| Official Name: | Tata |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Pushpin Map: | Hungary |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Tata in Hungary |
| Coordinates: | 47.6526°N 18.3238°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Central Transdanubia |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Komárom-Esztergom |
| Subdivision Type3: | District |
| Subdivision Name3: | Tata |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | József Michl[1] (Fidesz–KDNP) |
| Area Total Km2: | 78.17 |
| Population Total: | 23881[2] |
| Population As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Demonym |
| Population Blank1: | tatai |
| Demographics Type1: | Population by ethnicity |
| Demographics1 Footnotes: | [3] |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Hungarians |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 87.5% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Germans |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 2.0% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | Romanis |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 0.7% |
| Demographics1 Title4: | Slovaks |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 0.3% |
| Demographics1 Title5: | Romanians |
| Demographics1 Info5: | 0.1% |
| Demographics1 Title6: | Greeks |
| Demographics1 Info6: | 0.1% |
| Demographics1 Title7: | Others |
| Demographics Type2: | Population by religion |
| Demographics2 Footnotes: | [4] |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Roman Catholic |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 31.5% |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Greek Catholic |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 0.4% |
| Demographics2 Title3: | Calvinists |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 13.7% |
| Demographics2 Title4: | Lutherans |
| Demographics2 Info4: | 1.4% |
| Demographics2 Title5: | Jews |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 0.1% |
| Demographics2 Title6: | Other |
| Demographics2 Info6: | 1.1% |
| Demographics2 Title7: | Non-religious |
| Demographics2 Info7: | 21.0% |
| Demographics2 Title8: | Unknown |
| Demographics2 Info8: | 30.7% |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 2890 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | (+36) 34 |
| Blank Name: | Motorways |
| Blank Info: | M1 |
| Blank2 Name: | Distance from Budapest |
| Blank2 Info: | 68.2km (42.4miles) East |
Tata (German: Totis; Latin: Dotis) is a town in Komárom-Esztergom County, northwestern Hungary, 90NaN0 northwest of the county town Tatabánya.
Tata is located in the valley between the Gerecse Mountains and Vértes Mountains, some 700NaN0 from Budapest, the Hungarian capital city. By virtue of its location, it is a railway and road junction. Motorway M1 (E60, E75) from Vienna to Budapest passes through the outer city limits, and the railway line Budapest–Vienna goes through the city.
Tata's climate is classified as oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb). The annual average temperature is, the hottest month in July is, and the coldest month is in January. The annual precipitation is, of which July is the wettest with, while February is the driest with only . The extreme temperature throughout the year ranged from on December 28, 1996 to on August 8, 2013.
According to the 2001 census, the town has 23,937 inhabitants: 93.3% Hungarians, 1.6% Germans, 0.6% Roma, 0.2% Slovaks and 6.5% other.[5]
The area has been inhabited since prehistoric times; archaeological findings date back to 50,000 BCE. Later it was a Roman settlement.
The first known mention of Tata is from 1221. Its name may come from the name of Lombard king Tato.[6] Its castle was built by the Lackfi family and had its prime under Matthias Corvinus, who had it rebuilt in a Renaissance style.
In 1526 when the disastrous battle with the Turks happened and Louis II died in the battlefield, Count György Cseszneky was the castellan of the Castle Tata. The plundering Ottoman army ransacked the area, but Cseszneky successfully defended the castle.
During the Ottoman occupation, the castle of Tata was an important fortress. It was captured in 1543 by the Turks. During this period the castle had many different owners until it was burned down by the Habsburgs in retaliation for the Rákóczi's War of Independence.
In 1727, Count József Esterházy bought Tata and the surrounding villages. The town prospered, in 1765 it already had a secondary school.
According to the article in the Pallas Lexicon about Tata in 1851, the town was a "pretty and developing village in the Tata district of Komárom comitatus; 895 buildings, 6925 mostly Hungarian residents (3633 Roman Catholics, 2518 Lutherans and 673 Israelites), centre of the district, with secondary school, railway station, post office. Tata and the adjoining village Tóváros (4257 residents) are built around a large lake, Tata on the hillside, and Tóváros on the plain. Between them, there are the Esterházy mansion and an old castle with an archive and a gallery which included a painting of Leonardo da Vinci. The theatre was built in 1889. The mansion is surrounded by the English garden (140 hectares)."[7]
In 1938, the village of Tóváros was annexed to Tata. So thus, the city was renamed Tatatóváros but only for a short while; one year later, it was named Tata again.
During World War II, Tata was captured by Soviet troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front on 19 March 1945 during the course of the Vienna Offensive.
Tata was granted town status in 1954.
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Hungary. Tata is twinned with:[8]
Dammarie-lès-Lys, France (1993)
Arenzano, Italy (1994)
Svodín, Slovakia (1997) Montebelluna, Italy (2000)
Sovata, Romania (2002)
Pińczów, Poland (2004)
Bystřice, Czech Republic
Kanjiža, Serbia