| Galanta | |
| Other Name: | Galánta |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Slovakia |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Trnava |
| Subdivision Type3: | District |
| Subdivision Name3: | Galanta |
| Pushpin Map: | Slovakia Trnava Region#Slovakia |
| Pushpin Relief: | 1 |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Galanta in the Trnava Region |
| Coordinates: | 48.1889°N 17.7264°W |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Mgr. Peter Kolek |
| Established Title: | First mentioned |
| Established Date: | 1237 |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 33.91 |
| Elevation M: | 119[2] |
| Population Footnotes: | [3] |
| Population Total: | 15277 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | CET |
| Utc Offset1: | +1 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 924 01 |
| Area Code: | +421 31 |
| Blank Name: | Car plate |
| Blank Info: | GA |
| Website: | www.galanta.sk |
| Elevation Ft: | 390 |
| Area Note: | |
Galanta (Hungarian: Galánta, German: Gallandau) is a town (about 15,000 inhabitants) in the Trnava Region of Slovakia. It is situated 50 km due east of the Slovak capital Bratislava.
The name is derived from a Slavic name Golęta (initially a collective name of a youth group selected from a kin and responsible for guarding).[4] [5] A pre-Hungarian origin of the settlement is documented by the Proto-Slavic nasal "ę" conserved in the name (GalaNta; compare with Czech Holetín and Holetice).[6]
Galanta lies in the Danubian Lowland (Podunajská nížina), the warm southern part of Slovakia. There are many agricultural fields around Galanta, where wheat, corn, and other vegetables and fruits are grown.
The area around Galanta has been inhabited almost continuously since the Neolithic. From the second half of the 10th century until 1918, it was part of the Kingdom of Hungary. The first written record of Galanta is from 1237 in a Royal Decree by Béla IV of Hungary. Through the years, the settlement was under the lordship of various noble families including the Esterházy de Galantha and the Fekete de Galantha. Beginning in 1421, the Eszterházy family ruled the town and the surrounding area. In 1613 or 1614, Galanta was promoted to a free market town. Before the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia in 1918, Galanta was part of Pozsony County. After the break-up of Austria-Hungary in 1918/1920, the town became part of the newly created Czechoslovakia. As a result of the First Vienna Award, it returned to Hungary between 1938 and 1945. On 31 March 1945, Galanta was captured by troops of the Soviet 2nd Ukrainian Front and became again part of Czechoslovakia.
Galanta is an old town where most historical buildings have unfortunately been damaged or destroyed in World War II. During the Communist era of Czechoslovakia (1948–1989) the architecture of the town has further deteriorated as historic buildings were razed and replaced by prefabricated concrete apartment complexes and buildings. There are two important historical buildings left. The first one is Esterházys' Neo-Gothic Castle and the second one is the Renaissance castle (the two are often referred to as manor houses rather than castles).[7] The Esterházys' Neo-Gothic Castle is in a state of disrepair and has been closed to the public since the late 1980s. The Renaissance castle was renovated in the 1990s and is being used as a museum, exhibition space and cultural center.
According to the 2021 census, the town had 15,052 inhabitants. 83.07% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 7.72% Hungarians, 0.17% Roma and 0.50% Czechs.[8] The religious makeup was 49.72% Roman Catholics, 32.62% people with no religious affiliation and 4.07% Lutherans.[8]
In 1910, 89.6% of the population reported Hungarian as primary language, 6.2% Slovak, 3.5% German or Yiddish. The religious make-up was 65.3% Roman Catholic, 32.4% Jewish and 1.3% Lutheran.
The Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály spent most of his childhood in this town and composed the Dances of Galánta (1933, for orchestra) based on the folk music of this region.
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Slovakia.
Albignasego, Italy (2007)
Mikulov, Czech Republic (2003)
Paks, Hungary (1998) Tótkomlós, Hungary (1999) Kecskemét, Hungary (1998)
Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia (2006)
Bečej, Serbia (2001)