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This postcard from the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire depicts the main port in Komárno about a hundred years ago. Ships had been anchoring in this town on the Danube for centuries. During the Ottoman invasions of the 16th and 17th centuries, the Habsburgs relied on their Danube fleet, anchored directly in Komárno, as well as a perfectly built fortification system, to protect the entire town. The super-modern fortification succeeded in frustrating the Ottomans, and the town was never captured, despite its proximity. The Ottomans may not have been powerful enough, but two apocalyptic earthquakes, in 1763 and 1783, razed the town to the ground.
Nowadays, Komárno is an ideal tourist destination. The pleasant atmosphere of the old centre together with the wide flow of the river draws tourists exactly as it drew King Matthias Corvinus, who ordered the construction of a renaissance palace there in the 15th century, and frequented it for rest and pleasure.
By Branislav Chovan
