Slovakia

The offical name is the Slovak Republic. It is a beautiful country situated in the heart of Europe, surrounded by Poland, Czech Republic, Hugary, Austria and the Ukraine. SLovakia has population of about 5 million people and they are mostly Slovaks living together with other minorities. The capital city is Bratislava. The largest part of Slovakia is mountainous. The basic mountain chain is the Carpatians. The highest place in our country is the Gerlachovsky Stit in the High Tatras, lowest place is the level of the River Bodrog. The southern part of Slovakia is formed by extensive lowlands – Zahorska, Poddunajska and Vychoslovenska. It is an area between the Danube River and the Tatra mountains. Slovakia is rich in natural beauties. You can find here stately mountains with tarns, hills, marvelous valleys, karstic formations, cavec, mineral and thermal springs, deeps leafy and coniferous forests, ...
Slovakia has a continental climate with hot summer and cold winters. The most severe winter is in the High Tatras and the warmest place is around Sturovo. The High Tatras are the highest mountains and are visited by many Slovak and foreign tourists all the year round. The Lower Tatras, the Slovak Paradise are also beautiful and attractive. We have several important rivers but not very many lakes here. Slovakia is not very rich in natural resources and we have to import most of raw materials. The main industrial branches are iron and steel industry, production of man-made fibres, oil rafineries. Clothing and food industries are also very important. Southern and eastern lowlands are the main areas for agriculture. Although Slovakia is not very big country, it has a lot of natural beauties and monuments and sights which are being gradually discovered by foreigners. Our spas (PIestany, Trencianske Teplice) have had high reputation not only in our country. Tourists also like to see our mountains, caves, castles, fortresses (Devin, Krasna Horka, Trencin). The most popular sports in Slovakia are football and ice hockey and we have quite a number of good sportsmen for such a small country. Folk art has a long tradition in the Slovak Republic. There are so many kinds of regional national costumes that cannot be found anywhere else. Great number of folk dance groups has preserved beautiful Slovak folk songs and dances.

Slovak people are said to be nice and friendly, most of them hardworking people.

The Slavs came to the territory of Slovakia in the 5th century AD. The first state was called Samo’s kingdom in the 7th century. In the 9th century Great Moravia Empire came to existence. Its centre was in Nitra. It is connected with spreading of christianity. Brothers Cyril and Methodius from Solonica in Greece came to our territory for Christian mission in 864. They invented a new type of alphabet – Glagolitic and translated religious texts into Slavonic. The Gerat Moravia gained its greatest prosperity under the reign of Svapopluk. After his death the kingdom was gradualy weakened and finally destructed. At the beginning of the 11th Slovakia became the part of the Hungarian monarchy. After the battle of Mohacs in 1526 when Turks defeated Hungarian Army Bratislava became its capital and dynasty of Habsburgs got the throne. In the 18th century the national consciousness of nations in Austro-Hunagarian Monarchy started to grow up. This movement led to the codification of Slovak language in 1843 by L. Stur and his fellows. 1848 was a revolutionary year full of battles in which also Slovaks took aprt to get more civil rights. But the result was only strong national oppresion from ruling Hunagarian administration. After the WWI on the 28th October 1918 the Austro-hungarian Monarchy broke down and Czechoslovak Republic was formed with the first president Tomas Garyque Masaryk. It was a democratic and prosperous state with developed industry. After the Munich dictate CSR was split and Slovak fascisist state with president Jozef Tiso was created. But thanks to the Slovak National Uprising (29.8.1944) our position has changed to winners. After the WWII CSR has been renewed but under the communist dictatorship. In 1968 CSSR was changed into a federal state state and new process of democratization (known as Prague Spring) led by A. Dubcek was stopped by invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops in August. The year of normalization followed. In November 1989 so called Velvet Revolution changed almost everything. The new Slovak republic was estabilished on 1st of January 1993 and Michal Kovac was appointed its first president. .