Komarno

Komarno is a medieval town built on an island where the Vah and Nitra rivers meet the Danube. It is Slovakia’s principal port on the Danube and home to the fort of Komárno, the largest bastion fortification in Central Europe.

We visited the town in February 2023 whilst travelling through central Europe on our way to Greece.

Never having visited Slovakia before we had no idea what to expect. I have to say we were pleasantly surprised by Komarno. One of the oldest towns in Slovakia with plenty to see, including the fort, Zichy Palace, Danubeland Museum, Neo-romanesque Town Hall, and Courtyard of Europe. A really lovely town to explore.

To quote Wikipedia,

Komárno (Hungarian: Komárom, German: Komorn, Serbian: Коморан, romanized: Komoran), colloquially also called Révkomárom, Öregkomárom, Észak-Komárom in Hungarian, is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube and the Váh rivers. Historically it was formed by the “old town” on the left bank of the Danube, present-day Komárno in Slovakia, and by a “new town” on the right bank, present-day Komárom in Hungary, which were historically one administrative unit. Following World War I and the Treaty of Trianon, the border of the newly created Czechoslovakia cut the historical, unified town in half, creating two new independent towns in two countries. Komárno and Komárom are connected by the Elisabeth Bridge, which used to be an official border crossing between Slovakia and Hungary until border checks were lifted due to the Schengen Area rules. In 2020, a new road bridge was opened.

Komárno is Slovakia’s principal port on the Danube. It is also the center of the Hungarian community in Slovakia, which makes up 53.8% (2011 census) of the town’s population. The town is the historic seat of the Serbian national minority in Slovakia.

The Fort of Komarno

The Fort of Komarno is actually a series of fortifications, bastions, and other defensive structures situated in Komarno, Slovakia, and across the Danube in Komarom, Hungary.

The oldest part, the Old Fortress, was built in the 16th century on the site of the former medieval castle. In the 17th century, it was expanded by the addition of the New Fortress.

Earthquakes in the 18th century damaged the fortress severely, subsequently being restored by Napoleon I. He upgraded and expanded it into the largest fortification system of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which could accommodate 200,000 soldiers.

In 2003, it became the property of the Town of Komárno, and since then, it has been gradually restored.

Buildings of Note

Aside from the fortress and the Courtyard of Europe, there are many other interesting buildings.

The Roman Lapidarium, Officers Pavillion, and the Danube Museum (located in the Palace of Culture) are all magnificent to name a few.

The Courtyard of Europe

Europe Place is situated behind Klapka Square in the former backyard of the Zichy Palace. The construction of the houses and the square was initiated by local architects, who symbolically wanted to bring Europe together in architecture. They designed 44 buildings, each of them representing the typical architecture of a given European nation.

The square was opened with 41 buildings on 16 December 2000. The nationality of each house is indicated on a small copper plate above the entrances. In the front part of the courtyard, there is a copy of the music pavilion that originally stood in front of the New Fortress in English Park.

The wooden construction in front of the German house is called the Peace Bell Tower. If one takes a closer look, it can be seen that its base is made from pieces of tombstones to symbolise timelessness. The commemorative plaque on the wall of the German house says that the first synagogue of the town was in that building.

Parking

There is ample free parking in the town. The biggest and easiest is right at the foot of the fortress on Hradna. From there both the fortress and town centre can easily be accessed on foot.