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THIS POSTCARD from 1915 shows two towns: Štúrovo, which lies along the border with Hungary; and, in the background, a cathedral in the Hungarian town of Esztergom. Between the church in the foreground and the cathedral is the Danube, though it is out of view. At the time the photo was taken, Štúrovo was a poor "field town", which was an old term for small towns isolated in the countryside. It is likely that the postcard's sender, a Czech soldier on his way to the bloody battlefields of World War One, saw the town this way.
Štúrovo suffered greatly during Ottoman raids because of its location directly on the border of the Empire. At that time, Štúrovo was called Parkan. After Ottomans completely destroyed it, along with a nearby castle, in 1543, the town was rebuilt close to a fortification that protected the bridge over the Danube to Esztergom. This is how the towns came to be located so close to each other.
Prepared by Branislav Chovan
