Šurany

Coordinates: 48°05′14″N 18°11′10″E / 48.08722°N 18.18611°E / 48.08722; 18.18611

Šurany Nagysurány
Town
Church of St. Stephen the protomartyr
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Slovakia
Region	Nitra
District	Nové Zámky
River	Nitra
Elevation	123 m (404 ft)
Coordinates	48°05′14″N 18°11′10″E / 48.08722°N 18.18611°E / 48.08722; 18.18611
Area	59.812 km2 (23 sq mi)
Population	10,460 (31 December 2006)
Density	175 / km2 (453 / sq mi)
First mentioned	1138
Mayor	Imrich Varády
Timezone	CET (UTC+1)
- summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	942 01
Phone prefix	421-35
Car plate	NZ
Location in Slovakia
Location in the Nitra Region
Wikimedia Commons: Šurany
Statistics: MOŠ/MIS
Website: http://www.surany.sk

Šurany (until 1927 Veľké Šurany, Hungarian: Nagysurány, German: Schuran, Turkish: Şuran) is a town and a railroad hub in the Nové Zámky District, Nitra Region, southern Slovakia.

Alongside the main settlement, it has the boroughs of Kostolný Sek and Nitriansky Hrádok, both annexed 1976.

History

Archaeological discoveries show that the site of the present-day town was inhabited in the Neolithic. The town was first mentioned under name villa Suran in a document of Hungarian king Béla II in 1138. There was a castle existing since the second half of the 15th century. The town was occupied by the Turks in 1663–84. The castle was torn down in 1725. In 1832 the town was made a royal town with market rights. A sugar factory was established in 1854 (closed in 2000).^[1] The town was part of Hungary until 1920 and in 1938–45 as a consequence of the First Vienna Award.

Geography

Šurany lies at an altitude of 123 metres (404 ft) above sea level and covers an area of 59.812 square kilometres (23.1 sq mi).^[2] It is located in the Danubian Lowland near the Nitra River, 13 kilometres (8 mi) away from Nové Zámky and around 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Bratislava.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the town had 10,491 inhabitants. 97.28% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 1.12% Hungarians, 0.64% Czechs. The religious make-up was 80.02% Roman Catholics, 14.76% people with no religious affiliation, and 1.19% Lutherans.^[2]

People

Šurany featured in an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? featuring Stephen Fry. Fry was tracing his Jewish ancestry in the town.^[3]

References

1. ^ :: Vítajte na stránkach mesta Šurany ::. .:: www.surany.sk ::
2. ^ ^{a b} "Municipal Statistics". Statistical Office of the Slovak republic. Archived from the original on 2008-02-08. http://web.archive.org/web/20080208225314/http://www.statistics.sk/mosmis/eng/run.html. Retrieved 2008-02-10. 
3. ^ ""Who Do You Think You Are?", Series Two: Celebrity Gallery". http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/familyhistory/get_started/wdytya_s2_celeb_gallery_03.shtml. 

External links

• Official website (Slovak, only History is in English as well)