{{Infobox Slovak place | name = Čataj | other_name = Csataj | settlement_type = Municipality <!-- images, nickname, motto --> | image_skyline = Čataj kostol 04.jpg | image_caption = Church of Saint Margaret of Antioch | image_flag = Cataj-senec-flag.svg | image_shield = Cataj 1090 1308.jpg <!-- location --> | subdivision_type1 = Region | subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Bratislava Region}} | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_name2 = Senec District <!-- maps and coordinates --> | pushpin_map = Slovakia Bratislava Region#Slovakia | pushpin_relief = 1 | pushpin_map_caption = Location of Čataj in the Bratislava Region##Location of Čataj in Slovakia | coordinates = {{coord|48.27|N|17.48|E|region:SK|display=inline,title}} <!-- government --> | leader_title = | leader_name = | leader_party = <!-- established --> | established_title = First mentioned | established_date = 1244 <!-- elevation --> | elevation_footnotes = <ref name="base_info">{{Cite web |url=http://datacube.statistics.sk/#!/view/sk/VBD_SK_WIN/om5001rr/v_om5001rr_00_00_00_sk |title=Základná charakteristika |language=sk |date=2015-04-17 |website=www.statistics.sk |publisher= Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic|access-date=2022-03-31}}</ref> | elevation_m = 133 <!-- postal codes, area code --> | postal_code_type = Postal code | postal_code = 900 83<ref name="base_info"/> | area_code = +421 33<ref name="base_info"/> |registration_plate = SC <!-- website, footnotes --> | website = {{URL|https://www.cataj.sk/}} }}

'''Čataj''' ({{langx|hu|Csataj}}) is a village and municipality in western Slovakia in Senec District in the Bratislava region. This typical agricultural village has fewer than 1000 inhabitants and is located aside from major roads, roughly between Senec and Trnava.

==Etymology== ''Čata'': the archaic name for residents responsible for guarding the assigned area (in the modern Slovak ''čata'': a squad).<ref name="krajcovic">{{cite journal | first = Rudolf | last = Krajčovič | title = Z lexiky stredovekej slovenčiny s výkladmi názvov obcí a miest (8) | journal = Kultúra slova | year = 2008 | issue = 2 | page = 89 | publisher = Vydavateľstvo Matice slovenskej | location = Martin}}</ref> Chatey ''1244'', Czataj ''1773''.<ref name="krajcovic"/> See also Čata in the Levice District.

== Geography == {{Slovak municipality/geo|133|<ref name="base_info"/>}}

==History== Early archaeological digs show that people settled the area around Čataj as early as 5000 BC. The town was mentioned for the first time in 1244, under the name "posesio Chatey". In the next few centuries the town and surrounding lands were given as gifts to several different families loyal to the Hungarian crown.

In the 14th century, German colonists settled in Čataj, and until the 18th century the town was almost exclusively German. During this period, the town built a Catholic rectory (1397) and a church in 1721. Later, in 1845 the current church was built in Neoclassical style. The church was repaired twice in the second half of the twentieth century, and along with a much newer Catholic Evangelical church serve the local community.<ref name="cataj.sk">http://www.cataj.sk Official home page {{in lang|sk}}</ref>

==Culture and entertainment== Čataj is famous primarily for its ornamental embroidery of blouses and tablecloths. These artworks have been sold all over the world, and one of them is said to have served as Pope John Paul II's tablecloth. Folk art also survives in the form of two music bands, the brass band ''Čatajanka'' and the gypsy folk band ''Farkašovci'', which have toured beyond the borders of Slovakia. In addition, the village has a local folk dance group, ''Tulipán''.

Due to its quiet and slow life and its agricultural character, Čataj has been often used as backdrops for movies and other art by movie directors Martin Slivka and Martin Ťapák, the cinematographer, photographer and folk art collector Karol Plicka and others.

In addition to folk art, the village organizes annual hunts and has a soccer team, which is regularly on the last place of Slovakia's lowest, sixth division of its soccer league. The village also organizes numerous dances in its cultural center.<ref name="cataj.sk" />

== Population == {{Slovak municipality|pop}}

It has a population of {{Slovak municipality|p}} people (31 December {{Slovak municipality|y}}).{{Slovak municipality|P}}

=== Ethnicity === {{Slovak municipality|etno}}

=== Religion === {{Slovak municipality|relig}}

In 2004 the town had 972 inhabitants: 471 men and 501 women. 99.1% were of Slovak ethnicity; the only two declared minorities were Hungarian and Czech. 64.3% of inhabitants were Roman Catholic, 24.8% Evangelical Catholic and 7.3% atheist.

Of the 314 houses in the village 261 were permanently inhabited

==See also== * List of municipalities and towns in Slovakia

==References== {{reflist}}

==Genealogical resources==

The records for genealogical research are available at the state archive "Statny Archiv in Bratislava, Slovakia"

* Roman Catholic church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1728-1895 (parish A) * Lutheran church records (births/marriages/deaths): 1701-1896 (parish B)

==External links== {{commons category-inline|Čataj}} * [https://www.cataj.sk Official page] *[http://www.cisarik.com/0_Cataj_Senec_BL_Pozsony_Bratislava.html'''Surnames''' of living people in Cataj]

{{Senec District}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cataj}} Category:Villages and municipalities in Senec District Category:Archaeological sites in Slovakia