was burned down along with the village in 1903, but was restored the following year. The

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

church was built in 1783. It was irrecoverably damaged by artillery during World War II; a new church was built in 1955.

Notes

References

* Gutai István (1988). ''Mocsai Mozaik.'' Komárom: Komárom Megyei Nyomda Vállalat.

External links

Street map (Hungarian)
{{authority control Populated places in Komárom-Esztergom County