The town was first mentioned in 1211. It received royal free town privileges as the first town in Slovakia in 1238. The town had its height as a cultural and religious centre, as it was seat of archbishopric from 1541 to 1820. The first horse-drawn railway in the Kingdom of Hungary was built to Trnava from Bratislava in 1846. It is again an seat of archbishopric since 1978. In 2003, French car manufacturer PSA started construction of automobile plant. It was finished in 2006