Time for yet another "Then & Now" photograph!
This time, the photograph takes us to the Hungarian town of Komárom during the 1930s. Situated on the southern bank of the Danube, Komárom occupies a unique place in Hungarian history as one of Europe's divided cities. Following the Treaty of Trianon in 1920, the town was split in two, with the northern half becoming part of Czechoslovakia (today Komárno, Slovakia), while the southern half remained in Hungary.
The photograph depicts the Hungarian border crossing, with the bridge spanning the Danube leading to the Slovak side of the city in the background. In the foreground, civilians wait alongside members of the Hungarian Border Police, whose duties included passport control, customs supervision, and the security of one of the country's most important international crossings.
More than a simple street scene, the photograph captures the everyday reality of a city divided by a new international frontier. For the people of Komárom, the bridge no longer connected two parts of the same town—it had become the gateway between two countries.
Today, this photograph stands as a valuable reminder of a unique chapter in Central European history, preserving a moment from everyday life at the Hungarian–Czechoslovak border during the interwar years.
