ŠAMORÍN’S HISTORICAL PAST
The town was first mentioned as Villa Sancta Maria in records dating from 1238. At the end of the 14th century it was already a centre for trade on Rye Island (Žitný ostrov). In 1405, King Sigismund granted the town the title of a Royal Free Town with special rights.
The town’s handicraft industry was famous; the first trade union was established by the furriers in 1555. Later, the tailors, shoemakers, traders, millers, wheelwrights, potters, locksmiths, belt makers, goldsmiths, weavers, soap makers, knife makers, cattle merchants, and fishermen all established their respective unions.
Battles with the Turks in the second part of the 16th century put an end to the town’s steady development. In 1589, the town lost its Royal Free Town status, and was demoted to Market Town status. Only later, starting in the 17th century, did the town regain its role as the agricultural and trading centre of Upper Rye Island. Until 1960, Šamorín
was a district seat, and then it became part of the Dunajská Streda district. The town’s population is currently over 13,000.