Name

According to geographic-etymological dictionaries, Dág's name developed from German origin Hungarian person names. The area was inhabited during the Stone Age. Findings from the Iron Age and Roman Era have also been made.

The following are documentary mentions of Dág, 1222 Dagu, 1238 Dag, 1283 Daag, 1332 Dag.
In 1262 Queen Maria, wife of King Béla IV, granted the village to Herman, administrator of Esztergom. At the request of Herman's son, Péter, the Queen's grant was verified in 1270 and 1272 by King István. However, in 1275, King László made the title documents retroactive again.

In mediaeval times the village of Dág was situated southwest of its present location. A document from 1262 mentions a church named after St. Michael. In the second half of the 13^th century the village was part of Pilis County.

Document from 1275

A document from the year 1275 defines the boundaries of Dág. At that time the townships of Sáp, Csolnok. Csév, Úny, Kirva, Epöl and Kövi were adjacent to Dág. Also mentioned are the main roads leading from Esztergom to Dág and from Dág to Fehérvár, Buda, and Kirva. From this document we also learn that other citizens of Esztergom, namely nobility of Dág, were also estate owners in Dág.

In 1323 King Charles Robert granted the village to István, chief administrator of Pest County, and the ancestor of valiant Sáfár János. In the 14^th century the village was taken away from this family by King Zsigmond and given to Vörös László.

The papal decem list of 1332^_37 mentions Dág as a significant parish paying 2 pennies. The priest's name was Miklós (Nicholas) and his parish was part of the Veszprém diocese.

In 1335 Jacob and Andrew of Dág are mentioned as being house owners in Esztergom-St. Paul. In 1364 Peter and Herman were the owners of Dág. In 1415, through the intervention of Garai János, the Vitéz family was reinstated as owner of Dág. In 1472 Vitez Janos, archbishop of Esztergom, deeded the village to the Cathedral chapter. In 1481 Dag's name is also mentioned. In many of the following years there is no mention of the settlement, although it was populated until 1560. It was probably devastated by the Turkish occupation forces. According to the Turkish tax register of 1570, "Tág" is a depopulated wilderness next to Sáp.

After the Turkish occupation

Only in the beginning of the 18^th century does the village get settled anew at its present location, mainly by Slovak settlers from the Highland (Slovakia) and later by German settlers from nearby villages. The 1715^_20 tax register lists Dág as an estate belonging to Kiscsév, populated by 7 serf and 4 crofter families (5 Hungarian and 6 Slovak). The 1731 register listed one potter and one weaver working in Dág. According to the 1732 church visitation, the village was the property of the Esztergom Cathedral chapter. At that time the village's population consisted of 6 serf and 7 crofter families.

The church visitation of 1755 reports that there were 2 crucifixes in Dág: one in the village next to the bell-mount, and the other in the cemetery. The population count amounted to 252 Catholics.

The census of 1784^_87 mentions a population of 417 persons consisting of 87 families and living in 67 houses.

Registry of births, marriages, and deaths started in the year 1789. In 1805 Dág was separated from Kiscsév and again became an independent parish. (Afterwards Kiscsév lost its village identity and was annexed to Dág as an estate.) In 1812 the elementary school was established, probably at the site of the present day kindergarten. In 1826 the landlord commissioned the building of a classicist style church whose patron saint was Katharina of Alexandria.

By 1860 a steady stream of German settlers joined the Slovak population, and thus in the middle of the 18^th century Dág became a trilingual community (German, Hungarian, Slovak), with the Germans and Slovaks being the majority. In 1878 a German settler, Thomas Illy, had a chapel built south of town at a main road crossing.

The 20th century

At the beginning of the 20^th century some villagers immigrated to America. During WW I, 54 men were conscripted of whom 14 lost their lives in battle.

In the years between the World Wars, coal mining was the main occupation of the villagers. During the depression years some families moved to France to work in coalmines.

WW II saw the area become a battlefield for 3 months. Fighting ceased March 25, 1945. This war claimed the lives of 12 servicemen from Dág. Marble plaques installed inside the church bear witness in their honor. The village was partially affected by the Slovak-Hungarian inhabitant exchange, as well as by the resettlement of German villagers. Surviving the postwar era was assured through agriculture, as well as mining in Csolnok.

By 1970 the town's population had tripled in numbers.

Reference literature:

• Horváth, I.-H. Kelemen, M.-Torma, I.: Magyarország régészeti topográfiája 5., Akadémiai Kiadó Budapest, 1979
• Dr. Borovszky, Samu: Esztergom Vármegye Bp. 1989, Reprint
• Osváth, Andor: Komárom es Esztergom Közigazgatásilag egyelöre egyesitett vármegyék múltja és jelene Bp. 1938
• Esztergomi Sematizmus 1982
• Komárom-Esztergom megye településtörténeti kalauza, Tatabánya 1993

English by Johann Steiner