Since 1949 (except 1990–1996), Slovakia has been divided into a number of '' kraje'' (singular ''kraj''; usually translated as "Regions" with capital R). Their number, borders and functions have been changed several times. There are eight regions of Slovakia and they correspond to the EU's

NUTS Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut or Nuts may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Com ...

3 level of local administrative units. Each kraj consists of ''

okres Okres (Czech and Slovak term meaning "district" in English; from German Kreis - circle (or perimeter)) refers to administrative entities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is similar to Landkreis in Germany or "''okrug''" in other Slavic-speaki ...

y'' (counties or districts). There are 79

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

List

After a period without kraje and without any equivalent (1990–1996), the kraje were reintroduced in 1996. As for administrative division, Slovakia has been subdivided into 8 ''kraje'' since 24 July 1996: Since 2002, Slovakia is divided into 8 ''samosprávne kraje'' (self-governing regions), which are called by the Constitution ''vyššie územné celky'' (Higher Territorial Units), abbr. VÚC. The territory and borders of the self-governing regions are identical with the territory and borders of the ''kraje''. Therefore, the word "kraj" can be replaced by "VÚC" or "samosprávny kraj" in each case in the above list. The main difference is that organs of ''samosprávne kraje'' are self-governing, with an elected chairperson and assembly, while the organs of ''kraje'' are appointed by the government.

Name

The term "Region" ( sk, kraj) should not be confused with: * the general (i.e. non-administrative) term "region" ( sk, link=no, región) as it is used for example in the articles List of traditional regions of Slovakia or List of tourism regions of Slovakia *the 4 "regions" ( sk, link=no, regióny or or ) that correspond to the

2 level, i.e. groups of several ''kraje'', used by the

Eurostat Eurostat ('European Statistical Office'; DG ESTAT) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide statis ...

for statistical purposes. These are: **

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

SK 01 (Bratislava Region)comprises only this single kraj **

Západné Slovensko Western Slovakia ( sk, Západné Slovensko) is one of the four NUTS-2 Regions of Slovakia. It was created at the same time as were the Nitra, Trnava and Trenčín regions. Western Slovakia is the most populated of the four regions of Slovakia an ...

SK 02 (Western Slovakia) Trnava, Trenčín and Nitra **

Stredné Slovensko Central Slovakia ( sk, Stredné Slovensko) is one of the four NUTS-2 Regions of Slovakia. It was created at the same time as were the Žilina and the Banská Bystrica regions. Central Slovakia is the largest of the four regions of Slovakia an ...

SK 03 (Central Slovakia) Žilina and

Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other alternative names) is a middle-sized town in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mo ...

Východné Slovensko Eastern Slovakia ( sk, Východné Slovensko) is one of the four NUTS-2 Regions of Slovakia. It was created at the same time as were the Košice and Prešov regions. Eastern Slovakia is the least developed of the four NUTS-2 regions of Slovakia, wi ...

SK 04 (Eastern Slovakia)

Prešov Prešov (, hu, Eperjes, Rusyn language, Rusyn and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Пряшів) is a city in Eastern Slovakia. It is the seat of administrative Prešov Region ( sk, Prešovský kraj) and Šariš, as well as the historic Sáros Cou ...

and

Košice Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...

History

Prior to 1949

Historically, Slovakia was not divided into kraje, but into counties (Slovak: '' župy'' or ''stolice''). This was the case when present-day Slovakia was part of: * Great Moravia (cca. 9th century) * the Kingdom of Hungary (cca. 11th / 12th century1918) * Czechoslovakia (the ''župy'' existed 19181928) *the WWII Slovak Republic (the ''župy'' existed 19401945) In 1928–1939 (and formally also 1945–1948) Slovakia as a whole formed the administrative unit "Slovak land" (''Krajina slovenská'') within Czechoslovakia.

24 December 1948/1 January 1949 – 30 June 1960

*Bratislavský kraj (Bratislava Region) *Banskobystrický kraj (Banská Bystrica Region) *Košický kraj (Košice Region) *Nitriansky kraj (Nitra Region) *Prešovský kraj (Prešov Region) *Žilinský kraj (Žilina Region) Each kraj was named after its principal city.

July 1, 1960 – December 19, 1990

* Stredoslovenský kraj (Central Slovak Region) * Východoslovenský kraj (Eastern Slovak Region) * Západoslovenský kraj (Western Slovak Region) *

(before March 22, 1968, part of the Západoslovenský kraj, afterwards a partly separate entity; from January 1971 a separate ''kraj'') Note: The ''kraje'' were abolished from July 1, 1969, to December 28, 1970, and reintroduced then.

References

External links

EU-maps (the kraje correspond to the NUTS 3 level with EUROSTAT)

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20151005141129/http://www.eastern-slovakia.eu.sk/ Nature and lanscsape of Eastern Slovakia in photo {{Articles on first-level administrative divisions of European countries Subdivisions of Slovakia Slovakia, Regions Slovakia 1 Regions, Slovakia Slovakia geography-related lists