Štúrovo Roman heritage and battle site

Slovakian city of Štúrovo (city: 11,500 inhabitants) was known until 1948 as the Slovakian city of Parkan. Its Hungarian name was Párkány, its German name Gockern. Until 1920 and the Treaty of Trianon, the town was part of the kingdom of Hungary. After a short period being part of Czechoslovakia, it was returned to Hungary in 1938. In 1944 and 1945, it was occupied by Soviet troops.

The history of Štúrovo says, as settlement dates back to prehistoric times, that it was always an important place to cross the Danube. Romans built a fortified place here as part of the Roman Limes and called it Avanum. First mentioning in medieval times was in 1075 AD, when a fishermen`s village at this place was called Kakath. It became really important, around 1546 only, when the settlement was extended to a military stronghold by the Ottoman army, during wars between Habsburg and Ottoman Empires. The city is located directly on the Danube; right across the river is the city of Esztergom. Also, the city is on the border with Hungary. The border is in the middle of the Mária Valéria Bridge (Hungarian: Mária Valéria híd; Slovakian: Most Márie Valérie), which was first opened in 1895 and re-opened in 2001, after having been destroyed on 26th December, 1944. Štúrovo and surroundings are part of the Ister-Granum Euroregion, regional cross-border development project sponsored by EU.

The city became famous through the Battle of Párkány, which took place from the 7th to 9th of October, 1683. Finally, troops of John III Sobieski, supported by Austrians under Charles V Duke of Lorraine, defeated here the Ottomans decisively. It is said, that only 800 of once 40,000 Ottoman soldiers escaped.

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