Portal:Slovakia

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The Slovakia Portal

P:SLOVAKIA

Slovakia (/sloʊˈvækiə, -ˈvɑːk-/ (listen); Slovak: Slovensko [ˈslɔʋɛnskɔ] (listen)), officially the Slovak Republic (Slovak: Slovenská republika, listen), 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's mostly mountainous territory spans about 49,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi), with a population of over 5.4 million. The capital and largest city is Bratislava, and the second-largest city is Košice.

The Slavs arrived in the territory of present-day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries. In the 7th century, they played a significant role in the creation of Samo's Empire. In the 9th century, they established the Principality of Nitra, which was later conquered by the Principality of Moravia to establish Great Moravia. In the 10th century, after the dissolution of Great Moravia, the territory was integrated into the Principality of Hungary, which would then become the Kingdom of Hungary in 1000. In 1241 and 1242, after the Mongol invasion of Europe, much of the territory was destroyed. The area was recovered largely thanks to Béla IV of Hungary, who also settled Germans; leading them to become an important ethnic group in the area, especially in what are today parts of central and eastern Slovakia.

After World War I, and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the state of Czechoslovakia was established. The (First) Slovak Republic existed during World War II as a partially-recognized client state of Nazi Germany. 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-led Eastern Bloc. Attempts to liberalize communism in Czechoslovakia culminated in the Prague Spring, which was crushed by the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. In 1989, the Velvet Revolution peacefully ended the Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia, sometimes known as the Velvet Divorce. (Full article...)

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Bratislava (/ˌbrætɪˈslɑːvə/, also US: /ˌbrɑːt-/, Slovak: [ˈbracislaʋa] (listen); Hungarian: Pozsony; German: Pressburg, formerly Preßburg [ˈprɛsbʊrk] (listen)) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 430,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 - approximately 150% of the official figures. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia, occupying both banks of the River Danube and the left bank of the River Morava. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two sovereign states.

The city's history has been influenced by people of many nations and religions, including Austrians, Bulgarians, Croats, Czechs, Germans, Hungarians, Jews, Serbs and Slovaks. It was the coronation site and legislative center and capital of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1536 to 1783; eleven Hungarian kings and eight queens were crowned in St. Martin's Cathedral. Most Hungarian parliament assemblies were held here from the 17th century until the Hungarian Reform Era, and the city has been home to many Hungarian, German and Slovak historical figures. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

...that Pharmacy Salvator in Bratislava, Slovakia survived both World Wars and nationalization but closed after 102 years of operation after being privatized?
...that Slovak is an unincorporated community in Prairie County, Arkansas, United States?
...that the Trinitarian Church in Bratislava was built on the place of an older settlement which was demolished in 1529 due to the Ottoman wars?
...that Slovak Paradise National Park is home to more than 2,100 species of butterfly, resulting in the highest concentration in Slovakia?
...that tajchy, a network of 60 water reservoirs and more than 100 km of channels, was built in the 1700s to drain flooded silver mines in Banská Štiavnica?
...that of 43 people on board, the sole survivor of the 2006 Slovak Air Force Antonov An-24 crash was in the toilet at the time of the crash?
...that archaeologists discovered bones of at least seven people sacrificed by druids in Havránok?

General images

The following are images from various Slovakia-related articles on Wikipedia.

Tiso's independent Slovakia in 1941.
This wooden church in Bodružal is an example of Rusyn folk architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
A map of modern Slovakia.
Czechoslovakia in 1928
Ľudovít Štúr, the author of the Slovak language standard
Wooden folk architecture can be seen in the well preserved village of Vlkolínec, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Slovak folk dance
Massive anti-government rally in Bratislava, 9 March 2018
The "Miracle of the Rain" depicted on the Column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome
Europe around 900.
Germanic and other tribes within the Hun-dominated areas, around 450 AD
Czechoslovakia 1969–1990.
The Long Turkish War in 1593–1606
A map presenting Moravia and the Principality of Nitra.
Areas ruled by Matthew III Csák and Amade Aba.
Football stadium Tehelné pole in Bratislava. Association football is the most popular sport in Slovakia.
Halušky with bryndza cheese, kapustnica soup and Zlatý Bažant dark beer—examples of Slovak cuisine
The spread of archaeological cultures associated with the Celts in Europe:
  core Hallstatt territory, by the 6th century BC
  maximal Celtic expansion, by the 3rd century BC
  Lusitanian and Vettones' area where Celtic presence has been proposed by Koch and Cunliffe
A map of the northern part of the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary in 1850, showing the two military districts which had administrative centres in the territory of present-day Slovakia
Suggested borders of the Duchy of Nitra, proposed by Ján Steinhübel based on the description of the southern frontiers of Poland under Duke Boleslav the Brave (r. 992–1025) in the late 13th-century Polish-Hungarian Chronicle
Present-day Slovakia as part of Poland under the reign of Boleslav the Brave (r. 992–1025): the borders of Poland are described based on the report of the late 13th-century Polish-Hungarian Chronicle, the reliability of which is not universally accepted by specialists
The Avar settlement area from the 7th to the 9th century, according to Éva Garam
The Slovak national ice hockey team celebrating a victory against Sweden at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Slovaks wearing folk costumes from Eastern Slovakia
Slavic peoples in the 6th century
A map of the federalization of Austria-Hungary planned by Archduke Franz Ferdinand, with Slovakia as one of the member states
Sure and disputed borders of Great Moravia under Svatopluk I (according to modern historians)
Territorial losses in 1938–39.
Main altar in Basilica of St. James from the workshop of Master Paul of Levoča, highest wooden altar in the world, 1517
The Mongol invasion in the 13th century led to construction of mighty stone castles, such as Spiš Castle.