SK, Galanta: A Center of the Danube Region - VIDEO

From the history of the town, we mention the year 1421, when the famous Esterházy family acquired part of Galanta and for many years set the direction and pace of the town's development. A small - large reminder of these times are two magnificent mansions.

The first of them is a neo-Gothic mansion situated in the city park. It was built in 1633 and subsequently rebuilt in the Baroque style in 1729. However, it acquired its current form in 1861 after a radical reconstruction by Jozef Esterházy, who was inspired by romantic English Gothic. It is interesting that Jozef Esterházy's family was the last to occupy the mansion and its members are buried in the chapel at the local cemetery. 

On a walk around the manor, be sure to notice an architectural element in the form of a Gothic tower, which became the basis for the creation of the city's coat of arms. Today, the northern wing of the mansion is mainly used for organizing exhibitions and cultural and social events. There are two memorial rooms on the first floor, namely the room of world-famous composer Zoltán Kodály and the room of singer Karol Duchoň, a native of Galanta.

In addition to the mansion and the well-maintained natural environment, the city park also offers a monument to the composer Zoltán Kodály. The result of the activities of this collector of folk music and songs was the birth of a symphonic composition from 1933 called Gallant Dances (Galántai táncok). The park is also home to the two-story building of the Jozef Haydn Elementary Art School, which educates future piano, brass, string, guitar and singing talents.

In a nearby park, you will come across a monument to the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. Local residents also honored the memory of the victims of cholera, which ravaged here in 1873, in the form of four plague columns, three of which have been preserved to this day.

Galanta is also proud of her native - bohemian singer Karol Duchoň, whom she commemorates with a bronze bust by the academic sculptor Ladislav Sab in front of the residential building on Hlavná Street, where this one of the most popular singers in Czechoslovakia lived. 

Our next stop will be the second, this time a Renaissance mansion belonging to the already mentioned noble family of Esterházy. It is located near Esterházyovcov Street and was built at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. Its original two-track layout has been preserved with minor changes to this day. Today, this monument is used mainly for exhibition activities, but there is also a ceremonial hall.

We will move to the local Old Cemetery (Bratislavská Street), near which stands the Chapel of St. Ján Nepomucký built in 1827. The place of worship itself is dominated by the Neo-Gothic funeral chapel of the Esterházy family, built in 1871 and restored in 1998. In addition to it, you will also find the Chapel of St. families from 1850 or the stone Central Cross. 

Opposite the cemetery stands the house of Matica slovenská, which provides cultural-social, educational, interest-creative, entertaining and relaxing activities in the linguistically mixed area of southern Slovakia. In addition, it focuses on caring for repatriates and maintaining contacts with Slovaks from Hungary, Yugoslavia and Romania. There is a bust of Milan Rastislav Štefánik at the entrance to the building. A short distance away, there is a memorial stone with a plaque to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the return of natives from abroad to Galanta. 

We have left out the city centre. Its dominant feature is certainly the Roman Catholic Church of St. Stephen the King. This monumental two-towered classical building with baroque elements was built between 1797 and 1800 and consecrated in 1805. The interior stands out in particular for its precious baroque altar, which comes from the original furnishing of a demolished baroque chapel from 1741. Also remarkable is the Renaissance tumba (stone tombstone) of Ladislav Kubinyi from the end of the 16th century. In front of the secular church there is a massive cross in red marble. 

Right next to the church or rectory is the former bank building from 1915, which was established in 1969 and documents the development of the town and the region with a narrower specialization on the tradition of milling in the Little Danube basin. On the museum building there is a memorial plaque of Zoltán Kodály, as well as a plaque announcing the Museum of the Year award.

Among the last tourist attractions of the town is the Galandia thermal centre, which, in addition to the water world and relaxation, also includes a children's "Spray Park". In the vicinity of the aquapark there is a House of Sports, a sports hall, a tennis complex and a football stadium. We must also mention the events, one of the biggest of which is the Galanta market. It is a three-day celebration of the town, combined with shopping, entertainment and relaxation, held annually, usually at the end of the second week of August. 

Galanta is very rich in sacral and cultural monuments, which do not fit into one article. That is why we will definitely come back to this town again, but until then we highly recommend you to visit it.  

GPS: 48°11'35.2"N 17°44'06.8"E

Text, photos, and video: Pavol Jemala, Slovensko zdola

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