The idea to publish a book which would showcase the history of Diószeg in pictures sprung from our own experience which indicated that a picture is often more meaningful and more powerful than words. Many very important publications of scholars are only understood by experts, but our audience was the general public, so we chose this presentation form.
The publication shows the timespan from the second half of the 19. century, from the beginnings of the Kuffner sugar refinery, up until the years of socialism.
OZ PONVAGLI has received thousands of photographs and documents over the years which have been digitalised and made into an archive. This archive was the source of our publication. At times it was hard to choose the best material, at other times it was even harder to obtain them. We arranged the images by themes: Maps, Town, Kuffner manor, Small manor, Churches, Mausoleum, Memorial, Sugar refinery, Canning factory, Mills, Barracks (outskirts), Dudváh river, Railways, Health care, Schooling, Culture, Seniors club, Sports and Diószeg in color.
Here we offer a brief history of the town for a better understanding.
The first written mention of Sládkovičovo (until 1947 known as Diószeg) can be found in documents from Béla IV of Hungary in 1252. The name of the village is said to originate from a „walnut forest” found here. In 1301 the village leader was Milóš Dudvágy and his family, whose ancestors had been working and living here for a long time. In 1337 Péter Orros became the new village leader, appointed by Louis I of Hungary. In 1530 the village and its surroundings were destroyed by Ottoman forces. Twenty-two inhabited houses were there in 1553 which belonged to the Poor Clares of Buda until the order was dissolved on the orders of Joseph II. The village belonged to the Church after that until it was bought by the Erdődy family and then by the Esterházy family.
The village received the status of a town in 1582, and in the 17th century the Royal Highway (Via regia) was built through Diószeg. The settlement had the rights to organize fairs and collect tolls. There were two important buildings during this time: the manor and the church. During the uprising of Francis II Rákoczi, Diószeg was strengthened by the imperial duke Quido Stahremberg but he could not prevent the town from burning down in 1709.
Joseph II populated Diószeg with German farmers and artisans in 1786. Later two separate villages were created: German and Hungarian Diószeg (Németh Diószeg and Magyar Diószeg). Following the Esterházy family, the Zichy family became the new owners of the area.
The railway which connected Bratislava to Budapest was built through Diószeg in 1850, leading to huge industrial growth in the region. In 1867 the sugar refinery, built by the Jewish Kuffner family and the brothers Gutmann, who were Austrian bankers, started production. The sugar refinery and the Kuffner industrial complex, built by Baron Karl Kuffner de Diószeg, changed the reputation of the settlement and became known throughout Europe as a centre for Austro-Hungarian sugar refining. In 1870 Diószeg had its status as a town renewed.
In 1918 the birth of the Czechoslovak republic influenced the municipality’s operations.
Two world wars, two financial crises, the deportation of the Jews in 1944, the deportation of the Germans in 1946, the deportation of the Hungarians in 1947 to Hungary and Czechia, and the resettlement of the Slovaks from Hungary changed the ethnic complexity of the municipality.
On 1 January 1983, Sládkovičovo became a town yet again. In 1986 the village of Malá Mača was merged with the town, but became separate again in 2002.
