Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a
landlocked country
A landlocked country is a country that does not have territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie on endorheic basins. There are currently 44 landlocked countries and 4 landlocked de facto states. Kazakhstan is the world's largest ...
in
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...
. It is bordered by
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
to the north,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
to the east,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
to the south,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
to the southwest, and the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
to the northwest. Slovakia's mostly mountainous territory spans about , with a population of over 5.4 million. The capital and largest city is
Bratislava, while the second largest city is
Košice.
The
Slavs arrived in the territory of present-day Slovakia in the fifth and sixth centuries. In the seventh century, they played a significant role in the creation of
Samo's Empire
Samo's Empire (also known as Samo's Kingdom or Samo's State) is the historiographical name for the West Slavic tribal union established by King (" Rex") Samo, which existed between 623 and 658 in Central Europe. The centre of the union was most ...
. In the ninth century, they established the
Principality of Nitra
The Principality of Nitra ( sk, Nitrianske kniežatstvo, Nitriansko, Nitrava, lit=Duchy of Nitra, Nitravia, Nitrava; hu, Nyitrai Fejedelemség), also known as the Duchy of Nitra, was a West Slavic polity encompassing a group of settlements th ...
, which was later conquered by the
Principality of Moravia
Great Moravia ( la, Regnum Marahensium; el, Μεγάλη Μοραβία, ''Meghálī Moravía''; cz, Velká Morava ; sk, Veľká Morava ; pl, Wielkie Morawy), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavs, Wes ...
to establish
Great Moravia
Great Moravia ( la, Regnum Marahensium; el, Μεγάλη Μοραβία, ''Meghálī Moravía''; cz, Velká Morava ; sk, Veľká Morava ; pl, Wielkie Morawy), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to ...
. In the 10th century, after the dissolution of Great Moravia, the territory was integrated into the
Principality of Hungary
The (Grand) Principality of HungaryS. Wise BauerThe history of the medieval world: from the conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade W. W. Norton & Company, 2010, p. 586George H. HodosThe East-Central European region: an historical outline ...
, which then became the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
in 1000. In 1241 and 1242, after the
Mongol invasion of Europe
From the 1220s into the 1240s, the Mongols conquered the Turkic states of Volga Bulgaria, Cumania, Alania, and the Kievan Rus' federation. Following this, they began their invasion into heartland Europe by launching a two-pronged invasion of ...
, much of the territory was destroyed. The area was recovered largely thanks to
Béla IV of Hungary
Béla IV (1206 – 3 May 1270) was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258. As the oldest son of King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group of influential noblemen in his fath ...
, who also settled
Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
, leading them to become an important ethnic group in the area, especially in what are today parts of
central and
eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
Slovakia.
After
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the dissolution of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire, the state of
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
was established. It was the only country in central and eastern Europe to remain a democracy during the
interwar period. Nevertheless, local fascist parties gradually came to power in the Slovak lands, and the first
Slovak Republic existed during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
as a partially-recognised
client state
A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite state, ...
of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. At the end of World War II, Czechoslovakia was re-established as an independent country. After a
coup in 1948, Czechoslovakia came under
communist administration, and became a part of the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
-led
Eastern Bloc. Attempts to
liberalise communism in
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
culminated in the
Prague Spring, which was crushed by the
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...
in August 1968. In 1989, the
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...
peacefully ended the Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Slovakia became an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful
dissolution of Czechoslovakia, sometimes known as the
Velvet Divorce
The dissolution of Czechoslovakia ( cs, Rozdělení Československa, sk, Rozdelenie Česko-Slovenska) took effect on December 31, 1992, and was the self-determined split of the federal republic of Czechoslovakia into the independent countries o ...
.
Slovakia is a
developed country with an advanced
high-income economy
A high-income economy is defined by the World Bank as a nation with a gross national income per capita of US$12,696 or more in 2020, calculated using the Atlas method. While the term "high-income" is often used interchangeably with " First Worl ...
, ranking very high in the
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, wh ...
. It also performs favourably in measurements of
civil liberties,
press freedom,
internet freedom,
democratic governance
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
, and
peacefulness. The country maintains a combination of a
market economy with a comprehensive
social security
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
system, providing citizens with
universal health care
Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...
,
free education
Free education is education funded through government spending or charitable organizations rather than tuition funding. Many models of free higher education have been proposed. Primary school and other comprehensive or compulsory education is fr ...
, and one of the longest paid
parental leave
Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and ...
s in the
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
. Slovakia is a member of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
, the
Eurozone
The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro ( €) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU polici ...
, the
Schengen Area, the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
,
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
,
CERN, the OECD, the
WTO
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
, the
Council of Europe, the
Visegrád Group
The Visegrád Group (also known as the Visegrád Four, the V4, or the European Quartet) is a cultural and political alliance of four Central European countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The alliance aims to advance co-op ...
, and the
OSCE
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
. Slovakia is also home to
eight UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Sites. The world's largest per-capita car producer, Slovakia manufactured a total of 1.1 million cars in 2019, representing 43% of its total industrial output.
Etymology
Slovakia's name in theory means the "Land of the
Slavs" (''
Slovensko
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
'' in
Slovak stemming from the older form ''Sloven/Slovienin''). As such, it is a cognate of the words
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
and
Slavonia
Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baran ...
. In medieval Latin, German, and even some Slavic sources, the same name has often been used for Slovaks, Slovenes, Slavonians, and Slavs in general. According to one of the theories, a new form of national name formed for the ancestors of the Slovaks between the 13th and 14th century, possibly due to foreign influence; the
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
word ''Slovák'' (in medieval sources from 1291 onward).
[UHLÁR, V.: O pôvode názvov Slovák, Slovensko a slovenčina] This form slowly replaced the name for the male members of the community, but the female name (''Slovenka''), reference to the lands inhabited (''Slovensko'') and the name of the language (''slovenčina'') all remained the same, with their base in the older form (compare to Slovenian counterparts). Most foreign translations tend to stem from this newer form (''Slovakia'' in English, ''Slowakei'' in German, ''Slovaquie'' in French, etc.).
In medieval Latin sources, terms Slavus, Slavonia, or Slavorum (and more variants, from as early as 1029)
have been used. In German sources, names for the Slovak lands were Windenland or Windische Lande (early 15th century), with the forms "Slovakia" and "Schlowakei" starting to appear in the 16th century. The present Slovak form ''Slovensko'' is first attested in the year 1675.
History
![Moravianska venusa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Moravianska_venusa.jpg)
The oldest surviving human artefacts from Slovakia are found near
Nové Mesto nad Váhom
Nové Mesto nad Váhom (; german: Neustadt an der Waag, Neustadtl, Waag-Neustadtl, Waagneustadtl, Waag-Neustadt; hu, Vágújhely, Vág-Újhely) is a town in the Trenčín Region of Slovakia.
Geography
District town located at the northern edge ...
and are dated at 270,000 BCE, in the
Early Paleolithic era. These ancient tools, made by the
Clactonian
The Clactonian is the name given by archaeologists to an industry of European flint tool manufacture that dates to the early part of the interglacial period known as the Hoxnian, the Mindel- Riss or the Holstein stages (c. 400,000 years ago). C ...
technique, bear witness to the ancient habitation of Slovakia.
Other
stone tools from the
Middle Paleolithic era (200,000–80,000 BCE) come from the Prévôt (Prepoštská) cave in
Bojnice
Bojnice (german: Weinitz; hu, Bajmóc) is a historical town in central Slovakia located on the Nitra river, near the city of Prievidza. The town is situated just below the Bojnice Castle. It has a population of around 5,000.
Bojnice is best k ...
and from other nearby sites. The most important discovery from that era is a
Neanderthal
Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While the ...
cranium (c. 200,000 BCE), discovered near
Gánovce
Gánovce is a village in the Poprad District of the Prešov Region in northern Slovakia, situated 3 km south-east from the town of Poprad.
History
Gánovce was mentioned for the first time in written records in 1317 as "villa Ganau". However ...
, a village in northern Slovakia.
Archaeologists have found prehistoric human skeletons in the region, as well as numerous objects and vestiges of the
Gravettian
The Gravettian was an archaeological industry of the European Upper Paleolithic that succeeded the Aurignacian circa 33,000 years BP. It is archaeologically the last European culture many consider unified, and had mostly disappeared by ...
culture, principally in the river valleys of
Nitra
Nitra (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about 78,353, it is the fifth l ...
,
Hron
The Hron ( sk, Hron; german: Gran; hu, Garam; la, Granus) is a long left tributary of the Danube[Ipeľ
The Ipeľ ( Slovak; ) or Ipoly ( Hungarian) (German: ''Eipel'', archaic Slovak: ''Jupoľ'', Latin: ''Bolia'') is a long river in Slovakia and Hungary, a tributary of the Danube River. Its source is in central Slovakia in the Slovak Ore Mountai ...]
,
Váh
The Váh (; german: Waag, ; hu, Vág; pl, WagWag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów ...
and as far as the city of
Žilina
Žilina (; hu, Zsolna, ; german: Sillein, or ; pl, Żylina , names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of ...
, and near the foot of the
Vihorlat
Vihorlat Mountains ( sk, Vihorlatské vrchy; ua, Вигорлат, ''Vyhorliat'') or colloquially Vihorlat is a volcanic mountain range in eastern Slovakia and western Ukraine. A part of the range is listed as a World Heritage Site.
Etymolog ...
, Inovec, and
Tribeč
Tribeč ( hu, Tribecs-hegység) is a crystalline mountain range in western Slovakia, in the Inner Western Carpathians within the Fatra-Tatra Area, roughly between the towns of Nitra
Nitra (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in ...
mountains, as well as in the
Myjava Mountains. The most well-known finds include the oldest female statue made of
mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks an ...
bone (22,800 BCE), the famous
Venus of Moravany
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
. The statue was found in the 1940s in
Moravany nad Váhom near
Piešťany. Numerous necklaces made of shells from Cypraca thermophile
gastropods
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. The ...
of the
Tertiary
Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago.
The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...
period have come from the sites of Zákovská, Podkovice, Hubina, and Radošina. These findings provide the most ancient evidence of commercial exchanges carried out between the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
and
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...
.
Bronze Age
During the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
, the geographical territory of modern-day Slovakia went through three stages of development, stretching from 2000 to 800 BCE. Major cultural, economic, and political development can be attributed to the significant growth in production of copper, especially in central Slovakia (for example in
Špania Dolina
Špania Dolina is a village and municipality in central Slovakia, near the city of Banská Bystrica. Although its permanent population does not exceed 200 people, it is a picturesque historic village situated 728 m above sea level and is surrounde ...
) and northwest Slovakia. Copper became a stable source of prosperity for the local population.
After the disappearance of the Čakany and
Velatice
Velatice is a municipality and village in Brno-Country District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 700 inhabitants.
Velatice lies approximately east of Brno and south-east of Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; ge ...
cultures, the
Lusatian people expanded building of strong and complex fortifications, with the large permanent buildings and administrative centres. Excavations of Lusatian
hill forts
A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Rom ...
document the substantial development of trade and agriculture at that period. The richness and diversity of tombs increased considerably. The inhabitants of the area manufactured arms, shields, jewellery, dishes, and statues.
Iron Age
![Web Biatec](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Web_Biatec.jpg)
Hallstatt Period
The arrival of tribes from
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...
disrupted the people of the Kalenderberg culture, who lived in the hamlets located on the plain (
Sereď
Sereď (; hu, Szered ) is a town in southern Slovakia near Trnava, on the right bank of the Váh River on the Danubian Lowland. It has approximately 15,500 inhabitants.
Geography
Sereď lies at an altitude of above sea level and covers an are ...
) and in the hill forts like Molpír, near
Smolenice
Smolenice ( hu, Szomolány; german: Smolenitz) is a village and municipality of Trnava District in the Trnava Region of Slovakia, on the foothills of the Little Carpathians. It is 60 km northeast of Bratislava and 25 km northwest of Trnava. The ...
, in the
Little Carpathians
The Little Carpathians (also: ''Lesser Carpathians'', sk, Malé Karpaty; german: Kleine Karpaten; hu, Kis-Kárpátok) are a low, about 100 km long, mountain range, part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains are situated in Western Slov ...
. During Hallstatt times, monumental burial mounds were erected in western Slovakia, with princely equipment consisting of richly decorated vessels, ornaments and decorations. The burial rites consisted entirely of cremation. Common people were buried in flat urnfield cemeteries.
A special role was given to weaving and the production of textiles. The local power of the "Princes" of the
Hallstatt period
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European culture of Late Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallstatt C, Hallstatt D) from the 8th to 6th centuries B ...
disappeared in Slovakia during the century before the middle of first millennium BC, after strife between the
Scytho-Thracian people and locals, resulting in abandonment of the old hill-forts. Relatively depopulated areas soon caught the interest of emerging
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
tribes, who advanced from the south towards the north, following the Slovak rivers, peacefully integrating into the remnants of the local population.
La Tène Period
From around 500 BCE, the territory of modern-day Slovakia was settled by
Celts, who built powerful ''
oppida
An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretch ...
'' on the sites of modern-day
Bratislava and
Devín
Devín (, hu, Dévény, german: Theben) is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, located in the Bratislava IV district. Originally a separate village at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers, Devín maintained its rural cha ...
.
Biatec
Biatec was the name of a person, presumably a king, who appeared on the Celtic coins minted by the Boii in Bratislava (the capital of Slovakia) in the 1st century BC. The word Biatec (or Biatex) is also used as the name of those coins. In the l ...
s,
silver coin
Silver coins are considered the oldest mass-produced form of coinage. Silver has been used as a coinage metal since the times of the Greeks; their silver drachmas were popular trade coins. The ancient Persians used silver coins between 612–33 ...
s with inscriptions in the Latin alphabet, represent the first known use of writing in Slovakia. At the northern regions, remnants of the local population of Lusatian origin, together with Celtic and later Dacian influence, gave rise to the unique
Púchov culture The Púchov culture was an archaeological culture named after site of Púchov-Skalka in Slovakia. Its probable bearer was the Celtic Cotini and/or Anartes tribes. It existed in northern and central Slovakia (although it also plausibly spread to the ...
, with advanced crafts and iron-working, many hill-forts and fortified settlements of central type with the coinage of the "Velkobysterecky" type (no inscriptions, with a horse on one side and a head on the other). This culture is often connected with the Celtic tribe mentioned in Roman sources as
Cotini The Gotini (in Tacitus), who are generally equated to the Cotini in other sources, were a Gaulish tribe living during Roman times in the mountains approximately near the modern borders of the Czech Republic, Poland,
and Slovakia.
The spelling "Got ...
.
Roman Period
![Trencin-Roman2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Trencin-Roman2.JPG)
From 2
AD, the expanding
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
established and maintained a series of outposts around and just south of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
, the largest of which were known as
Carnuntum
Carnuntum ( according to Ptolemy) was a Roman legionary fortress ( la, castra legionis) and headquarters of the Pannonian fleet from 50 AD. After the 1st century, it was capital of the Pannonia Superior province. It also became a large ...
(whose remains are on the main road halfway between Vienna and Bratislava) and
Brigetio (present-day
Szőny
Szőny was a town in Hungary. Since 1977, it has been part of the city of Komárom.
History
The Roman legion Legio I Adiutrix was based here from 86 AD to the mid-5th century and took part in several Parthian wars.
The town was known as Briget ...
at the Slovak-Hungarian border). Such Roman border settlements were built on the present area of
Rusovce
Rusovce ( hu, Oroszvár, hr, Rosvar german: Karlburg, Rossenburg, Kerchenburg) is a borough in southern Bratislava on the right bank of the Danube river, close to the Austrian border.
History
In the 1st century, there was a Roman settlement n ...
, currently a suburb of
Bratislava. The military fort was surrounded by a civilian
vicus
In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus ...
and several farms of the
villa rustica
Villa rustica () was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a farmhouse or villa set in the countryside and with an agricultural section, which applies to the vast majority of Roman villas. In some cases they were at the centre of a large ...
type. The name of this settlement was
Gerulata
Gerulata was a Roman military camp located near today's Rusovce, a borough of Bratislava, Slovakia. It was part of the Roman province of Pannonia and was built in the 2nd century as a part of the frontier defence system. It was abandoned in the 4t ...
. The military fort had an auxiliary cavalry unit, approximately 300 horses strong, modelled after the
Cananefates
The Cananefates, or Canninefates, Caninefates, or Canenefatae, meaning "leek masters", were a Germanic tribe, who lived in the Rhine delta, in western Batavia (later Betuwe), in the Roman province of '' Germania Inferior'' (now in the Dutch pr ...
. The remains of Roman buildings have also survived in
Stupava,
Devín Castle
Devín Castle ( sk, hrad Devín, links=no or , hu, Dévényi vár, german: Burg Theben) is a castle in Devín, which is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.
Description
The site has been settled since the Neolithic Age and fortifi ...
, Bratislava Castle Hill, and the Bratislava-
Dúbravka suburb.
Near the northernmost line of the Roman hinterlands, the
Limes Romanus, there existed the winter camp of
Laugaricio (modern-day
Trenčín
Trenčín (, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 55,000, which makes it the eighth largest muni ...
) where the Auxiliary of Legion II fought and prevailed in a decisive battle over the Germanic
Quadi tribe in 179 CE during the
Marcomannic Wars. The Kingdom of
Vannius
Vainius (flourished in 1st century AD) was the king of the Germanic tribe Quadi.
According to The Annals of Tacitus, Vannius came to power following the defeat of the Marcomannic king Catualda by the Hermunduri king of Vibilius, establishing t ...
, a kingdom founded by the
Germanic Suebi tribes of
Quadi and
Marcomanni
The Marcomanni were a Germanic people
*
*
*
that established a powerful kingdom north of the Danube, somewhere near modern Bohemia, during the peak of power of the nearby Roman Empire. According to Tacitus and Strabo, they were Suebian.
Or ...
, as well as several small Germanic and
Celtic tribes, including the Osi and
Cotini The Gotini (in Tacitus), who are generally equated to the Cotini in other sources, were a Gaulish tribe living during Roman times in the mountains approximately near the modern borders of the Czech Republic, Poland,
and Slovakia.
The spelling "Got ...
, existed in western and central Slovakia from 8–6 BCE to 179 CE.
Great invasions from the fourth to seventh centuries
In the second and third centuries AD, the
Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...
began to leave the Central Asian steppes. They crossed the Danube in 377 AD and occupied
Pannonia, which they used for 75 years as their base for launching looting-raids into Western Europe. However, Attila's death in 453 brought about the disappearance of the Hunnic empire. In 568, a Turko-Mongol tribal confederacy, the
Avars, conducted its invasion into the Middle Danube region. The Avars occupied the lowlands of the
Pannonian Plain
The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewhat different sense, with only the ...
and established an empire dominating the
Carpathian Basin
The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large Sedimentary basin, basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The Geomorphology, geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewh ...
.
In 623, the Slavic population living in the western parts of Pannonia seceded from their empire after a revolution led by
Samo
Samo (–) founded the first recorded political union of Slavic tribes, known as Samo's Empire (''realm'', ''kingdom'', or ''tribal union''), stretching from Silesia to present-day Slovakia, ruling from 623 until his death in 658. According to ...
, a Frankish merchant.
After 626, the Avar power started a gradual decline but its reign lasted to 804.
Slavic states
The
Slavic tribes settled in the territory of present-day Slovakia in the fifth century. Western Slovakia was the centre of
Samo
Samo (–) founded the first recorded political union of Slavic tribes, known as Samo's Empire (''realm'', ''kingdom'', or ''tribal union''), stretching from Silesia to present-day Slovakia, ruling from 623 until his death in 658. According to ...
's empire in the seventh century. A Slavic state known as the
Principality of Nitra
The Principality of Nitra ( sk, Nitrianske kniežatstvo, Nitriansko, Nitrava, lit=Duchy of Nitra, Nitravia, Nitrava; hu, Nyitrai Fejedelemség), also known as the Duchy of Nitra, was a West Slavic polity encompassing a group of settlements th ...
arose in the eighth century and its ruler
Pribina
Pribina (c. 800861) was a Slavic prince whose adventurous career, recorded in the '' Conversion of the Bavarians and the Carantanians'' (a historical work written in 870), illustrates the political volatility of the Franco–Slavic fronti ...
had the first known Christian church of the territory of present-day Slovakia consecrated by 828. Together with neighbouring
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The m ...
, the principality formed the core of the
Great Moravia
Great Moravia ( la, Regnum Marahensium; el, Μεγάλη Μοραβία, ''Meghálī Moravía''; cz, Velká Morava ; sk, Veľká Morava ; pl, Wielkie Morawy), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to ...
n Empire from 833. The high point of this Slavonic empire came with the arrival of
Saints Cyril and Methodius
Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs".
They are credited wi ...
in 863, during the reign of
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
Rastislav
Rastislav or Rostyslav is a male Slavic given name, meaning "''to increase glory''" . The name has been used by several notable people of Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Serbian, Czech and Slovak backgrounds.
*Old Slavonic, Serbian, Slovak, Slove ...
, and the territorial expansion under
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Svätopluk I.
Great Moravia (830–before 907)
![Cyril a metod zilina](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Cyril_a_metod_zilina.jpg)
Great Moravia arose around 830 when
Mojmír I unified the
Slavic tribes settled north of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
and extended the Moravian supremacy over them. When Mojmír I endeavoured to secede from the supremacy of the king of
East Francia in 846, King
Louis the German
Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...
deposed him and assisted Mojmír's nephew
Rastislav
Rastislav or Rostyslav is a male Slavic given name, meaning "''to increase glory''" . The name has been used by several notable people of Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Serbian, Czech and Slovak backgrounds.
*Old Slavonic, Serbian, Slovak, Slove ...
(846–870) in acquiring the throne.
The new monarch pursued an independent policy: after stopping a Frankish attack in 855, he also sought to weaken the influence of Frankish priests preaching in his realm. Duke Rastislav asked the
Byzantine Emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...
Michael III to send teachers who would interpret Christianity in the Slavic vernacular.
On Rastislav's request, two brothers, Byzantine officials and missionaries
Saints Cyril and Methodius
Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs".
They are credited wi ...
came in 863. Cyril developed the
first Slavic alphabet and translated the Gospel into the
Old Church Slavonic language. Rastislav was also preoccupied with the security and administration of his state. Numerous fortified castles built throughout the country are dated to his reign and some of them (e.g., ''Dowina'', sometimes identified with
Devín Castle
Devín Castle ( sk, hrad Devín, links=no or , hu, Dévényi vár, german: Burg Theben) is a castle in Devín, which is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.
Description
The site has been settled since the Neolithic Age and fortifi ...
)
are also mentioned in connection with Rastislav by Frankish chronicles.
![Letter svatopluk](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Letter_svatopluk.jpg)
During Rastislav's reign, the
Principality of Nitra
The Principality of Nitra ( sk, Nitrianske kniežatstvo, Nitriansko, Nitrava, lit=Duchy of Nitra, Nitravia, Nitrava; hu, Nyitrai Fejedelemség), also known as the Duchy of Nitra, was a West Slavic polity encompassing a group of settlements th ...
was given to his nephew
Svätopluk as an
appanage
An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...
.
The rebellious prince allied himself with the Franks and overthrew his uncle in 870. Similarly to his predecessor, Svätopluk I (871–894) assumed the title of the king (''rex''). During his reign, the Great Moravian Empire reached its greatest territorial extent, when not only present-day
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The m ...
and Slovakia but also present-day northern and
central Hungary
Central Hungary ( hu, Közép-Magyarország) is one of the seven statistical regions in Hungary (NUTS 1 and NUTS 2). It includes (the capital of the region) and .
Administration
Central Hungary's subregions (population figures from the ...
,
Lower Austria
Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
,
Bohemia,
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
,
Lusatia
Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...
, southern Poland and
northern Serbia belonged to the empire, but the exact borders of his domains are still disputed by modern authors.
Svatopluk also withstood attacks of the
Magyar tribes and the
Bulgarian Empire, although sometimes it was he who hired the Magyars when waging war against East Francia.
In 880,
Pope John VIII set up an independent
ecclesiastical province
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...
in Great Moravia with Archbishop
Methodius as its head. He also named the German cleric
Wiching
Wiching or Viching"Wiching", '' :sk:Encyklopédia Slovenska'' () was the first bishop of Nitra, in present-day Slovakia.
Life
He served between 880 and 891 AD. Wiching was originally a Benedictine monk from Swabia. After 874, he served Svatop ...
the Bishop of
Nitra
Nitra (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about 78,353, it is the fifth l ...
.
![Great Moravia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Great_Moravia.svg)
After the death of Prince Svatopluk in 894, his sons
Mojmír II (894–906?) and
Svatopluk II succeeded him as the Prince of Great Moravia and the Prince of Nitra respectively.
However, they started to quarrel for domination of the whole empire. Weakened by an internal conflict as well as by constant warfare with
Eastern Francia
East Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the former empire int ...
, Great Moravia lost most of its peripheral territories.
In the meantime, the semi-nomadic Magyar tribes, possibly having suffered defeat from the similarly nomadic
Pechenegs
The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა ...
, left their territories east of the
Carpathian Mountains, invaded the
Carpathian Basin
The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large Sedimentary basin, basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The Geomorphology, geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewh ...
and started to occupy the territory gradually around 896. Their armies' advance may have been promoted by continuous wars among the countries of the region whose rulers still hired them occasionally to intervene in their struggles.
It is not known what happened with both Mojmír II and Svatopluk II because they are not mentioned in written sources after 906. In
three battles (4–5 July and 9 August 907) near
Bratislava, the Magyars routed
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
n armies. Some historians put this year as the date of the break-up of the Great Moravian Empire, due to the Hungarian conquest; other historians take the date a little bit earlier (to 902).
Great Moravia left behind a lasting legacy in Central and Eastern Europe. The
Glagolitic script and its successor
Cyrillic were disseminated to other Slavic countries, charting a new path in their
sociocultural development.
Kingdom of Hungary (1000–1918)
![Istvan-ChroniconPictum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Istvan-ChroniconPictum.jpg)
Following the disintegration of the
Great Moravian Empire at the turn of the tenth century, the
Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...
annexed the territory comprising modern Slovakia. After their defeat on the
river Lech
The Lech (, ''Licca'') is a river in Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube in length with a drainage basin of . Its average discharge at the mouth is .
Its source is located in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, where the ...
, the Hungarians abandoned their nomadic ways and settled in the centre of the Carpathian valley, slowly adopting Christianity and began to build a new state — the Hungarian kingdom. Slovaks seemed to play an important role during the development of the realm. as evident by large number of loanwords into Hungarian language, concerning primarily economical, agricultural or metallurgy fields.
In the years 1001–1002 and 1018–1029, Slovakia was part of the Kingdom of Poland, having been conquered by
Boleslaus I the Brave. After the territory of Slovakia was returned to Hungary, a semi-autonomous polity continued to exist (or was created in 1048 by king
Andrew I) called
Duchy of Nitra. Comprising roughly the territory of
Principality of Nitra
The Principality of Nitra ( sk, Nitrianske kniežatstvo, Nitriansko, Nitrava, lit=Duchy of Nitra, Nitravia, Nitrava; hu, Nyitrai Fejedelemség), also known as the Duchy of Nitra, was a West Slavic polity encompassing a group of settlements th ...
and
Bihar principality, they formed what was called a ''tercia pars regni'', third of a kingdom. It used to be ruled by would-be successors to the throne from the
house of Arpád. Interestingly, in the Hungarian-Polish chronicle from 13th century, the ruler of said duchy, duke
Emeric (son of
Stephen I of Hungary
Stephen I, also known as King Saint Stephen ( hu, Szent István király ; la, Sanctus Stephanus; sk, Štefan I. or Štefan Veľký; 975 – 15 August 1038), was the last Grand Prince of the Hungarians between 997 and 1000 or 1001, and the ...
), is called "Henricus dux Sclavonie", in essence - duke of Slovakia.
This polity existed up until 1108/1110, after which it was not restored. After this, until the year 1918, when the
Austro-Hungarian empire collapsed, the territory of Slovakia was an integral part of the Hungarian state. The ethnic composition of Slovakia became more diverse with the arrival of the
Carpathian Germans
Carpathian Germans (german: Karpatendeutsche, Mantaken, hu, kárpátnémetek or ''felvidéki németek'', sk, karpatskí Nemci) are a group of ethnic Germans. The term was coined by the historian Raimund Friedrich Kaindl (1866–1930), originall ...
in the 13th century and the
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
in the 14th century.
A significant decline in the population resulted from the
invasion of the Mongols in 1241 and the subsequent famine. However, in medieval times the area of Slovakia was characterised by German and
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
immigration, burgeoning towns, construction of numerous stone castles, and the cultivation of the arts.
The arrival of German element sometimes proved a problem for the autochthonous Slovaks (and even Hungarians in the broader Hungary), since they often quickly gained most power in medieval towns, only to later refuse to share it. Breaking of old customs by Germans often resulted in national quarrels. One of which had to be sorted out by the king
Louis I. with the proclamation
Privilegium pro Slavis (Privilege for Slovaks) in the year 1381. According to this privilege, Slovaks and
Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
were to occupy each half of the seats in the city council of
Žilina
Žilina (; hu, Zsolna, ; german: Sillein, or ; pl, Żylina , names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of ...
and the mayor should be elected each year, alternating between those nationalities. This would not be last such case.
![1franci2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/1franci2.jpg)
In 1465, King
Matthias Corvinus
Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several m ...
founded the Hungarian Kingdom's third university, in Pressburg (
Bratislava), but it was closed in 1490 after his death.
Hussites
The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation.
The Huss ...
also settled in the region after the
Hussite Wars
The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...
.
Owing to the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
's expansion into Hungarian territory,
Bratislava was designated the new capital of Hungary in 1536, ahead of the fall of the old Hungarian capital of
Buda in 1541. It became part of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy, marking the beginning of a new era. The territory comprising modern Slovakia, then known as
Upper Hungary
Upper Hungary is the usual English translation of ''Felvidék'' (literally: "Upland"), the Hungarian term for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been ...
, became the place of settlement for nearly two-thirds of the
Magyar nobility fleeing the Turks and became far more linguistically and culturally Hungarian than it was before.
Partly thanks to old
Hussite
The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation.
The Huss ...
families and Slovaks studying under
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...
, the region then experienced a growth in
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
.
For a short period in the 17th century, most Slovaks were
Lutherans
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
.
They defied the Catholic Habsburgs and sought protection from neighbouring
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
, a rival continuation of the
Magyar state that practised religious tolerance and normally had Ottoman backing. Upper Hungary, modern Slovakia, became the site of frequent wars between Catholics in the west territory and Protestants in the east, as well as against Turks; the frontier was on a constant state of military alert and heavily fortified by castles and citadels often manned by Catholic German and Slovak troops on the Habsburg side. By 1648, Slovakia was not spared the
Counter-Reformation, which brought the majority of its population from Lutheranism back to
Roman Catholicism. In 1655, the printing press at the
Trnava
Trnava (, german: Tyrnau; hu, Nagyszombat, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a ''kraj'' ( Trnava Region) and of an '' okres'' ( T ...
university produced the Jesuit Benedikt Szöllősi's Cantus Catholici, a Catholic hymnal in Slovak that reaffirmed links to the earlier works of Cyril and Methodius.
The
Ottoman wars
A series of military conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and various European states took place from the Late Middle Ages up through the early 20th century. The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars, waged in Anatolia in ...
, the rivalry between Austria and
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
, and the frequent insurrections against the
Habsburg monarchy inflicted a great deal of devastation, especially in the rural areas. In the
Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664)
The Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664) or fourth Austro-Turkish War was a short war between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman aim was to resume the advance in central Europe, conquer Vienna and subdue Austria. The Ottoman ...
a Turkish army led by the
Grand Vizier decimated Slovakia.
Even so,
Thököly's
kuruc
Kuruc (, plural ''kurucok''), also spelled kurutz, refers to a group of armed anti-Habsburg insurgents in the Kingdom of Hungary between 1671 and 1711.
Over time, the term kuruc has come to designate Hungarians who advocate strict national ind ...
rebels from the
Principality of Upper Hungary
The Principality of Upper Hungary ( hu, Felső-Magyarországi Fejedelemség; ota, او رتا ماجار, Orta Macâr, lit=Middle Hungary) was a short-lived Ottoman vassal state ruled by Imre Thököly.
Background
After peace treaty of Vasvá ...
fought alongside the Turks against the Austrians and Poles at the
Battle of Vienna of 1683 led by
John III Sobieski. As the
Turks withdrew from Hungary in the late 17th century, the importance of the territory composing modern Slovakia decreased, although
Pressburg retained its status as the capital of Hungary until 1848 when it was transferred back to Buda.
During the
revolution of 1848–49, the Slovaks supported the
Austrian Emperor
The Emperor of Austria (german: Kaiser von Österreich) was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A hereditary imperial title and office proclaimed in 1804 by Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, a member of the Hou ...
, hoping for independence from the Hungarian part of the
Dual Monarchy
Dual monarchy occurs when two separate kingdoms are ruled by the same monarch, follow the same foreign policy, exist in a customs union with each other, and have a combined military but are otherwise self-governing. The term is typically use ...
, but they failed to achieve their aim. Thereafter relations between the nationalities deteriorated (see
Magyarisation
Magyarization ( , also ''Hungarization'', ''Hungarianization''; hu, magyarosítás), after "Magyar"—the Hungarian autonym—was an assimilation or acculturation process by which non-Hungarian nationals living in Austro-Hungarian Transleithan ...
), culminating in the secession of Slovakia from Hungary after World War I.
Czechoslovakia (1918–1939)
![Prohlášení nezávislosti](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Prohl%C3%A1%C5%A1en%C3%AD_nez%C3%A1vislosti.jpg)
On 18 October 1918,
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Tomáš () is a Czech and Slovak given name, equivalent to the name Thomas.
It may refer to:
* Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850–1937), first President of Czechoslovakia
* Tomáš Baťa (1876–1932), Czech footwear entrepreneur
* Tomáš Berdyc ...
,
Milan Rastislav Štefánik
Milan Rastislav Štefánik (; 21 July 1880 – 4 May 1919) was a Slovak politician, diplomat, aviator and astronomer. During World War I, he served at the same time as a general in the French Army and as Minister of War for Czechoslovakia. A ...
and
Edvard Beneš
Edvard Beneš (; 28 May 1884 – 3 September 1948) was a Czech politician and statesman who served as the president of Czechoslovakia from 1935 to 1938, and again from 1945 to 1948. He also led the Czechoslovak government-in-exile 1939 to 194 ...
declared in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
the
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
for the territories of
Bohemia,
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The m ...
,
Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
,
Upper Hungary
Upper Hungary is the usual English translation of ''Felvidék'' (literally: "Upland"), the Hungarian term for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been ...
and
Carpathian Ruthenia
Carpathian Ruthenia ( rue, Карпатьска Русь, Karpat'ska Rus'; uk, Закарпаття, Zakarpattia; sk, Podkarpatská Rus; hu, Kárpátalja; ro, Transcarpatia; pl, Zakarpacie); cz, Podkarpatská Rus; german: Karpatenukrai ...
from the
Austro-Hungarian Empire and proclaimed a common state,
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
. In 1919, during the chaos following the break-up of Austria-Hungary, Czechoslovakia was formed with numerous
Germans
, native_name_lang = de
, region1 =
, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
,
Slovaks,
Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...
and Ruthenians within the newly set borders. The borders were set by the
Treaty of Saint Germain
The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (french: Traité de Saint-Germain-en-Laye) was signed on 10 September 1919 by the victorious Allies of World War I on the one hand and by the Republic of German-Austria on the other. Like the Treaty of Tria ...
and
Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon (french: Traité de Trianon, hu, Trianoni békeszerződés, it, Trattato del Trianon) was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in Versailles on 4 June 1920. It forma ...
. In the peace following the World War, Czechoslovakia emerged as a sovereign European state. It provided what were at the time rather extensive rights to its minorities.
During the
Interwar period, democratic Czechoslovakia was allied with France, and also with
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
and
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
(
Little Entente
The Little Entente was an alliance formed in 1920 and 1921 by Czechoslovakia, Romania and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (since 1929 Yugoslavia) with the purpose of common defense against Hungarian revanchism and the prospect of a Ha ...
); however, the
Locarno Treaties of 1925 left East European security open. Both Czechs and Slovaks enjoyed a period of relative prosperity. There was progress in not only the development of the country's economy but also culture and educational opportunities. Yet the
Great Depression caused a sharp economic downturn, followed by political disruption and insecurity in Europe.
In the 1930s Czechoslovakia came under continuous pressure from the
revisionist governments of Germany, Hungary and Poland who used the aggrieved minorities in the country as a useful vehicle. Revision of the borders was called for, as Czechs constituted only 43% of the population. Eventually, this pressure led to the
Munich Agreement
The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...
of September 1938, which allowed the majority ethnic Germans in the
Sudetenland, borderlands of Czechoslovakia, to join with Germany. The remaining minorities stepped up their pressures for autonomy and the State became federalised, with Diets in Slovakia and Ruthenia. The remainder of Czechoslovakia was renamed Czecho-Slovakia and promised a greater degree of Slovak political autonomy. This, however, failed to materialise. Parts of southern and eastern Slovakia were also reclaimed by Hungary at the
First Vienna Award
The First Vienna Award was a treaty signed on 2 November 1938 pursuant to the Vienna Arbitration, which took place at Vienna's Belvedere Palace. The arbitration and award were direct consequences of the previous month's Munich Agreement, which ...
of November 1938.
World War II (1939–1945)
![Jozef Tiso (Berlin)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Jozef_Tiso_%28Berlin%29.jpg)
After the Munich Agreement and its
Vienna Award The Vienna Award (also called the Vienna Arbitration or Vienna Diktat) was either of two arbitral decisions made by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy rewarding disputed territory to Hungary. Both decisions were made at the Belvedere Palace, in Vienna, ...
,
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
threatened to annex part of Slovakia and allow the remaining regions to be partitioned by Hungary or Poland unless independence was declared. Thus, Slovakia seceded from Czecho-Slovakia in March 1939 and allied itself, as demanded by Germany, with
Hitler's
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
coalition. Secession had created the first Slovak state in history.
The government of the
First Slovak Republic
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
, led by
Jozef Tiso
Jozef Gašpar Tiso (; hu, Tiszó József; 13 October 1887 – 18 April 1947) was a Slovak politician and Roman Catholic priest who served as president of the Slovak Republic, a client state of Nazi Germany during World War II, from 1939 to 194 ...
and
Vojtech Tuka
Vojtech Lázar "Béla" Tuka (4 July 1880 – 20 August 1946) was a Slovak politician who served as prime minister and minister of Foreign Affairs of the First Slovak Republic between 1939 and 1945. Tuka was one of the main forces behind the depor ...
, was strongly influenced by Germany and gradually became a
puppet regime
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.Compare: Puppet states have nominal sover ...
in many respects.
![Nastupeni povstalci](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Nastupeni_povstalci.jpg)
Meanwhile, the
Czechoslovak government-in-exile
The Czechoslovak government-in-exile, sometimes styled officially as the Provisional Government of Czechoslovakia ( cz, Prozatímní vláda Československa, sk, Dočasná vláda Československa), was an informal title conferred upon the Czechos ...
sought to reverse the
Munich Agreement
The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...
and the subsequent German occupation of Czechoslovakia and to return the Republic to its 1937 boundaries. The government operated from
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and it was ultimately considered, by those countries that recognised it, the legitimate government for Czechoslovakia throughout the Second World War.
As part of the
Holocaust in Slovakia
The Holocaust in Slovakia was the systematic dispossession, deportation, and murder of Jews in the Slovak State, a client state of Nazi Germany, during World War II. Out of 89,000 Jews in the country in 1940, an estimated 69,000 were murdered ...
, 75,000 Jews out of 80,000 who remained on Slovak territory after Hungary had seized southern regions were deported and taken to German
death camps
Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...
. Thousands of Jews, Gypsies and other politically undesirable people remained in Slovak forced labour camps in
Sereď
Sereď (; hu, Szered ) is a town in southern Slovakia near Trnava, on the right bank of the Váh River on the Danubian Lowland. It has approximately 15,500 inhabitants.
Geography
Sereď lies at an altitude of above sea level and covers an are ...
, Vyhne, and Nováky. Tiso, through the granting of presidential exceptions, allowed between 1,000 and 4,000 people crucial to the war economy to avoid deportations.
Under Tiso's government and Hungarian occupation, the vast majority of Slovakia's pre-war Jewish population (between 75,000 and 105,000 individuals including those who perished from the occupied territory) were murdered. The Slovak state paid Germany 500
RM per every deported Jew for "retraining and accommodation" (a similar but smaller payment of 30 RM was paid by
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
).
After it became clear that the Soviet
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
was going to push the Nazis out of eastern and central Europe, an anti-Nazi
resistance movement
A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...
launched a fierce armed insurrection, known as the
Slovak National Uprising
The Slovak National Uprising ( sk, Slovenské národné povstanie, abbreviated SNP) was a military uprising organized by the Slovak resistance movement during World War II. This resistance movement was represented mainly by the members of the ...
, near the end of summer 1944. A bloody German occupation and a guerilla war followed. Germans and their
local collaborators completely destroyed 93 villages and massacred thousands of civilians, often hundreds at a time. The territory of Slovakia was liberated by Soviet and Romanian forces by the end of April 1945.
Communist party rule (1948–1989)
![Praha 19891122-419-02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Praha_19891122-419-02.jpg)
After World War II, Czechoslovakia was reconstituted and
Jozef Tiso
Jozef Gašpar Tiso (; hu, Tiszó József; 13 October 1887 – 18 April 1947) was a Slovak politician and Roman Catholic priest who served as president of the Slovak Republic, a client state of Nazi Germany during World War II, from 1939 to 194 ...
was executed in 1947 for collaboration with the Nazis. More than
80,000 Hungarians and 32,000 Germans were forced to leave Slovakia, in a series of
population transfers initiated by the Allies at the
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference (german: Potsdamer Konferenz) was held at Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to allow the three leading Allies to plan the postwar peace, while avoiding the mistakes of the Paris P ...
.
Out of about 130,000
Carpathian Germans
Carpathian Germans (german: Karpatendeutsche, Mantaken, hu, kárpátnémetek or ''felvidéki németek'', sk, karpatskí Nemci) are a group of ethnic Germans. The term was coined by the historian Raimund Friedrich Kaindl (1866–1930), originall ...
in Slovakia in 1938, by 1947 only some 20,000 remained. The NKVD arrested and deported over 20,000 people to Siberia
As a result of the
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference (codenamed Argonaut), also known as the Crimea Conference, held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the post ...
, Czechoslovakia came under the influence and later under direct occupation of the Soviet Union and its
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist repub ...
, after a
coup in 1948. Eight thousand two hundred and forty people went to forced labour camps in 1948–1953.
In 1968, following the
Prague Spring, the country was
invaded
An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
by the Warsaw Pact forces (
People's Republic of Bulgaria
The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; bg, Народна Република България (НРБ), ''Narodna Republika Balgariya, NRB'') was the official name of Bulgaria, when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the ...
,
People's Republic of Hungary
The Hungarian People's Republic ( hu, Magyar Népköztársaság) was a one-party socialist state from 20 August 1949
to 23 October 1989.
It was governed by the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, which was under the influence of the Soviet U ...
,
People's Republic of Poland, and
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
, with the exception of
Socialist Republic of Romania
The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxist–Leninist one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the state was known as the Romanian Peop ...
and
People's Socialist Republic of Albania
The People's Socialist Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë, links=no) was the Marxist–Leninist one party state that existed in Albania from 1946 to 1992 (the official name of the country was the People's R ...
), ending a
period of liberalisation under the leadership of
Alexander Dubček
Alexander Dubček (; 27 November 1921 – 7 November 1992) was a Slovak politician who served as the First Secretary of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) (''de facto'' leader of Czechoslovak ...
. 137 Czechoslovak civilians were killed
and 500 seriously wounded during the occupation.
In 1969, Czechoslovakia became a federation of the
Czech Socialist Republic
The Czech Socialist Republic ( cs, Česká socialistická republika, ČSR) was a republic within the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. The name was used from 1 January 1969 to November 1989, when the previously unitary Czechoslovak state changed ...
and the
Slovak Socialist Republic
The Slovak Socialist Republic ( sk, Slovenská socialistická republika, SSR) was from 1969 to 1990 a republic within the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, when previously unitary Czechoslovak state changed into a federation. The name was used fr ...
in the
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, ČSSR, formerly known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic or Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, was the official name of Czechoslovakia from 1960 to 29 March 1990, when it was renamed the Czechoslovak ...
. It became a
puppet state
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.Compare: Puppet states have nominal sove ...
of the Soviet Union, but it was never part of the Soviet Union and remained independent to a certain degree.
Borders with the West were protected by the
Iron Curtain. About 600 people, men, women, and children, were killed on the Czechoslovak border with Austria and
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
between 1948 and 1989.
Slovak Republic (1989–present)
![Tratado de Lisboa 13 12 2007 (081)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Tratado_de_Lisboa_13_12_2007_%28081%29.jpg)
The end of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia in 1989, during the peaceful
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...
, was followed once again by the country's dissolution, this time into two
successor states
Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19th- ...
. The word "socialist" was dropped in the names of the two republics, with the Slovak Socialist Republic renamed as Slovak Republic. On 17 July 1992, Slovakia, led by Prime Minister
Vladimír Mečiar
Vladimír Mečiar (; born 26 July 1942) is a Slovak politician who served as the prime minister of Slovakia three times, from 1990 to 1991, from 1992 to 1994 and from 1994 to 1998. He was the leader of the People's Party - Movement for a Democr ...
, declared itself a sovereign state, meaning that its laws took precedence over those of the federal government. Throughout the autumn of 1992, Mečiar and
Czech Prime Minister Václav Klaus
Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the second ...
negotiated the details for disbanding the federation. In November, the federal parliament voted to dissolve the country officially on 31 December 1992.
The Slovak Republic and the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
went their separate ways after 1 January 1993, an event sometimes called the
Velvet Divorce
The dissolution of Czechoslovakia ( cs, Rozdělení Československa, sk, Rozdelenie Česko-Slovenska) took effect on December 31, 1992, and was the self-determined split of the federal republic of Czechoslovakia into the independent countries o ...
. Slovakia has, nevertheless, remained a close partner with the Czech Republic. Both countries co-operate with Hungary and Poland in the
Visegrád Group
The Visegrád Group (also known as the Visegrád Four, the V4, or the European Quartet) is a cultural and political alliance of four Central European countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The alliance aims to advance co-op ...
. Slovakia became a member of NATO on 29 March 2004 and of the European Union on 1 May 2004. On 1 January 2009, Slovakia adopted the
Euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
as its national currency. In 2019,
Zuzana Čaputová
Zuzana Čaputová, (; Strapáková; born 21 June 1973) is a Slovak politician, lawyer and environmental activist. She is the fifth president of Slovakia, a position she has held since 15 June 2019. Čaputová is the first woman to hold the presi ...
became Slovakia's first female president.
Geography
Slovakia lies between latitudes
47° and
50° N, and longitudes
16° and
23° E. The Slovak landscape is noted primarily for its mountainous nature, with the
Carpathian Mountains extending across most of the northern half of the country. Among these
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
s are the high peaks of the
Fatra-Tatra Area
The Fatra-Tatra Area (in geomorphology) or the Tatra-Fatra Belt of core mountains (in geology) is a part of the Inner Western Carpathians, a subprovince of the Western Carpathians. Most of the area lies in Slovakia with small parts reaching into ...
(including
Tatra Mountains
The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak () or in Polish () - '' plurale tantum''), are a series of mountains within the Western Carpathians that form a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. They are the hi ...
,
Greater Fatra
Greater may refer to:
*Greatness, the state of being great
*Greater than, in inequality
* ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film
*Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record
* "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014
*Greater Bank, an Australian ...
and
Lesser Fatra Lesser, from Eliezer (, "Help/Court of my God"), is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Adolf Lesser (1851–1926), German physician
* Aleksander Lesser (1814–1884), Polish painter and art critic
* Anton Lesser (born 1952), Briti ...
),
Slovak Ore Mountains
The Slovak Ore Mountains ( sk, Slovenské rudohorie , hu, Gömör–Szepesi-érchegység, german: Slowakisches Erzgebirge or Zips-Gemer-Erzgebirge) are an extensive mountain range within the Carpathian Mountains, located mostly in Slovakia's Sp ...
,
or
Beskids
The Beskids or Beskid Mountains ( pl, Beskidy, cs, Beskydy, sk, Beskydy, rue, Бескиды (''Beskydŷ''), ua, Бескиди (''Beskydy'')) are a series of mountain ranges in the Carpathians, stretching from the Czech Republic in the west ...
. The largest lowland is the fertile
Danubian Lowland in the southwest, followed by the
Eastern Slovak Lowland
The East(ern) Slovak Lowland ( Slovak: ''Východoslovenská nížina'') is the name of a part of the Great Hungarian Plain (Slovak: ''Veľká dunajská kotlina'') situated in Slovakia.
In terms of geomorphology, it forms one unit together wit ...
in the southeast.
Forests cover 41% of Slovak land surface.
Tatra mountains
![Slovakia topo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Slovakia_topo.jpg)
The Tatra Mountains, with 29 peaks higher than
AMSL, are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains. The Tatras occupy an area of , of which the greater part lies in Slovakia. They are divided into several parts.
To the north, close to the Polish border, are the
High Tatras
The High Tatras or High Tatra Mountains ( Slovak: Vysoké Tatry; pl, Tatry Wysokie; rue, Высокі Татри,'' Vysoki Tatry''; hu, Magas-Tátra; german: Hohe Tatra; french: Hautes Tatras), are a mountain range along the border of norther ...
which are a popular
hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
and
skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...
destination and home to many scenic lakes and valleys as well as the highest point in Slovakia, the
Gerlachovský štít
Gerlachovský štít (, translated into English as ''Gerlachov Peak'', German: ''Gerlsdorfer Spitze'', Hungarian: ''Gerlachfalvi-csúcs''), informally referred to as Gerlach, is the highest peak in the High Tatras, in Slovakia, and in the Carpat ...
at and the country's highly symbolic mountain
Kriváň Kriváň can refer to:
* Kriváň (peak), peak in the High Tatras, Slovakia
* Veľký Kriváň, the highest peak in Malá Fatra, Slovakia
* Kriváň (village)
Kriváň ( hu, Krivány) is a village and municipality in Detva District, in the Bansk ...
. To the west are the
Western Tatras
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
* Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that i ...
with their highest peak of
Bystrá at and to the east are the
Belianske Tatras
, photo = Belianske Tatry from Jahňaci štít-captions sk.svg
, photo_size = 250px
, photo_caption = Muráň, Nový, Havran, Ždiarska Vidla peaks – beginning from the left
, count ...
, smallest by area.
Separated from the Tatras proper by the valley of the
Váh
The Váh (; german: Waag, ; hu, Vág; pl, WagWag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów ...
river are the
Low Tatras
The Low Tatras or Low Tatra ( sk, Nízke Tatry; hu, Alacsony-Tátra) is a mountain range of the Inner Western Carpathians in central Slovakia.
It is located south of the Tatras proper, from which it is separated by the valleys of the Vá ...
, with their highest peak of
Ďumbier
Ďumbier (2,043 m or 6,703 ft) is the highest mountain in the Low Tatra range, in central Slovakia. Despite the remains of medieval mines (gold, iron, antimony), the massif is now protected as a part of the Low Tatras National Park.
The e ...
at .
The Tatra mountain range is represented as one of the three hills on the
coat of arms of Slovakia
The coat of arms of the Slovak Republic consists of a red (''gules'') shield, in early Gothic style, charged with a silver (''argent'') double cross standing on the middle peak of a dark blue mountain consisting of three peaks. Extremities of th ...
.
National parks
![Palcmanská Maša](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Palcmansk%C3%A1_Ma%C5%A1a.JPG)
There are 9 national parks in Slovakia, covering 6.5% of the Slovak land surface.
Caves
![Domica Cave 20](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Domica_Cave_20.jpg)
Slovakia has hundreds of caves and caverns under its mountains, of which 30 are open to the public. Most of the caves have
stalagmites rising from the ground and
stalactites hanging from above. There are currently five Slovak caves under
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
's World Heritage Site status. They are
Dobšiná Ice Cave
Dobšiná Ice Cave ( sk, Dobšinská ľadová jaskyňa; hu, Dobsinai-jégbarlang) is an ice cave in Slovakia, near the mining town of Dobšiná in the Slovak Paradise. Since 2000 it has been included on the UNESCO World Heritage list as a part of ...
,
Domica
The Domica cave is situated on the south-western border of the ''Silicka planina Plateau'' south-east of Plesivec in the Rožňava District of the Košice Region in southern Slovakia and in combination with the Baradla cave represents the most ...
,
Gombasek Cave,
Jasovská Cave and
Ochtinská Aragonite Cave
Ochtinská Aragonite Cave ( sk, Ochtinská aragonitová jaskyňa, hu, Martonházi-aragonitbarlangthe Magyar Wikipedia article uses a different title) is a unique aragonite cave situated in southern Slovakia, near Rožňava. Although only 300 m lo ...
. Other caves open to the public include
Belianska Cave
Belianska Cave ( sk, Belianska jaskyňa, ) is a stalactite cave in the Slovak part of the Tatra mountains
The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak () or in Polish () - '' plurale tantum''), are a series of moun ...
,
Demänovská Cave of Liberty,
Demänovská Ice Cave or
Bystrianska Cave.
Rivers
![Belá river (Slovakia)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Bel%C3%A1_river_%28Slovakia%29.jpg)
Most of the rivers arise in the Slovak mountains. Some only pass through Slovakia, while others make a natural border with surrounding countries (more than ). For example, the
Dunajec () to the north, the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
() to the south or the
Morava () to the West. The total length of the rivers on Slovak territory is .
The longest river in Slovakia is the
Váh
The Váh (; german: Waag, ; hu, Vág; pl, WagWag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów ...
(), the shortest is the Čierna voda. Other important and large rivers are the
Myjava, the
Nitra
Nitra (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about 78,353, it is the fifth l ...
(), the
Orava, the
Hron
The Hron ( sk, Hron; german: Gran; hu, Garam; la, Granus) is a long left tributary of the Danube[Hornád
Hornád ( Slovak, ) or Hernád ( Hungarian, ) is a river in eastern Slovakia and north-eastern Hungary.
It is a tributary to the river Slaná (Sajo). The source of the Hornád is the eastern slopes of Kráľova hoľa hill, south of Šuňava.
...]
(), the
Slaná (), the
Ipeľ
The Ipeľ ( Slovak; ) or Ipoly ( Hungarian) (German: ''Eipel'', archaic Slovak: ''Jupoľ'', Latin: ''Bolia'') is a long river in Slovakia and Hungary, a tributary of the Danube River. Its source is in central Slovakia in the Slovak Ore Mountai ...
(, forming the border with Hungary), the
Bodrog
The Bodrog is a river in eastern Slovakia and north-eastern Hungary. It is a tributary to the river Tisza. The Bodrog is formed by the confluence of the rivers Ondava and Latorica near Zemplín in eastern Slovakia. It crosses the Slovak–H ...
, the
Laborec
The Laborec ( ukr, Лаборець; hu, Laborc) is a river in eastern Slovakia that flows through the districts of Medzilaborce, Humenné, and Michalovce in the Košice Region, and the Prešov Region. The river drains the Laborec Highlands. ...
, the
Latorica
Latorica ( hu, Latorca; sk, Latorica, pronounced: ''Latoritsa''; uk, Латориця, translit.: ''Latorytsia'') is a river in the watershed of the Danube. Its source is in the Ukrainian Carpathians (Eastern Carpathian Mountains), near the vil ...
and the
Ondava
The Ondava is a river in eastern Slovakia, the northern source river of the Bodrog. Its source is in the Low Beskids (Eastern Carpathian Mountains), near the village Nižná Polianka, close to the border with Poland. The Ondava flows south throu ...
.
The biggest volume of discharge in Slovak rivers is during
spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season)
Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...
, when the snow melts from the mountains. The only exception is the Danube, whose discharge is the greatest during summer when the snow melts in the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
. The Danube is the largest river that flows through Slovakia.
Climate
The Slovak climate lies between the temperate and
continental climate zones with relatively warm
summers and cold, cloudy and humid
winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...
s. Temperature extremes are between although temperatures below are rare. The weather differs from the mountainous north to the plains in the south.
The warmest region is
Bratislava and Southern Slovakia where the temperatures may reach in summer, occasionally to in
Hurbanovo
Hurbanovo (until 1948 ''Stará Ďala'', hu, Ógyalla, german: Altdala) is a town and large municipality in the Komárno District in the Nitra Region of south-west Slovakia. In 1948, its Slovak name was changed to Hurbanovo, named after Slovak wri ...
. During night, the temperatures drop to . The daily temperatures in winter average in the range of to . During night it may be freezing, but usually not below .
In Slovakia, there are four
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...
s, each season (
spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season)
Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...
, summer,
autumn and
winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...
) lasts three months. The dry continental air brings in the summer heat and winter frosts. In contrast, oceanic air brings rainfalls and reduces summer temperatures. In the lowlands and valleys, there is often fog, especially in winter.
Spring starts with 21 March and is characterised by colder weather with an average daily temperature of in the first weeks and about in May and in June. In Slovakia, the weather and climate in the spring are very unstable.
Summer starts on 22 June and is usually characterised by hot weather with daily temperatures exceeding . July is the warmest month with temperatures up to about , especially in regions of southern Slovakia - in the urban area of Komárno, Hurbanovo or Štúrovo. Showers or thunderstorms may occur because of the summer monsoon called Medardova kvapka (Medard drop - 40 days of rain). Summer in Northern Slovakia is usually mild with temperatures around (less in the mountains).
Autumn in Slovakia starts on 23 September and is mostly characterised by wet weather and wind, although the first weeks can be very warm and sunny. The average temperature in September is around , in November to . Late September and early October is a dry and sunny time of year (so-called
Indian summer
An Indian summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Several sources describe a true Indian summer as not occurring until after the first frost, or more s ...
).
Winter starts on 21 December with temperatures around . In December and January, it is usually snowing, these are the coldest months of the year. At lower altitudes, snow does not stay the whole winter, it changes into the thaw and frost. Winters are colder in the mountains, where the snow usually lasts until March or April and the night temperatures fall to and colder.
Biodiversity
Slovakia signed the Rio
Convention on Biological Diversity
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); the sustainable use of its ...
on 19 May 1993, and became a party to the convention on 25 August 1994. It has subsequently produced a
National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, which was received by the convention on 2 November 1998.
The biodiversity of Slovakia comprises
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
s (such as annelids, arthropods, molluscs, nematodes and vertebrates),
fungi
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...
(
Ascomycota,
Basidiomycota,
Chytridiomycota
Chytridiomycota are a division of zoosporic organisms in the kingdom Fungi, informally known as chytrids. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek ('), meaning "little pot", describing the structure containing unreleased zoöspores. Chytri ...
,
Glomeromycota and
Zygomycota
Zygomycota, or zygote fungi, is a former division or phylum of the kingdom Fungi. The members are now part of two phyla: the Mucoromycota and Zoopagomycota. Approximately 1060 species are known. They are mostly terrestrial in habitat, living ...
), micro-organisms (including
Mycetozoa
Mycetozoa is a polyphyletic grouping of slime molds. It was originally thought to be a monophyletic clade, but recently it was discovered that protostelia are a polyphyletic group within Conosa.
Classification
It can be divided into dictyoste ...
), and
plant
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...
s. The geographical position of Slovakia determines the richness of the diversity of fauna and flora. More than 11,000 plant species have been described throughout its territory, nearly 29,000 animal species and over 1,000 species of protozoa.
Endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
biodiversity is also common.
Slovakia is located in the biome of
temperate broadleaf and mixed forest
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions.
These ...
s and terrestrial ecoregions of
Pannonian mixed forests
The Pannonian mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in Europe. It covers an area of 307,720 km2 in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, and Croatia.
...
and
Carpathian montane conifer forests.
As the altitude changes, the vegetation associations and animal communities are forming height levels (
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
,
beech,
spruce,
scrub pine
''Pinus virginiana'', the Virginia pine, scrub pine, Jersey pine, Possum pine, is a medium-sized tree, often found on poorer soils from Long Island in southern New York south through the Appalachian Mountains to western Tennessee and Alabama. T ...
,
alpine meadows
Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...
and
subsoil). Forests cover 44% of the territory of Slovakia. The country had a 2019
Forest Landscape Integrity Index
The Forest Landscape Integrity Index (FLII) is an annual global index of forest condition measured by degree of anthropogenic modification. Created by a team of 48 scientists, the FLII, in its measurement of 300m pixels of forest across the globe ...
mean score of 4.34/10, ranking it 129th globally out of 172 countries.
In terms of forest stands, 60% are
broadleaf trees and 40% are
coniferous trees
Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extan ...
. The occurrence of animal species is strongly connected to the appropriate types of plant associations and biotopes.
Over 4,000 species of fungi have been recorded from Slovakia. Of these, nearly 1,500 are
lichen-forming species. Some of these fungi are undoubtedly endemic, but not enough is known to say how many. Of the lichen-forming species, about 40% have been classified as threatened in some way. About 7% are apparently extinct, 9% endangered, 17% vulnerable, and 7% rare. The conservation status of non-lichen-forming fungi in Slovakia is not well documented, but there is a red list for its larger fungi.
Government and politics
Slovakia is a
parliamentary democratic
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
republic with a
multi-party system
In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in ...
. The last
parliamentary elections were held on 29 February 2020 and two rounds of
presidential elections
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pr ...
took place on 16 and 30 March 2019.
The Slovak
head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
and the formal head of the executive is the president (currently
Zuzana Čaputová
Zuzana Čaputová, (; Strapáková; born 21 June 1973) is a Slovak politician, lawyer and environmental activist. She is the fifth president of Slovakia, a position she has held since 15 June 2019. Čaputová is the first woman to hold the presi ...
, the first female president), though with very limited powers. The president is elected by direct, popular vote under the
two-round system
The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resu ...
for a five-year term. Most
executive
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive dir ...
power lies with the
head of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...
, the prime minister (currently
Eduard Heger
Eduard Heger (; born 3 May 1976) is a Slovak politician, serving as Prime Minister of Slovakia since 1 April 2021. He previously served as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in the cabinet of Igor Matovič. Heger is a member of th ...
), who is usually the leader of the winning party and who needs to form a majority coalition in the parliament. The prime minister is appointed by the president. The remainder of the cabinet is appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister.
Slovakia's highest
legislative
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...
body is the 150-seat
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...
National Council of the Slovak Republic
The National Council of the Slovak Republic ( sk, Národná rada Slovenskej republiky), abbreviated to ''NR SR'', is the national parliament of Slovakia. It is unicameral and consists of 150 members, who are elected by universal suffrage under ...
(''Národná rada Slovenskej republiky''). Delegates are elected for a four-year term on the basis of
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
.
Slovakia's highest
judicial body is the
Constitutional Court of Slovakia
Building of the Constitutional Court of Slovakia in Košice
The Constitutional Court of Slovakia (officially Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic, sk, Ústavný súd Slovenskej republiky) is a special court established by the Constituti ...
(''Ústavný súd''), which rules on constitutional issues. The 13 members of this court are appointed by the president from a slate of candidates nominated by parliament.
The
Constitution of the Slovak Republic was ratified 1 September 1992, and became effective 1 January 1993. It was amended in September 1998 to allow
direct election of the president and again in February 2001 due to EU admission requirements. The
civil law system
Civil law is a legal system originating in mainland Europe and adopted in much of the world. The civil law system is intellectualized within the framework of Roman law, and with core principles codified into a referable system, which serves as t ...
is based on Austro-Hungarian codes. The
legal code
A code of law, also called a law code or legal code, is a systematic collection of statutes. It is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the cod ...
was modified to comply with the obligations of
Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
(OSCE) and to expunge the
Marxist–Leninist
Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialect ...
legal theory
Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning ...
. Slovakia accepts the compulsory
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
jurisdiction with reservations.
,
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
,
Zuzana Čaputová
Zuzana Čaputová, (; Strapáková; born 21 June 1973) is a Slovak politician, lawyer and environmental activist. She is the fifth president of Slovakia, a position she has held since 15 June 2019. Čaputová is the first woman to hold the presi ...
,
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
, 15 June 2019
, -
,
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
,
Eduard Heger
Eduard Heger (; born 3 May 1976) is a Slovak politician, serving as Prime Minister of Slovakia since 1 April 2021. He previously served as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in the cabinet of Igor Matovič. Heger is a member of th ...
,
OĽaNO
, 1 April 2021
, -
,
National Council Chairman
,
Boris Kollár
Boris Kollár (born 14 August 1965), BJK, is a Slovak businessman and politician serving as the Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic.
Political career
In 2015, he started the political party We Are Family ( sk, Sme Rodina). ...
,
SR
, 21 March 2020
Foreign relations
The
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs ( sk, Ministerstvo zahraničných vecí a európskych záležitostí) is responsible for maintaining the Slovak Republic's
external relations and the management of its
international diplomatic missions. The ministry's
director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
is
Ivan Korčok
Ivan Korčok (born 4 April 1964) is a Slovak politician. He served as Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the Matovič Cabinet led by Prime Minister Igor Matovič from April 2020 until his resignation in late March 2021. He was appoint ...
.
The ministry oversees Slovakia's affairs with foreign entities, including bilateral relations with individual nations and its representation in international organisations.
Slovakia joined the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
and
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
in 2004 and the
Eurozone
The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro ( €) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU polici ...
in 2009.
Slovakia is a member of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
(since 1993) and participates in its specialised agencies. The country was, on 10 October 2005, elected to a two-year term on the
UN Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
from 2006 to 2007. It is also a member of the
Schengen Area, the
Council of Europe (CoE), the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, pro ...
(OSCE), the
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...
(WTO), the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the
Union for the Mediterranean
The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM; french: Union pour la Méditerranée, ar, الإتحاد من أجل المتوسط ''Al-Ittiḥād min ajl al-Mutawasseṭ'') is an intergovernmental organization of 43 member states from Europe and the M ...
(UfM), the
European Organization for Nuclear Research
The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gene ...
(CERN) and part of the
Visegrád Group
The Visegrád Group (also known as the Visegrád Four, the V4, or the European Quartet) is a cultural and political alliance of four Central European countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The alliance aims to advance co-op ...
(V4: Slovakia, Hungary, the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
, and Poland).
In 2022, Slovak citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 182 countries and territories, putting the Slovak passport at the ninth rank of travel freedom (tied with Lithuanian and Polish passports and behind 27 other countries) on the
Henley Passport Index
The Henley Passport Index ( abbreviation: HPI) is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom enjoyed by the holders of that country's ordinary passport for its citizens. It started in 2006 as Henley & Partners Visa Restricti ...
.
![Bratislava, the Japanese Embassy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Bratislava%2C_the_Japanese_Embassy.JPG)
Slovakia maintains
diplomatic relations
Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...
with 134 countries, primarily through its
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As of December 2013, Slovakia maintained 90 missions abroad, including 64 embassies, seven missions to multilateral organisations, nine consulates-general, one consular office, one Slovak Economic and Cultural Office and eight Slovak Institutes. There are 44 embassies and 35 honorary consulates in
Bratislava.
Slovakia and the United States retain strong diplomatic ties and cooperate in the
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
and
law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules
Rule or ruling may refer to:
Education ...
areas. The U.S. Department of Defense programmes has contributed significantly to Slovak military reforms. Around one million Americans have their roots in Slovakia, and many retain strong cultural and familial ties to the Slovak Republic. President
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
and the United States played a major role in the establishment of the original Czechoslovak state on 28 October 1918.
Military
The president is formally the
commander-in-chief of the
Slovak armed forces
The Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic were divided from the Czechoslovak army after dissolution of Czechoslovakia on 1 January 1993. Slovakia joined NATO on 29 March 2004. From 2006 the army transformed into a fully professional organization a ...
.
Slovakia joined
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
in March 2004. From 2006, the army transformed into a fully professional organisation and compulsory military service was abolished. Slovak armed forces numbered 19,500 uniformed personnel and 4,208 civilians in 2022.
The country has been an active participant in US- and NATO-led military actions and involved in many
United Nations peacekeeping military missions:
UNPROFOR in the Yugoslavia (1992-1995),
UNOMUR in Uganda and Rwanda (1993-1994),
UNAMIR in Rwanda (1993-1996),
UNTAES in Croatia (1996-1998),
UNOMIL in Liberia (1993-1997),
MONUA in Angola (1997-1999),
SFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1999-2003),
OSCE mission in Moldova (1998-2002),
OSCE mission in Albania (1999),
KFOR in Kosovo (1999-2002),
UNGCI in Iraq (2000-2003),
UNMEE in Ethiopia and Eritrea (2000-2004),
UNMISET in East Timor (2001),
EUFOR Concordia in Macedonia (2003),
UNAMSIL in Sierra Leone (1999-2005),
EU supporting action to African Union in Darfur (2006),
Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan (2002-2005),
Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq (2003-2007) and
UNDOF at the borders of Israel and Syria (1998-2008).
As of 2021, Slovakia has 169 military personnel deployed in
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
for
UNFICYP United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
led
peace support operations and 41 troops deployed in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
for
EUFOR Althea
Operation Althea, formally the European Union Force Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR), is a military deployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina to oversee the military implementation of the Dayton Agreement. It is the successor to NATO's SFOR and IFOR. T ...
.
Slovak
Ground Forces
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
are made up of two active
Mechanised infantry brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.
B ...
s. The
Air and Air Defence Forces comprise one
wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...
of
fighters
Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to:
Combat and warfare
* Combatant, an individual legally entitled to engage in hostilities during an international armed conflict
* Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplan ...
, one wing of utility
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
s, and one SAM brigade. Training and support forces comprise a National Support Element (Multifunctional Battalion, Transport Battalion, Repair Battalion), a garrison force of the capital city Bratislava, as well as a training battalion, and various logistics and communication and information bases. Miscellaneous forces under the direct command of the
General Staff include the
5th Special Forces Regiment.
Human rights
Human rights in Slovakia are guaranteed by the
Constitution of Slovakia
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
from the year 1992 and by multiple international laws signed in Slovakia between 1948 and 2006.
The US State Department in 2017 reported:
The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas. The most significant human rights issues included incidents of interference with privacy; corruption; widespread discrimination against Roma minority; and security force violence against ethnic and racial minorities government actions and rhetoric did little to discourage. The government investigated reports of abuses by members of the security forces and other government institutions, although some observers questioned the thoroughness of these investigations. Some officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Two former ministers were convicted of corruption during the year.
According to the
European Roma Rights Centre
The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) is a Roma-led, international public interest law organisation engaging in a range of activities aimed at combating anti-Romani racism and human rights abuse of Romani people. The approach of the ERRC involves ...
(ERRC),
Romani people in Slovakia
According to the last census from 2021, there were 67,179 persons counted as Romani people in Slovakia, or 1,23% of the population.
History Migration to Slovakia
The first record of sightings of small groups of Romani within the area of prese ...
"endure racism in the job market, housing and education fields and are often subjected to forced evictions, vigilante intimidation, disproportionate levels of police brutality and more subtle forms of discrimination."
Administrative divisions
![Hlavné Namestie (35096533142)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Hlavn%C3%A9_Namestie_%2835096533142%29.jpg)
Slovakia is divided into 8 ''
kraj
A kraj ( ''kraje'') is the highest-level administrative unit in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. For lack of other English expressions, the Slavic term is often translated as "province", "region", or "territory", although it approxim ...
e'' (singular—''kraj'', usually translated as "region"), each of which is named after its principal city. Regions have enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy since 2002. Their
self-governing
__NOTOC__
Self-governance, self-government, or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any form of ...
bodies are referred to as Self-governing (or autonomous) Regions (sg. ''samosprávny kraj'', pl. ''samosprávne kraje'') or Upper-Tier Territorial Units (sg. ''vyšší územný celok'', pl. ''vyššie územné celky'', abbr. VÚC).
The ''kraje'' are subdivided into ''
okresy'' (sg. ''okres'', usually translated as districts). Slovakia currently has 79 districts.
The ''okresy'' are further divided into ''
obce'' (sg. ''obec'', usually translated as "municipality"). There are currently 2,890 municipalities.
In terms of economics and
unemployment
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...
rate, the western regions are richer than eastern regions. Bratislava is the third-richest region of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
by GDP (PPP) per capita (after
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
and
Luxembourg City
Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Gr ...
); GDP at purchasing power parity is about three times higher than in other Slovak regions.
Economy
![Nbs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Nbs.jpg)
The Slovak economy is a developed,
high-income
A high-income economy is defined by the World Bank as a nation with a gross national income per capita of US$12,696 or more in 2020, calculated using the Atlas method. While the term "high-income" is often used interchangeably with " First World" ...
economy, with the GDP per capita equalling 78% of the average of the European Union in 2018.
["GDP per capita in PPS, Eurostat"](_blank)
retrieved 7 July 2019. The country has difficulties addressing regional imbalances in wealth and employment. GDP per capita ranges from 188% of EU average in Bratislava to 54% in Eastern Slovakia. Although regional income inequality is high,
90% of citizens own their homes.
The
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
in 2017 reported:
The Slovak Republic continues exhibiting robust economic performance, with strong growth backed by a sound financial sector, low public debt and high international competitiveness drawing on large inward investment.
In 2021, Slovakia was ranked by the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
as the 45th
richest country in the world (out of 226 countries and territories), with purchasing power parity per capita GDP of $34,815. The country used to be dubbed the "
Tatra Tiger
"Tatra Tiger" is a nickname that refers to the economy of Slovakia in period 2002 – 2007, following the ascendance of a right-leaning coalition in September 2002 which engaged in a program of liberal economic reforms. The name "Tatra Tiger ...
". Slovakia successfully transformed from a centrally
planned economy to a market-driven economy. Major
privatisations are completed, the banking sector is almost completely in private hands, and foreign investment has risen.
![Eurozone](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Eurozone.svg)
As of 2021, with population only 5 million, Slovakia is the 61st
largest economy in the world (out of 216 countries and territories). The Slovak economy is one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe and
3rd-fastest in
eurozone
The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro ( €) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU polici ...
(2017). In 2007, 2008 and 2010 (with
GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
growth of 10.5%, 6% and 4%, retrospectively). In 2016, more than 86% of Slovak exports went to the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
, and more than 50% of Slovak imports came from other European Union member states.
The ratio of government debt to GDP in Slovakia reached 49.4% by the end of 2018, far below the OECD average.
Unemployment, peaking at 19% at the end of 1999, decreased to 4.9% in 2019, lowest recorded rate in Slovak history.
Slovakia adopted the Euro currency on 1 January 2009 as the 16th member of the Eurozone. The euro in Slovakia was approved by
the European commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
on 7 May 2008. The
Slovak koruna
The Slovak koruna or Slovak crown ( sk, slovenská koruna, literally meaning ''Slovak crown'') was the currency of Slovakia between 8 February 1993 and 31 December 2008, and could be used for cash payment until 16 January 2009. The ISO 4217 code w ...
was revalued on 28 May 2008 to 30.126 for 1 euro, which was also the exchange rate for the euro.
![Sky Park Bratislava from Bratislava Castle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Sky_Park_Bratislava_from_Bratislava_Castle.jpg)
The Slovak government encourages foreign investment since it is one of the driving forces of the economy. Slovakia is an attractive country for
foreign investors
Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort.
In finance, the purpose of investing is ...
mainly because of its low wages, low tax rates, well educated
labour force
The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic reg ...
, favourable geographic location in the heart of Central Europe, strong political stability and good international relations reinforced by the country's accession to the European Union. Some regions, mostly at the east of Slovakia have failed to attract major investment, which has aggravated regional disparities in many economic and social areas.
Foreign direct investment inflow grew more than 600% from 2000 and cumulatively reached an all-time high of $17.3 billion in 2006, or around $22,000 per capita by the end of 2008.
Slovakia ranks 45th out of 190 economies in terms of ease of doing business, according to the
2020 World Bank Doing Business Report and 57th out of the 63 countries and territories in terms of competitive economy, according to the
2020 World Competitiveness Yearbook Report.
Industry
Although Slovakia's GDP comes mainly from the tertiary (services) sector, the industrial sector also plays an important role within its economy. The main industry sectors are
car manufacturing
The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % such a ...
and
electrical engineering. Since 2007, Slovakia has been the world's largest producer of cars per capita,
with a total of 1,090,000 cars manufactured in the country in 2018 alone.
275,000 people are employed directly and indirectly
by the automotive industry.
There are currently four automobile assembly plants and fifth under construction:
Volkswagen
Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post-W ...
's in
Bratislava (models:
Volkswagen Up
The Volkswagen Up (stylized as Volkswagen up!) is a city car, part of the Volkswagen Group New Small Family (NSF) series of models, unveiled at the 2011 International Motor Show Germany (IAA). Production of the Up started in December 2011 at th ...
,
Volkswagen Touareg
The Volkswagen Touareg (German pronunciation: ) is a car produced by German automaker Volkswagen Group since 2002 at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant. A five-seater mid-size luxury crossover SUV, the vehicle was named after the nomadic Tuareg peo ...
,
Audi Q7
The Audi Q7 is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV made by the German manufacturer Audi, unveiled in September 2005 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Production of this seven-seater SUV began in the autumn of 2005 at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant in ...
,
Audi Q8
The Audi Q8 is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV coupé made by Audi that was launched in 2018. It is the flagship of the Audi SUV line, and is being produced at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant.
Overview
BMW launched its coupe SUV in 2008, the B ...
,
Porsche Cayenne
The Porsche Cayenne is a series of mid-size luxury crossover sport utility vehicles manufactured by the German automaker Porsche since 2002 (Type 9PA or E1), with North American sales beginning in 2003. It is the first V8-engined vehicle built b ...
,
Lamborghini Urus
The Lamborghini Urus is a high performance luxury SUV manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini. It was unveiled on 4 December 2017 and was put on the market for the 2018 model year. The name comes from the urus, the ancestor o ...
),
PSA Peugeot Citroën
The PSA Group (), legally known as Peugeot S.A. (Peugeot Société Anonyme, trading as Groupe PSA; formerly known as PSA Peugeot Citroën from 1991 to 2016) was a French multinational automotive manufacturing company which produced automobiles ...
's in
Trnava
Trnava (, german: Tyrnau; hu, Nagyszombat, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a ''kraj'' ( Trnava Region) and of an '' okres'' ( T ...
(models:
Peugeot 208,
Citroën C3 Picasso
The Citroën C3 Picasso is a car produced by the French motor company Citroën from 2008–2017. It has a five-door mini MPV design and was first unveiled at the 2008 Paris Motor Show as a concept car named "Drooneel". The Picasso is the mini ...
),
Kia Motors
Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second lar ...
'
Žilina Plant (models:
Kia Cee'd
The Kia Ceed (known as the Kia cee'd before 2018) is a compact car produced by the South Korean manufacturer Kia since 2006 exclusively for the European market. The Ceed was first unveiled on 28 September 2006 at the Paris Motor Show. In mid-2007, ...
,
Kia Sportage
The Kia Sportage is a lineup of sport utility vehicles manufactured by the South Korean manufacturer Kia since 1993. Since 2004, the Sportage has been categorized as a compact crossover SUV, while previously it occupied the compact SUV class. It ...
,
Kia Venga
The Kia Venga is a car manufactured by Kia for the European market across a single generation (2009–2019) with a five-door, five passenger, front-engine, front-wheel-drive, high-roof mini MPV (compact minivan) design.
The Venga was styled by Gre ...
) and
Jaguar Land Rover
Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC is the holding company of Jaguar Land Rover Limited (also known as JLR), and is a British multinational automobile manufacturer which produces luxury vehicles and sport utility vehicles. Jaguar Land Rover is a ...
's in
Nitra
Nitra (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about 78,353, it is the fifth l ...
(model:
Land Rover Discovery
Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various isla ...
).
Volvo
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
will build electric cars at a new plant in Slovakia, construction is scheduled to begin in 2023, with series production starting in 2026.
Hyundai Mobis
Hyundai Mobis (short for ''Mobile'' and ''System'') is a public South Korean car parts company. Founded as Hyundai Precision & Industries Corporation ( ko, 현대정공/現代精工) in 1977, the company forms the "parts and service" arm for the ...
in
Žilina
Žilina (; hu, Zsolna, ; german: Sillein, or ; pl, Żylina , names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of ...
is the largest suppliers for the automotive industry in Slovakia.
From electrical engineering companies,
Foxconn
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., trading as Hon Hai Technology Group in China and Taiwan and Foxconn internationally, is a Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer established in 1974 with headquarters in Tucheng, New ...
has a factory at
Nitra
Nitra (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about 78,353, it is the fifth l ...
for
LCD TV
Liquid-crystal-display televisions (LCD TVs) are television sets that use liquid-crystal displays to produce images. They are, by far, the most widely produced and sold television display type. LCD TVs are thin and light, but have some disadvantag ...
manufacturing,
Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
at
Galanta
Galanta ( hu, Galánta, german: Gallandau) is a town (about 15,000 inhabitants) in the Trnava Region of Slovakia. It is situated 50 km due east of the Slovak capital Bratislava.
Etymology
The name is derived from a Slavic name ''Golęta'' ( ...
for
computer monitors and television sets manufacturing.
Slovnaft
Slovnaft is an oil refining company in Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukra ...
based in Bratislava with 4,000 employees, is an oil refinery with a processing capacity of 5.5 - 6 million tonnes of crude oil, annually. Steel producer
U. S. Steel in
Košice is the largest employer in the east of Slovakia with 12,000 employees.
ESET is an IT security company from Bratislava with more than 1,000 employees worldwide at present. Their branch offices are in the United States, Ireland, United Kingdom, Argentina, the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
and Poland. In recent years,
service and
high-tech-oriented businesses have prospered in Bratislava. Many global companies, including
IBM,
Dell,
Lenovo,
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...
,
SAP
Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant.
Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...
, and
Accenture, have built
outsourcing and service centres here. Reasons for the influx of
multi-national corporations include proximity to Western Europe, skilled labour force and the high density of universities and research facilities. Other large companies and employers with headquarters in Bratislava include
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
,
Slovak Telekom
Slovak Telekom is the convergent telco provider with the largest internet, fixed-line, digital TV, ICT and mobile services portfolio. The company is 100% owned by Deutsche Telekom AG.
The Slovak Telekom Group consists of the parent company Slo ...
,
Orange Slovensko,
Slovenská sporiteľňa
Slovenská sporiteľňa is the largest commercial bank in Slovakia. It provides comprehensive banking services to more than 2 million clients via the largest distribution network with 400 retail outlets. It administers almost 6 million accounts, ...
,
Tatra banka
Tatra banka is a commercial bank in Slovakia. It was founded in 1990 as the first private bank in Slovakia. It took the name of the former bank, established in 1885, but not its assets. It started financial operations in December 1991.
As of 1 ...
,
Doprastav
Doprastav a.s. is a Slovak construction company, which was established in 1953. The company focuses mainly on transportation construction - roads, bridges and railways.
An example of their construction is the Apollo Bridge in Bratislava. It has ...
,
Hewlett-Packard Slovakia,
Henkel Slovensko,
Slovenský plynárenský priemysel,
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
Slovakia,
Mondelez Slovakia,
Whirlpool Slovakia and
Zurich Insurance Group
Zurich Insurance Group Ltd is a Swiss insurance company, headquartered in Zürich, and the country's largest insurer. As of 2021, the group is the world's 112th largest public company according to ''Forbes'' Global 2000s list, and in 2011 it ran ...
Slovakia.
Bratislava's geographical position in Central Europe has long made Bratislava a crossroads for
international trade
International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy)
In most countries, such trade represents a significant ...
traffic. Various ancient
trade route
A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over bodies of water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a sing ...
s, such as the
Amber Road
The Amber Road was an ancient trade route for the transfer of amber from coastal areas of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Prehistoric trade routes between Northern and Southern Europe were defined by the amber trade.
...
and the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
waterway, have crossed territory of present-day Bratislava. Today, Bratislava is a road, railway, waterway and airway hub.
Energy
![Mochovce - chladice veže](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Mochovce_-_chladice_ve%C5%BEe.JPG)
In 2012, Slovakia produced a total of 28,393
GWh of
electricity
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...
while at the same time consumed 28 786 GWh. The slightly higher level of consumption than the capacity of production (- 393 GWh) meant the country was not self-sufficient in energy sourcing. Slovakia imported electricity mainly from the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
(9,961 GWh - 73.6% of total import) and exported mainly to Hungary (10,231 GWh - 78.2% of total export).
Nuclear energy accounts for 53.8% of total electricity production in Slovakia, followed by 18.1% of
thermal power
A thermal power station is a type of power station in which heat energy
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary ...
energy, 15.1% by
hydro power
Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a w ...
energy, 2% by
solar energy, 9.6% by other sources and the rest 1.4% is imported.
The two nuclear power-plants in Slovakia are in
Jaslovské Bohunice
Jaslovské Bohunice is a small village in Slovakia in the Trnava District. It is best known for the nearby Bohunice Nuclear Power Plant complex.
The village arose in 1958 through a merge of Jaslovce (pop. 578 in 1948) and Bohunice (pop. 619 in 194 ...
and
Mochovce
Mochovce ( hu, Mohi) is a former village in western Slovakia, best known for its nuclear power plant.
It is situated in Nitra Region, northwest of Levice. The village inhabitants were relocated and the village was destroyed to make place for th ...
, each of them containing two operating reactors. Before the accession of Slovakia to the EU in 2004, the government agreed to turn-off the V1 block of
Jaslovské Bohunice power-plant, built-in 1978. After deactivating the last of the two reactors of the V1 block in 2008, Slovakia stopped being self-dependent in energy production. Currently there is another block (V2) with two active reactors in
Jaslovské Bohunice
Jaslovské Bohunice is a small village in Slovakia in the Trnava District. It is best known for the nearby Bohunice Nuclear Power Plant complex.
The village arose in 1958 through a merge of Jaslovce (pop. 578 in 1948) and Bohunice (pop. 619 in 194 ...
. It is scheduled for decommissioning in 2025. Two new reactors are under construction in Mochovce plant. The nuclear power production in Slovakia occasionally draws the attention of Austrian green-energy activists who organise protests and block the borders between the two countries.
Transportation
There are four main highways D1 to D4 and eight expressways R1 to R8. Many of them are still under construction.
The
D1 motorway connects Bratislava to
Trnava
Trnava (, german: Tyrnau; hu, Nagyszombat, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a ''kraj'' ( Trnava Region) and of an '' okres'' ( T ...
,
Nitra
Nitra (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. It is located 95 km east of Bratislava. With a population of about 78,353, it is the fifth l ...
,
Trenčín
Trenčín (, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 55,000, which makes it the eighth largest muni ...
,
Žilina
Žilina (; hu, Zsolna, ; german: Sillein, or ; pl, Żylina , names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of ...
and beyond, while the
D2 motorway connects it to
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
,
Brno and
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
in the north–south direction. A large part of
D4 motorway (an outer bypass), which should ease the pressure on Bratislava's highway system, is scheduled to open in 2020. The
A6 motorway to
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
connects Slovakia directly to the Austrian motorway system and was opened on 19 November 2007.
Slovakia has three international airports. Bratislava's
M. R. Štefánik Airport is the main and largest
international airport. It is located northeast of the city centre. It serves civil and governmental, scheduled and unscheduled domestic and international flights. The current runways support the landing of all common types of aircraft currently used. The airport has enjoyed rapidly growing passenger traffic in recent years; it served 279,028 passengers in 2000 and 2,292,712 in 2018.
Košice International Airport
Košice International Airport ( sk, Medzinárodné letisko Košice) is an international airport serving Košice, Slovakia. It is the second largest international airport in Slovakia. It is located to the south of St Elisabeth Cathedral, above ...
is an airport serving
Košice. It is the second-largest
international airport in Slovakia. The
Poprad–Tatry Airport is the third busiest airport, the airport is located 5 km west-northwest of ski resort town
Poprad
Poprad (; hu, Poprád; german: Deutschendorf) is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains, famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. It is the biggest town of the Spiš region and the t ...
. It is an airport with one of the highest elevations in Central Europe, at 718 m, which is 150 m higher than
Innsbruck Airport
Innsbruck Airport , also known locally as ''Kranebitten Airport'', is the largest international airport in Tyrol in western Austria. It is located approximately from the centre of Innsbruck. The airport, which was opened in 1925, handles region ...
in Austria.
Railways of Slovak Republic provides railway transport services on national and international lines.
The
Port of Bratislava
The Port of Bratislava ( sk, Prístav Bratislava) is a major port on the river Danube and — in a wider sense — on the Rhine-Main-Danube waterway, located in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It is a universal inland port consisting of two ...
is one of the two international
river ports
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
in Slovakia. The port connects Bratislava to international boat traffic, especially the interconnection from the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
to the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
via the
Rhine-Main-Danube Canal.
Additionally, tourist boats operate from Bratislava's passenger port, including routes to
Devín
Devín (, hu, Dévény, german: Theben) is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, located in the Bratislava IV district. Originally a separate village at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers, Devín maintained its rural cha ...
,
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
and elsewhere. The
Port of Komárno
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
is the second largest port in Slovakia with an area of over 20 hectares and is located approximately 100 km east of Bratislava. It lies at the confluence of two rivers -
the Danube and
Váh
The Váh (; german: Waag, ; hu, Vág; pl, WagWag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów ...
.
Tourism
![Bojnice Castle Slovakia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Bojnice_Castle_Slovakia.jpg)
Slovakia features natural landscapes, mountains,
caves
A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
, medieval
castles
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified ...
and towns, folk architecture, spas and
ski resorts
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In ...
. More than 5,4 million tourists visited Slovakia in 2017. The most attractive destinations are the capital of
Bratislava and the
High Tatras
The High Tatras or High Tatra Mountains ( Slovak: Vysoké Tatry; pl, Tatry Wysokie; rue, Высокі Татри,'' Vysoki Tatry''; hu, Magas-Tátra; german: Hohe Tatra; french: Hautes Tatras), are a mountain range along the border of norther ...
. Most visitors come from the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
(about 26%), Poland (15%) and Germany (11%).
Slovakia contains many castles, most of which are in ruins. The best known castles include
Bojnice Castle
Bojnice Castle ( sk, Bojnický zámok, hu, Bajmóci vár) is a medieval castle in Bojnice, Slovakia. It is a Romanesque castle with some original Gothic and Renaissance elements built in the 12th century. Bojnice Castle is one of the most visit ...
(often used as a filming location),
Spiš Castle
The ruins of Spiš Castle ( sk, Spišský hrad, ; hu, Szepesi vár; pl, Zamek Spiski; german: Zipser Burg) in eastern Slovakia form one of the largest castle sites in Central Europe. The castle is situated above the town of Spišské Podhra ...
, (on the UNESCO list),
Orava Castle
Orava or Orawa may refer to:
*Orava (region), a region in Slovakia and Poland
*Orava (river) in Slovakia
* Orava Castle, a castle in Slovakia
*Orava (reservoir), a reservoir in Slovakia
* Orava County, a historic administrative county of the Kingdo ...
,
Bratislava Castle
Bratislava Castle ( sk, Bratislavský hrad, ; german: Pressburger Burg; hu, Pozsonyi vár) is the main castle of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The massive rectangular building with four corner towers stands on an isolated rocky hill ...
, and the ruins of
Devín Castle
Devín Castle ( sk, hrad Devín, links=no or , hu, Dévényi vár, german: Burg Theben) is a castle in Devín, which is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.
Description
The site has been settled since the Neolithic Age and fortifi ...
.
Čachtice Castle
Čachtice Castle (; sk, Čachtický hrad, hu, Csejte vára) is a castle ruin in Slovakia next to the village of Čachtice. It stands on a hill featuring rare plants, and has been declared a national nature reserve for this reason. The castle w ...
was once the home of the world's most prolific female serial killer, the 'Bloody Lady',
Elizabeth Báthory.
![Bardejov10Slovakia6](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Bardejov10Slovakia6.JPG)
Slovakia's position in Europe and the country's past (part of the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
, the
Habsburg monarchy and
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
) made many cities and towns similar to the cities in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
(such as
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
), Austria (such as
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...
) or Hungary (such as
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
). A historical centre with at least one square has been preserved in many towns. Large historical centres can be found in
Bratislava,
Trenčín
Trenčín (, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 55,000, which makes it the eighth largest muni ...
,
Košice,
Banská Štiavnica,
Levoča
Levoča (; hu, Lőcse; rue, Левоча)
is a town in the Prešov Region of eastern Slovakia with a population of 14,700. The town has a historic center with a well preserved town wall, a Gothic church with the highest wooden altar in the wo ...
, and
Trnava
Trnava (, german: Tyrnau; hu, Nagyszombat, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a ''kraj'' ( Trnava Region) and of an '' okres'' ( T ...
. Historical centres have been going through a restoration in recent years.
Historical churches can be found in virtually every village and town in Slovakia. Most of them are built in the
Baroque style, but there are also many examples of
Romanesque and
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...
, for example
Banská Bystrica, Bardejov and
Spišská Kapitula
Spišská Kapitula (german: Zipser Kapitel, hu, Szepeshely or Szepesi Káptalan) (both meaning the "Spiš Chapter house") is an exceptionally well-preserved ecclesiastical town on the outskirts of Spišské Podhradie, Slovakia, and overlooking ...
. The
Basilica of St. James in Levoča with the tallest wood-carved altar in the world and the Church of the Holy Spirit in
Žehra with medieval
frescos are UNESCO
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
s. The
St. Martin's Concathedral
The St Martin's Cathedral ( sk, Katedrála svätého Martina, hu, Szent Márton-dóm or , german: Kathedrale des Heiligen Martin) is a church in Bratislava, Slovakia, and the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Bratislava.
It is situat ...
in
Bratislava served as the
coronation
A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...
church for the Kingdom of Hungary. The oldest sacral buildings in Slovakia stem from the
Great Moravia
Great Moravia ( la, Regnum Marahensium; el, Μεγάλη Μοραβία, ''Meghálī Moravía''; cz, Velká Morava ; sk, Veľká Morava ; pl, Wielkie Morawy), or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to ...
n period in the ninth century.
![Jasná Ski Resort - gondola lift Kosodrevina - Chopok (4)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Jasn%C3%A1_Ski_Resort_-_gondola_lift_Kosodrevina_-_Chopok_%284%29.jpg)
Very precious structures are the complete wooden churches of northern and northern-eastern Slovakia. Most were built from the 15th century onwards by
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
s,
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
s and members of
eastern-rite churches.
Tourism is one of the main sectors of the Slovakia's economy, although still underserved. It is based on domestic tourism, as most of the tourists are the Slovak nationals and residents travelling for leisure within the country.
Bratislava and the
High and
Low Tatras
The Low Tatras or Low Tatra ( sk, Nízke Tatry; hu, Alacsony-Tátra) is a mountain range of the Inner Western Carpathians in central Slovakia.
It is located south of the Tatras proper, from which it is separated by the valleys of the Vá ...
are the busiest tourist stops. Other popular tourist destinations are the cities and towns of
Košice,
Banská Štiavnica, or
Bardejov
Bardejov (; hu, Bártfa, german: Bartfeld, rue, Бардеёв, uk, Бардіїв) is a town in North-Eastern Slovakia. It is situated in the Šariš region on a floodplain terrace of the Topľa River, in the hills of the Beskyd Mountains. ...
, and numerous national parks, such as
Pieniny National Park Malá and
Veľká Fatra National Parks,
Poloniny National Park
Poloniny National Park ( sk, Národný park Poloniny) is a national park in northeastern Slovakia at the Polish and Ukrainian borders, in the Bukovské vrchy mountain range, which belongs to the Eastern Carpathians. It was created on 1 October 1 ...
, or
Slovak Paradise National Park, among others.
![20180503 Zamek Spiski 2953 DxO](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/20180503_Zamek_Spiski_2953_DxO.jpg)
There are many castles located throughout the country. Among the tourists, some of the most popular are
Bojnice Castle
Bojnice Castle ( sk, Bojnický zámok, hu, Bajmóci vár) is a medieval castle in Bojnice, Slovakia. It is a Romanesque castle with some original Gothic and Renaissance elements built in the 12th century. Bojnice Castle is one of the most visit ...
,
Spiš Castle
The ruins of Spiš Castle ( sk, Spišský hrad, ; hu, Szepesi vár; pl, Zamek Spiski; german: Zipser Burg) in eastern Slovakia form one of the largest castle sites in Central Europe. The castle is situated above the town of Spišské Podhra ...
, Stará Ľubovňa Castle,
Krásna Hôrka Castle
The Krásna Hôrka Castle ( sk, Hrad Krásna Hôrka, hu, Krasznahorka vára) is a castle in Slovakia, built on a hilltop overlooking the village of Krásnohorské Podhradie near Rožňava, in Košice Region. The first recorded mention of the c ...
,
Orava Castle
Orava or Orawa may refer to:
*Orava (region), a region in Slovakia and Poland
*Orava (river) in Slovakia
* Orava Castle, a castle in Slovakia
*Orava (reservoir), a reservoir in Slovakia
* Orava County, a historic administrative county of the Kingdo ...
(where many scenes of
Nosferatu
''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' (German: ''Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens'') is a 1922 silent German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife ...
were filmed),
Trenčín Castle, and
Bratislava Castle
Bratislava Castle ( sk, Bratislavský hrad, ; german: Pressburger Burg; hu, Pozsonyi vár) is the main castle of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The massive rectangular building with four corner towers stands on an isolated rocky hill ...
, and also castles in ruins, such as
Beckov Castle,
Devín Castle
Devín Castle ( sk, hrad Devín, links=no or , hu, Dévényi vár, german: Burg Theben) is a castle in Devín, which is a borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.
Description
The site has been settled since the Neolithic Age and fortifi ...
,
Šariš Castle
Šariš Castle (Slovak language, Slovak: ''Šarišský hrad'', Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Sáros vára'') is a ruined Gothic_architecture, Gothic and Renaissance_architecture_in_Central_Europe, Renaissance era stone castle above the town of V ...
,
Považie Castle, and
Strečno Castle (where
Dragonheart
''Dragonheart'' (stylized as ''DragonHeart'') is a 1996 fantasy adventure film directed by Rob Cohen and written by Charles Edward Pogue based on a story created by him and Patrick Read Johnson. The film stars Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, ...
was filmed).
Caves open to the public are mainly located in Northern Slovakia.
Driny
Driny is a limestone cave in West Slovakia in the Little Carpathians Mountains. It is located around 2 km southwest of the village of Smolenice.
The cave's entrance altitude is 399 m.
The first attempt to enter the cave was made by Prussian ...
is the only cave located in Western Slovakia that is open to the public.
Dobšiná Ice Cave
Dobšiná Ice Cave ( sk, Dobšinská ľadová jaskyňa; hu, Dobsinai-jégbarlang) is an ice cave in Slovakia, near the mining town of Dobšiná in the Slovak Paradise. Since 2000 it has been included on the UNESCO World Heritage list as a part of ...
,
Demänovská Ice Cave,
Demänovská Cave of Liberty,
Belianska Cave
Belianska Cave ( sk, Belianska jaskyňa, ) is a stalactite cave in the Slovak part of the Tatra mountains
The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak () or in Polish () - '' plurale tantum''), are a series of moun ...
, or
Domica Cave
The Domica cave is situated on the south-western border of the ''Silicka planina Plateau'' south-east of Plesivec in the Rožňava District of the Košice Region in southern Slovakia and in combination with the Baradla cave represents the most ...
are among the most popular tourist stops.
Ochtinská Aragonite Cave
Ochtinská Aragonite Cave ( sk, Ochtinská aragonitová jaskyňa, hu, Martonházi-aragonitbarlangthe Magyar Wikipedia article uses a different title) is a unique aragonite cave situated in southern Slovakia, near Rožňava. Although only 300 m lo ...
, located in Central Slovakia, is one of only three aragonite caves in the world. There are thousands of caves located in Slovakia, thirteen of which are open to the public.
Slovakia is also known for its numerous spas.
Piešťany is the biggest and busiest spa town in the country, attracting many visitors from the
Gulf countries
The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. ...
, mostly the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
,
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
, and
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
.
Bardejov
Bardejov (; hu, Bártfa, german: Bartfeld, rue, Бардеёв, uk, Бардіїв) is a town in North-Eastern Slovakia. It is situated in the Šariš region on a floodplain terrace of the Topľa River, in the hills of the Beskyd Mountains. ...
,
Trenčianske Teplice
Trenčianske Teplice (german: Trentschin-Teplitz; hu, Trencsénteplic) is a health resort and small spa town in western Slovakia, in the valley of the river Teplička, at the foothills of the Strážovské vrchy mountains, a few kilometres away ...
,
Turčianske Teplice, and
Rajecké Teplice
Rajecké Teplice ( hu, Rajecfürdő) is a spa town in the Žilina District, Žilina Region in northern Slovakia.
History
The first reliable written record was in 1376. It has town status since 1989.
Geography
The town lies in the Rajčanka r ...
are other major spa towns. Some well-known minor spa towns and villages are
Štós
Štós (before 1973 ''Štos''; german: link=no, Stoß, earlier ''Stoos''; hu, Stósz, earlier ''Soosz'', in the Middle Ages ''Hegyalja'') is a village and municipality in Košice-okolie District in the Košice Region of eastern Slovakia. It i ...
,
Číž,
Dudince,
Kováčová,
Nimnica
Nimnica ( hu, Nemőc) is a spa village and municipality in Púchov District in the Trenčín Region of north-western Slovakia. It is located between the towns of Púchov and Považská Bystrica.
History
In historical records the village was fir ...
,
Smrdáky,
Lúčky, and
Vyšné Ružbachy, among others.
Typical souvenirs from Slovakia are dolls dressed in folk costumes, ceramic objects, crystal glass, carved wooden figures, črpáks (wooden pitchers),
fujara
The fujara () is a large wind instrument of the tabor pipe class. It originated in central Slovakia as a sophisticated folk shepherd's overtone fipple flute of unique design in the contrabass range.
Ranging from 160 to 200 cm long (5'3" ...
s (a
folk instrument
A folk instrument is a musical instrument that developed among common people and usually does not have a known inventor. It can be made from wood, metal or other material. Such an instrument is played in performances of folk music.
Overview
The ...
on the UNESCO list) and
valaškas (a decorated folk hatchet) and above all products made from
corn husks and wire, notably human figures. Souvenirs can be bought in the shops run by the state organisation ÚĽUV (''Ústredie ľudovej umeleckej výroby''—Centre of
Folk Art
Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tr ...
Production). ''Dielo'' shop chain sells works of Slovak artists and craftsmen. These shops are mostly found in towns and cities.
Prices of imported products are generally the same as in the neighbouring countries, whereas prices of local products and services, especially food, are usually lower.
Science
The
Slovak Academy of Sciences
The Slovak Academy of Sciences ( sk, Slovenská akadémia vied, or SAV) is the main scientific and research institution in Slovakia fostering basic and strategic basic research. It was founded in 1942, closed after World War II, and then reestab ...
has been the most important scientific and research institution in the country since 1953. Slovaks have made notable scientific and technical contributions during history. Slovakia is currently in the negotiation process of becoming a member of the
European Space Agency. Observer status was granted in 2010, when Slovakia signed the General Agreement on Cooperation in which information about ongoing education programmes was shared and Slovakia was invited to various negotiations of the ESA. In 2015, Slovakia signed the European Cooperating State Agreement based on which Slovakia committed to the finance entrance programme named PECS (Plan for the European Cooperating States) which serves as preparation for full membership. Slovak research and development organisations can apply for funding of projects regarding space technologies advancement. Full membership of Slovakia in the ESA is expected in 2020 after signing the ESA Convention. Slovakia will be obliged to set state budget inclusive ESA funding. Slovakia was ranked 33rd in the
Global Innovation Index
The Global Innovation Index is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. It was started in 2007 by INSEAD and ''World Business'', a British ma ...
in 2021.
Demographics
![Population density in Slovakia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Population_density_in_Slovakia.png)
The population is over 5.4 million and consists mostly of
Slovaks. The average population density is 110 inhabitants per km
2. According to the 2021 census, the majority of the inhabitants of Slovakia are
Slovaks (83.82%).
Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...
are the largest
ethnic minority (7.75%). Other
ethnic groups include
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
*Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
(1.23%),
Czechs
The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, ...
(0.53%),
Rusyns
Rusyns (), also known as Carpatho-Rusyns (), or Rusnaks (), are an East Slavic ethnic group from the Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn, an East Slavic language variety, treated variously as either a distinct langu ...
(0.44%) and others or unspecified (6.1%).
In 2018 the
median age
A population pyramid (age structure diagram) or "age-sex pyramid" is a graphical illustration of the distribution of a population (typically that of a country or region of the world) by age groups and sex; it typically takes the shape of a pyramid ...
of the Slovak population was 41 years.
The largest waves of Slovak emigration occurred in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the 1990 US census, 1.8 million people self-identified as having Slovak ancestry.
Languages
![Slovak alphabet](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Slovak_alphabet.png)
The
official language
An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...
is
Slovak, a member of the
Slavic language family.
Hungarian is widely spoken in the southern regions, and
Rusyn is used in some parts of the Northeast.
Minority language
A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. Such people are termed linguistic minorities or language minorities. With a total number of 196 sovereign states recognized internationally (as of 2019) a ...
s hold co-official status in the municipalities in which the size of the minority population meets the legal threshold of 15% in two consecutive censuses.
Slovakia is ranked among the top EU countries regarding the knowledge of foreign languages. In 2007, 68% of the population aged from 25 to 64 years claimed to speak two or more foreign languages, finishing second highest in the European Union. The best known foreign language in Slovakia is
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
.
Eurostat report also shows that 98.3% of Slovak students in the upper secondary education take on two foreign languages, ranking highly over the average 60.1% in the European Union. According to a
Eurobarometer
Eurobarometer is a series of public opinion surveys conducted regularly on behalf of the European Commission and other EU Institutions since 1973. These surveys address a wide variety of topical issues relating to the European Union throughout i ...
survey from 2012, 26% of the population have knowledge of English at a conversational level, followed by German (22%) and Russian (17%).
The deaf community uses the
Slovak Sign Language
The Slovak Sign Language is the sign language of the deaf community in Slovakia. It belongs to the French sign-language family. Bickford (2005) found that Slovak, Czech, and Hungarian Sign formed a cluster with Romanian, Bulgarian, and Polish Sig ...
. Even though spoken Czech and Slovak are similar, the Slovak Sign language is not particularly close to
Czech Sign Language
Czech Sign Language is the sign language of the deaf community in the Czech Republic. It presumably emerged around the time of the first deaf school in Bohemia (1786). It belongs to the French sign-language family and is partially intelligible w ...
.
Religion
The
Slovak constitution
Slovak may refer to:
* Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'')
* Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group
* Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages
* Slovak, Arka ...
guarantees
freedom of religion
Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freed ...
. In 2021, 55.8% of population identified themselves as
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
s, 5.3% as
Lutherans
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
, 1.6% as
Calvinists, 4% as
Greek Catholics The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually.
The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...
, 0.9% as
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
, 23.8% identified themselves as
atheists
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
or non-religious, and 6.5% did not answer the question about their belief. In 2004, about one third of the church members regularly attended church services. The
Slovak Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern rite
sui iuris Catholic Church. Before World War II, an estimated 90,000 Jews lived in Slovakia (1.6% of the population), but most were murdered during the
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
. After further reductions due to postwar
emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanent ...
and assimilation, only about 2,300 Jews remain today (0.04% of the population).
There are 18 state-registered religions in Slovakia, of which 16 are Christian, one is Jewish, and one is the
Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...
.
In 2016, a two-thirds majority of the Slovak parliament passed a new bill that would obstruct
Islam and other religious organisations from becoming state-recognised religions by doubling the minimum followers threshold from 25,000 to 50,000; however, Slovakia's then-president
Andrej Kiska
Andrej Kiska (; born 2 February 1963) is a Slovak politician, entrepreneur, writer and philanthropist who served as the fourth president of Slovakia from 2014 to 2019. He ran as an independent candidate in the 2014 presidential election in which ...
vetoed the bill.
In 2010, there were an estimated 5,000
Muslims in Slovakia representing less than 0.1% of the country's population. Slovakia is the only member state of the European Union to not have any
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
s.
Education
![Мальчики ловящие гусей - panoramio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%87%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8_%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%8F%D1%89%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D0%B3%D1%83%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%B9_-_panoramio.jpg)
The
Programme for International Student Assessment
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a worldwide study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in member and non-member nations intended to evaluate educational systems by measuring 15-yea ...
, coordinated by the
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
, currently ranks
Slovak secondary education the 30th in the world (placing it just below the United States and just above Spain).
Education in Slovakia is compulsory from age 6 to 16. The education system consists of elementary school which is divided into two parts, the first grade (age 6–10) and the second grade (age 10–15) which is finished by taking nationwide testing called Monitor, in Slovak and math. Parents may apply for social assistance for a child that is studying on an elementary school or a high-school. If approved, the state provides basic study necessities for the child. Schools provide books to all their students with usual exceptions of books for studying a foreign language and books which require taking notes in them, which are mostly present in the first grade of elementary school.
After finishing elementary school, students are obliged to take one year in high school.
After finishing high school, students can go to university and are highly encouraged to do so. Slovakia has a wide range of universities. The biggest university is
Comenius University
Comenius University in Bratislava ( sk, Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave) is the largest university in Slovakia, with most of its faculties located in Bratislava. It was founded in 1919, shortly after the creation of Czechoslovakia. It is name ...
, established in 1919. Although it's not the first university ever established on Slovak territory, it's the oldest university that is still running. Most universities in Slovakia are public funded, where anyone can apply. Every citizen has a right to free education in public schools.
Slovakia has several privately funded universities, however public universities consistently score better in the ranking than their private counterparts. Universities have different criteria for accepting students. Anyone can apply to any number of universities.
Culture
Folk tradition
Folk tradition
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging fro ...
has rooted strongly in Slovakia and is reflected in literature, music, dance and architecture. The prime example is the Slovak national anthem, ''"
Nad Tatrou sa blýska
"" (; , "Above Tatras it is lightening") is the national anthem of Slovakia. The origins of it are in the Central European activism of the 19th century. Its main themes are a storm over the Tatra mountains that symbolized danger to the Slovaks, ...
"'', which is based on a melody from the ''"
Kopala studienku"'' folk song.
The manifestation of Slovak folklore culture is the "''Východná''" Folklore Festival. It is the oldest and largest nationwide festival with international participation, which takes place in
Východná
Východná ( hu, Vichodna) is a village and municipality in Liptovský Mikuláš District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia.
History
In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1269, at the foot of Kriváň, Slovakia's sym ...
annually. Slovakia is usually represented by many groups but mainly by SĽUK (''Slovenský ľudový umelecký kolektív—Slovak folk art collective''). SĽUK is the largest Slovak folk art group, trying to preserve the folklore tradition.
An example of wooden folk architecture in Slovakia can be seen in the well-preserved village of
Vlkolínec
Vlkolínec is a village under the administration of the town of Ružomberok in Slovakia. Historically, however, it was a separate village. The first written mention of the village came from 1376 and after 1882 it became part of Ružomberok. Its n ...
which has been the
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
since 1993. The
Prešov Region preserves the world's most remarkable folk wooden churches. Most of them are protected by Slovak law as
cultural heritage, but some of them are on the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
list too, in Bodružal, Hervartov, Ladomirová and Ruská Bystrá.
![Carpathian Bazaar of Tastes, Sanok 2010 97](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Carpathian_Bazaar_of_Tastes%2C_Sanok_2010_97.JPG)
The best known Slovak hero, found in many folk
mythologies
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...
, is
Juraj Jánošík
Juraj Jánošík (first name also ''Juro'' or ''Jurko'', ; baptised 25 January 1688, died 17 March 1713) was a Slovak highwayman. Jánošík has been the main character of many Slovak novels, poems, and films. According to the legend, he robbed ...
(1688–1713) (the Slovak equivalent of Robin Hood). The legend says he was taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Jánošík's life was depicted in a list of literary works and many movies throughout the 20th century. One of the most popular is a film ''Jánošík'' directed by Martin Frič in 1935.
Art
![St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/St._James%2C_Levo%C4%8Da%2C_Main_altar%2C_2017_v2.jpg)
Visual art in Slovakia is represented through painting, drawing, printmaking, illustration, Handicraft, arts and crafts, sculpture, photography or conceptual art. The Slovak National Gallery founded in 1948, is the biggest network of galleries in Slovakia. Two displays in Bratislava are situated in Esterházy Palace (Bratislava), Esterházy Palace (''Esterházyho palác'') and the Water Barracks (''Vodné kasárne''), adjacent one to another. They are located on the Danube riverfront in the Old Town.
The Bratislava City Gallery, founded in 1961 is the second biggest Slovak gallery of its kind. It stores about 35,000 pieces of Slovak international art and offers permanent displays in Johann Pálffy Palace, Pálffy Palace and Mirbach Palace, located in the Old Town. Danubiana Art Museum, one of the youngest art museums in Europe, is situated near Čunovo waterworks (part of Gabčíkovo - Nagymaros Dams, Gabčíkovo Waterworks). Other major galleries include: Andy Warhol Museum of Modern Art (Warhol's parents were from Miková), East Slovak Gallery, Ernest Zmeták Art Gallery, Zvolen Castle.
Literature
![Bozetech Klemens Stur](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Bozetech_Klemens_Stur.jpg)
Christian topics include poem Proglas as a foreword to the four Gospels, partial translations of the Bible into
Old Church Slavonic, ''Zakon sudnyj ljudem''.
Medieval literature, in the period from the 11th to the 15th centuries, was written in Latin, Czech and Slovakised Czech. Lyric (prayers, songs and formulas) was still controlled by the Church, while epic was concentrated on legends. Authors from this period include Johannes de Thurocz, author of the Chronica Hungarorum and Maurus, both of them Hungarians.
The worldly literature also emerged and chronicles were written in this period.
Two leading persons codified Slovak. The first was Anton Bernolák, whose concept was based on the western Slovak dialect in 1787. It was the codification of the first-ever literary language of Slovaks. The second was Ľudovít Štúr, whose formation of the Slovak took principles from the central Slovak dialect in 1843.
Slovakia is also known for its polyhistors, of whom include Pavel Jozef Šafárik, Pavol Jozef Šafárik, Matthias Bel, Matej Bel, Ján Kollár, and its political revolutionaries and reformists, such
Milan Rastislav Štefánik
Milan Rastislav Štefánik (; 21 July 1880 – 4 May 1919) was a Slovak politician, diplomat, aviator and astronomer. During World War I, he served at the same time as a general in the French Army and as Minister of War for Czechoslovakia. A ...
and
Alexander Dubček
Alexander Dubček (; 27 November 1921 – 7 November 1992) was a Slovak politician who served as the First Secretary of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) (''de facto'' leader of Czechoslovak ...
.
Cuisine
![Halusky kapustnica](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Halusky_kapustnica.jpg)
Traditional Slovak cuisine is based mainly on pork, poultry (chicken is the most widely eaten, followed by duck, goose, and Turkey as food, turkey), flour, potatoes, cabbage, and milk products. It is relatively closely related to Hungarian cuisine, Hungarian, Czech cuisine, Czech, Polish cuisine, Polish and Austrian cuisine. On the east it is also influenced by Ukrainian cuisine, Ukrainian, including Lemkos, Lemko and Rusyns, Rusyn. In comparison with other European countries, Game (hunting), "game meat" is more accessible in Slovakia due to vast resources of forest and because hunting is relatively popular.
Boar, rabbit, and venison are generally available throughout the year. Sheep, Lamb and goat are eaten but are not widely popular.
The traditional Slovak meals are bryndzové halušky, bryndzové pirohy and other meals with potato dough and bryndza. Bryndza is a salty cheese made of sheep milk, characterised by a strong taste and aroma. Bryndzové halušky especially is considered a national dish, and is very commonly found on the menu of traditional Slovak restaurants.
A typical soup is a sauerkraut soup ("kapustnica"). A Black pudding, blood sausage called "krvavnica", made from any parts of a butchered pig is also a specific Slovak meal.
Wine is enjoyed throughout Slovakia. Slovak wine comes predominantly from the southern areas along the Danube and its tributaries; the northern half of the country is too cold and mountainous to grow grapevines. Traditionally, white wine was more popular than red or rosé (except in some regions), and Sweetness of wine, sweet wine more popular than dry, but in recent years tastes seem to be changing. Beer (mainly of the pilsener style, though Dunkel, dark lagers are also consumed) is also popular.
Sport
Sporting activities are practised widely in Slovakia, many of them on a professional level. Ice hockey and association football, football have traditionally been regarded as the most popular sports in Slovakia, though tennis, handball, basketball, volleyball, whitewater slalom, cycle sport, cycling, alpine skiing, biathlon and sport of athletics, athletics are also popular.
![Slovakia2010WinterOlympicscelebration2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Slovakia2010WinterOlympicscelebration2.jpg)
One of the most popular team sports in Slovakia is ice hockey. Slovakia became a member of the IIHF on 2 February 1993 and since then has won 4 medals in Ice Hockey World Championships, consisting of 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze. The most recent success was a silver medal at the 2012 IIHF World Championship in Helsinki. The Slovak national hockey team made eight appearances in the Slovakia men's national ice hockey team, Olympic games, finishing fourth in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and third with bronze medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The country has 8,280 registered players and is ranked seventh in the IIHF World Ranking at present. The Slovak hockey teams HC Slovan Bratislava and HC Lev Poprad participated in the Kontinental Hockey League.
Slovakia hosted the 2011 IIHF World Championship, where Finland men's national ice hockey team, Finland won the gold medal and 2019 IIHF World Championship, where Finland men's national ice hockey team, Finland also won the gold medal. Both competitions took place in
Bratislava and
Košice.
![Tehelne pole](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Tehelne_pole.jpg)
Football is the most popular sport in Slovakia, with over 400,000 registered players. Since 1993, the Slovak national football team has qualified for the FIFA World Cup once, in 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2010. They progressed to the last 16, where they were defeated by the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands. The most notable result was the 3–2 victory over Italy national football team, Italy. In 2016, the Slovak national football team qualified for the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament, under head coach Ján Kozák (footballer, born 1954), Ján Kozák. This helped the team reach its best-ever position of 14th in the FIFA World Rankings.
In club competitions, only three teams have qualified for the UEFA Champions League Group Stage, namely MFK Košice in 1997–98 UEFA Champions League, 1997–98, FC Artmedia Bratislava in 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, 2005–06 season, and MŠK Žilina in 2010–11 UEFA Champions League, 2010–11. FC Artmedia Bratislava has been the most successful team, finishing third at the Group Stage of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup, UEFA Cup, therefore qualifying for the knockout stage. They remain the only Slovak club that has won a match at the group stage.
See also
* Outline of Slovakia
References
Bibliography
* Julius Bartl et al., ''Slovak History: Chronology & Lexicon.'' Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 2002.
* Olga Drobna, Eduard Drobny, and Magdalena Gocnikova, ''Slovakia: The Heart of Europe.'' Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 1996.
* Pavel Dvorak, ''The Early History of Slovakia in Images.'' Budmerice, Slovakia: Vydavatel'stvo Rak Budmerice, 2006.
* Sharon Fisher, ''Political Change in Post-Communist Slovakia and Croatia: From Nationalist to Europeanist.'' New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.
* Karen Henderson, ''Slovakia: The Escape from Invisibility.'' London: Routledge, 2002.
* Rob Humphrey, ''The Rough Guide to the Czech and Slovak Republics.'' New York: Rough Guides, 2006.
* Michael Jacobs, ''Blue Guide: Czech and Slovak Republics.'' London: A.&C. Black, 1999.
* Owen V. Johnson, ''Slovakia 1918–1938: Education and the Making of a Nation.'' Boulder, CO: East European Monographs, 1985.
* Lil Junas, ''My Slovakia: An American's View.'' Martin, Slovakia: Vydavatelśtvo Matice slovenskej, 2001.
* Stanislav Kirschbaum, ''A History of Slovakia: The Struggle for Survival.'' New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995.
* Eugen Lazistan, Fedor Mikovič, Ivan Kučma, and Anna Jurečková, ''Slovakia: A Photographic Odyssey.'' Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 2001.
* Elena Mannová, ''A Concise History of Slovakia.'' Bratislava: Historický ústav SAV, 2000.
* Anton Spiesz and Dusan Caplovic, ''Illustrated Slovak History: A Struggle for Sovereignty in Central Europe.'' Wauconda, IL : Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 2001.
External links
; Government
Government Office of the Slovak RepublicPresident of the Slovak RepublicMinistry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak RepublicStatistical Office of the Slovak Republic
; Tourism and living information
Official Slovak National Tourism PortalRailways of Slovak RepublicSlovakiaat Lonely Planet
Slovakiaat Tripadvisor
; General Information
Slovakia ''The World Factbook''. Central Intelligence Agency.
Slovakia profilefrom the BBC News
Key Development Forecasts for the Slovak Republicfrom International Futures
{{Coord, 48, 40, N, 19, 30, E, display=title
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