Mosonmagyaróvár (; ; also known by other alternative names) is a town in Győr-Moson-Sopron County in northwestern Hungary. It lies close to both the Austrian and Slovakian borders and has a population of 32,752 (). Mosonmagyaróvár used to be two separate towns, Magyaróvár (, ) and Moson (, ). The town of Moson was the original capital of Moson County in the Kingdom of Hungary, but the county seat was moved to Magyaróvár during the Middle Ages. The two towns were combined in 1939, and by now almost all signs of dualism have disappeared, as the space between the two towns has become physically and culturally developed. Due to the name's length, Mosonmagyaróvár is also referred to as Óvár amongst locals and Moson by foreigners. The Hansági Museum can be found in Mosonmagyaróvár. Etymology and names The name Moson comes from Slavic *mъšьnъ 'mossy', in the wider meaning also 'moss-covered mud, marsh', elided from mъšьnъ (gradъ) 'castle in the marsh' (see also Mšeno, Mszana). The settlement was attested in written sources as Mussun in 1137. The name Magyaróvár literally means 'ancient Hungarian castle' in Hungarian, although the prefix Magyar- was only added to the name after confusion with a similarly named town in Austria called Deutsch-Altenburg (), literally 'ancient German castle'). The "ancient castle" referred to in Mosonmagyaróvár is the ruins of the Roman fortress Ad Flexum. The settlement was attested in written sources as Altenburch in 1271. The two names were simply combined when the two towns were administratively unified (as with Budapest), rather than being hyphenated as Moson-Magyaróvár. The city is also known by alternative names in other languages: , , and . History The area around Mosonmagyaróvár has been inhabited since the 5th millennium BC, but settlement of the city proper can only be traced to around the 1st century, which was when the Roman Empire was extended to the Danube, creating the province of Pannonia. The Romans established a camp called Ad Flexum (Latin: "towards the bend") at the site of Mosonmagyaróvár; it is likely that the Hungarians from the Árpád era would name the place Óvár due to the Roman ruins which would still be present during the 11th century. The purpose of Ad Flexum was to defend the Mosoni-Duna, but the security the legions provided also drew civilian settlement, especially since a major east–west trade route ran through the area. Circa 170 AD, Germanic