National and historical symbols of Hungary

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Csátalja

(Bács-Kiskun County)

Csátalja is a settlement of great historical past in the southern Great Plain region of Hungary.

Renaissance shield erect and quarterly, gules and azure. In dexter chief gules the full figure of King St. Stephen is borne. He is wearing a robe vert, tied with a belt or. His cloak is or, he is holding a sceptre and resting his sinister hand on his sword hilted or. His head is adorned with the Holy Crown or. In sinister chief azure a bunch of grapes or is borne encouped, leaved vert. Vine leaf is partially covering the grapes. In dexter base azure a demi-sword is issuing from ground vert. Sword is bladed argent and hilted or. The charge of the sun or is borne toward the dexter and the moon crescent and argent toward the sinister. In sinister base gules two fork-tailed swallows are borne, one of them flying toward the dexter, the other one toward the sinister.

The upper edge of the shield is topped by a battle helm borne affronté, its visor is closed. Helm is adorned with an open five-pointed verdured crown or, decorated with rubies.

Mantling is azure and or.

The coat-of-arms of Csátalja is one of the so-called canting arms (tessera loquens), since it features charges, which are all related to the settlement’s historical past.

The appearance of King St. Stephen int he shield symbolises the fact that from the earliest times onward Csátalja was a Christian settlement and it also had a church of its own. Csátalja also had a monastery. (The monastery of Tárnok). The local church was rebuilt in the 18th century and it was then consecrated to honour the knightly king, St. Stephen. The king’s figure also appeared as charge in the settlement’s seal of 1732.

The fork-tailed swallows are typical birds in this region, and, at the same time, they also refer to the origin of the settlement’s name. The word ’Csátalja’ is likely to have derived from ’catal’, a word of Turkish origin, meaning ’fork, ’fork-shaped crossing’. In the Middle Ages two roads of great significance met here, at the monastery.

In the 19th-20th centuries viniculture became one of the most important occupations in the village. This fact is symbolised by the depiction of the vine leaf in the settlement’s coat-of-arms.

During the great migrations in the period of the two world wars Széklers from Transylvanis were settled in. The sword motif, the miraculous weapon of Attila the Hun, and the ancient symbols of Széklers, the sun and the moon are references to this period.

The helm is to commemorate those inhabitants of the village, who died heroically in history, while the crown symbolises the settlement’s autonomy.

By introducing the key events of the settlement’s past the new emblem of the village emphasises the importance of the duty of Csátalja’s inhabitants, that is working toward a happy common future, and it also contributes to the strengthening of the idea of the necessity of cooperation and patriotism for them.