Slovakia

This article is about the European country. For the constituency, see Slovakia (European Parliament constituency).

"Slovak Republic" redirects here. For other political states, see Slovak Republic (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Slovenia, Slavonia, or Moravian Slovakia.

Slovak Republic Slovenská republika  (Slovak)
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Nad Tatrou sa blýska Lightning Over the Tatras
Location of  Slovakia  (dark green) – in Europe  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green)  –  [Legend]
Capital and largest city	Bratislava 48°09′N 17°07′E
Official languages	Slovak
Ethnic groups (2011)	80.7% Slovaks 8.5% Hungarians 2.0% Roma 0.6% Czechs 0.6% Rusyns 0.1% Ukrainians 0.1% Germans 0.1% Poles 0.1% Moravians 7.0% unspecified
Demonym	Slovak
Government	Parliamentary republic
• President	Andrej Kiska
• Prime Minister	Robert Fico
Legislature	National Council
Independence
•  from Austria–Hungary (as part of Czechoslovakia)	28 October 1918
• from Czechoslovakia	1 January 1993a
• Joined the European Union	1 May 2004
Area
• Total	49,035 km2 (18,933 sq mi) (129th)
• Water (%)	negligible
Population
• 2015 estimate	5,426,252 (116th)
• 2011 census	5,397,036
• Density	111/km2 (287.5/sq mi) (88th)
GDP (PPP)	2017 estimate
• Total	$158.428 billion
• Per capita	$32,193 (40th)
GDP (nominal)	2017 estimate
• Total	$96.610 billion
• Per capita	$17,769 (43rd)
Gini (2014)	26.1 low · 8th
HDI (2014)	0.844 very high · 35th
Currency	Euro (€)b (EURb)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Drives on the	right
Calling code	+421c
Patron saint	Saints Cyril and Methodius Our Lady of Sorrows
ISO 3166 code	SK
Internet TLD	.skd
Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia; see Velvet Divorce. Slovak koruna before 2009. Shared code 42 with Czech Republic until 1997. Also .eu, shared with other European Union member states.

Slovakia (ⁱ/sloʊˈvækiə, slə-, -ˈvɑː-/; Slovak: Slovensko [ˈsloʋensko]), officially the Slovak Republic (Slovak: Slovenská republika,  listen ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. Slovakia's territory spans about 49,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi) and is mostly mountainous. The population is over 5 million and comprises mostly ethnic Slovaks. The capital and largest city is Bratislava. The official language is Slovak, a member of the Slavic language family.

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 and in the 9th century established the Principality of Nitra. In the 10th century, the territory was integrated into the Kingdom of Hungary, which itself became part of the Habsburg Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After World War I and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Slovaks and Czechs established Czechoslovakia. A separate (First) Slovak Republic (1939–1945) existed in World War II as a client state of Nazi Germany. In 1945, Czechoslovakia was reestablished under Communist rule as a Soviet satellite. In 1989 the Velvet Revolution ended authoritarian Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia.

Slovakia is a high-income advanced economy with a very high Human Development Index, a very high standard of living and performs favourably in measurements of civil liberties, press freedom, internet freedom, democratic governance and peacefulness. The country maintains a combination of market economy with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system. The country joined the European Union in 2004 and the Eurozone on 1 January 2009. Slovakia is also a member of the Schengen Area, NATO, the United Nations, the OECD, the WTO, CERN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group. Slovak economy is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and 3rd fastest in eurozone. Its legal tender, the Euro, is the world's 2nd most traded currency. Although regional income inequality is high, 90% of citizens own their homes. In 2016 Slovak citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 165 countries and territories, ranking the Slovak passport 11th in the world. Slovakia is the world’s biggest per-capita car producer with a total of 1.143.653 cars manufactured in the country in 2016 alone. The car industry represents 43 percent of Slovakia’s industrial output and a quarter of its exports.

History

Main article: History of Slovakia

A Venus from Moravany nad Váhom, which dates back to 22,800 BC.

Radiocarbon datingputs the oldest surviving archaeological artefacts from Slovakia – found near Nové Mesto nad Váhom – at 270,000 BC, in the Early Paleolithic era. These ancient tools, made by the Clactonian technique, bear witness to the ancient habitation of Slovakia.

Other stone tools from the Middle Paleolithic era (200,000 – 80,000 BC) come from the Prévôt (Prepoštská) cave near Bojnice and from other nearby sites. The most important discovery from that era is a Neanderthal cranium (c. 200,000 BC), discovered near Gánovce, a village in northern Slovakia.

Archaeologists have found prehistoric human skeletons in the region, as well as numerous objects and vestiges of the Gravettian culture, principally in the river valleys of Nitra, Hron, Ipeľ, Váh and as far as the city of Žilina, and near the foot of the Vihorlat, Inovec, and Tribeč mountains, as well as in the Myjava Mountains. The most well-known finds include the oldest female statue made of mammoth-bone (22,800 BC), the famous Venus of Moravany. The statue was found in the 1940s in Moravany nad Váhom near Piešťany. Numerous necklaces made of shells from Cypraca thermophile gastropods of the Tertiary 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 and Central Europe.

Bronze Age

Left: A Celtic Biatec coin
Right: Five Slovak crowns

The Bronze Age in the geographical territory of modern-day Slovakia went through three stages of development, stretching from 2000 to 800 BC. 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) and northwest Slovakia. Copper became a stable source of prosperity for the local population.

After the disappearance of the Čakany and Velatice cultures, the Lusatian people expanded building of strong and complex fortifications, with the large permanent buildings and administrative centres. Excavations of Lusatian hill forts document the substantial development of trade and agriculture at that period. The richness and the diversity of tombs increased considerably. The inhabitants of the area manufactured arms, shields, jewellery, dishes, and statues.

Iron Age

Hallstatt Period

The arrival of tribes from Thrace disrupted the people of the Kalenderberg culture, who lived in the hamlets located on the plain (Sereď) and in the hill forts like Molpír, near Smolenice, in the Little Carpathians. 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. The 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 disappeared in Slovakia during the last century before the middle of first millennium BCE, after strife between the Scytho-Thracian people and locals, resulting in abandonment of the old hill-forts. Relatively depopulated areas soon caught interest of emerging Celtic 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 BC, the territory of modern-day Slovakia was settled by Celts, who built powerful oppida on the sites of modern-day Bratislava and Devin. Biatecs, silver coins 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 Puchov culture, with advanced crafts and iron-working, many hill-forts and fortified settlements of central type with 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.

Roman Period

From 2 AD, the expanding Roman Empire established and maintained a series of outposts around and just north of the Danube, the largest of which were known as Carnuntum (whose remains are on the main road halfway between Vienna and Bratislava) and Brigetio (present-day Szöny at the Slovak-Hungarian border). Such Roman border settlements were built on the present area of Rusovce, currently a suburb of Bratislava. The military fort was surrounded by a civilian vicus and several farms of the villa rustica type. The name of this settlement was Gerulata. The military fort had an auxiliary cavalry unit, approximately 300 horses strong, modelled after the Cananefates. The remains of Roman buildings have also survived in Devin castle (present-day downtown Bratislava), the suburbs of Dubravka and Stupava, and Bratislava Castle Hill.

A Roman inscription at the castle hill of Trenčín (178–179 AD).

Near the northernmost line of the Roman hinterlands, the Limes Romanus, there existed the winter camp of Laugaricio (modern-day Trenčín) where the Auxiliary of Legion II fought and prevailed in a decisive battle over the Germanic Quadi tribe in 179 AD during the Marcomannic Wars. The Kingdom of Vannius, a kingdom founded by the Germanic Suebian tribes of Quadi and Marcomanni, as well as several small Germanic and Celtic tribes, including the Osi and Cotini, existed in Western and Central Slovakia from 8–6 BC to 179 AD.

Great invasions from the 4th to 7th centuries

In the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, the Huns 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 Hun tribe. In 568, a Turko-Mongol tribal confederacy, the Avars, conducted its own invasion into the Middle Danube region. The Avars occupied the lowlands of the Pannonian Plain, and established an empire dominating the Carpathian Basin.

In 623, the Slavic population living in the western parts of Pannonia seceded from their empire after a revolution led by Samo, 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 5th century. Western Slovakia was the centre of Samo's empire in the 7th century. A Slavic state known as the Principality of Nitra arose in the 8th century and its ruler Pribina had the first known Christian church of the territory of present-day Slovakia consecrated by 828. Together with neighbouring Moravia, the principality formed the core of the Great Moravian Empire from 833. The high point of this Slavonic empire came with the arrival of Saints Cyril and Methodius in 863, during the reign of Prince Rastislav, and the territorial expansion under King Svatopluk I.

Great Moravia (830–before 907)

Main article: Great Moravia

Scire vos volumus, a letter written in 879 by Pope John VIII to Svatopluk I

Certain and disputed borders of Great Moravia under Svatopluk I (according to modern historians)

A statue of Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius in Žilina. In 863, they introduced Christianity to what is now Slovakia.

Great Moravia arose around 830 when Mojmír I unified the Slavic tribes settled north of the Danube 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 deposed him and assisted Mojmír's nephew Rastislav (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 influence of Frankish priests preaching in his realm. Rastislav asked the Byzantine Emperor Michael III to send teachers who would interpret Christianity in the Slavic vernacular.

Upon Rastislav's request, two brothers, Byzantine officials and missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius 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) are also mentioned in connection with Rastislav by Frankish chronicles.

During Rastislav's reign, the Principality of Nitra was given to his nephew Svatopluk as an appanage. The rebellious prince allied himself with the Franks and overthrew his uncle in 870. Similarly to his predecessor, Svatopluk 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 and Slovakia but also present-day northern and central Hungary, Lower Austria, Bohemia, Silesia, Lusatia, 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 semi-nomadic 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 in Great Moravia with Archbishop Methodius as its head. He also named the German cleric Wiching the Bishop of Nitra.

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, 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, left their territories east of the Carpathian Mountains, invaded the Carpathian Basin 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 Bavarian 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. The administrative system of Great Moravia may have influenced the development of the administration of the Kingdom of Hungary.

Kingdom of Hungary (1000–1918)

Main article: Kingdom of Hungary

Stephen I, King of Hungary

A Slovak volunteers' corp during the fight for independence from the Kingdom of Hungary

Royal Hungary, Principality of Upper Hungary, Principality of Transylvania and Ottoman eyalets around 1683.

Following the disintegration of the Great Moravian Empire at the turn of the 10th century, the Hungarians annexed the territory comprising modern Slovakia. After their defeat on the Lech River they abandoned their nomadic ways; they settled in the centre of the Carpathian valley, adopted Christianity and began to build a new state – the Hungarian kingdom.

From the 11th century, when the territory inhabited by the Slavic-speaking population of Danubian Basin was incorporated into the Kingdom of Hungary, until 1918, when the Austro-Hungarian empire collapsed, the territory of modern Slovakia was an integral part of the Hungarian state. The ethnic composition became more diverse with the arrival of the Carpathian Germans in the 13th century, and the Jews 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 the present-day Slovakia was characterised rather by burgeoning towns, construction of numerous stone castles, and the cultivation of the arts. In 1465, King Matthias Corvinus founded the Hungarian Kingdom's third university, in Pressburg (Bratislava, Pozsony), but it was closed in 1490 after his death.

Before the Ottoman Empire's expansion into Hungary and the occupation of Buda in 1541, the capital of the Kingdom of Hungary (under the name of Royal Hungary) moved to Pressburg (in Slovak: Prešporok at that time, currently Bratislava). Pressburg became the capital city of Royal Hungary in 1536. But the Ottoman wars and frequent insurrections against the Habsburg Monarchy also inflicted a great deal of devastation, especially in the rural areas. As the Turks withdrew from Hungary in the late 17th century, the importance of the territory comprising modern Slovakia decreased, although Pressburg retained its status as the capital of Hungary until 1848, when it was transferred to Buda.

During the revolution of 1848–49, the Slovaks supported the Austrian Emperor, hoping for independence from the Hungarian part of the Dual Monarchy, but they failed to achieve their aim. Thereafter relations between the nationalities deteriorated (see Magyarization), culminating in the secession of Slovakia from Hungary after World War I.

Czechoslovakia (1918–1939)

Main article: Czechoslovakia

A monument to Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and Milan Štefánik – both key figures in early Czechoslovakia

In 1918, Slovakia and the regions of Bohemia, Moravia, Czech Silesia and Carpathian Ruthenia formed a common state, Czechoslovakia, with the borders confirmed by the Treaty of Saint Germain and Treaty of Trianon. In 1919, during the chaos following the break-up of Austria-Hungary, Czechoslovakia was formed with numerous Germans and Hungarians within the newly set borders. A Slovak patriot Milan Rastislav Štefánik (1880–1919), who helped organise Czechoslovak regiments against Austria-Hungary during the First World War, died in a plane crash. 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 and remained the only democracy in this part of Europe in the interwar period.

During the Interwar period, democratic Czechoslovakia was allied with France, and also with Romania and Yugoslavia (Little Entente); 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. The minority Germans came to accept their role in the new country and relations with Austria were good. Yet the Great Depression caused a sharp economic downturn, followed by political disruption and insecurity in Europe.

Thereafter Czechoslovakia came under continuous pressure from the revisionist governments of Germany and Hungary. Eventually this led to the Munich Agreement of September 1938, which allowed Nazi Germany to partially dismember the country by occupying what was called the Sudetenland, a region with a German-speaking majority and bordering Germany and Austria. The remainder of "rump" Czechoslovakia was renamed Czecho-Slovakia and included a greater degree of Slovak political autonomy. Southern and eastern Slovakia, however, was reclaimed by Hungary at the First Vienna Award of November 1938.

World War II (1939–1945)

Main article: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

German map of the First Slovak Republic in 1943

Edvard Beneš, leader of the Czechoslovak government-in-exile.

Troops of Slovak anti-Nazi resistance movement in 1944.

After the Munich Agreement and its Vienna Award, Nazi Germany threatened to annexe 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 coalition. Secession had created the first Slovak state in history. The government of the First Slovak Republic, led by Jozef Tiso and Vojtech Tuka, was strongly influenced by Germany and gradually became a puppet regime in many respects.

Meanwhile, the Czechoslovak government-in-exile, sought to reverse the Munich Agreement and the subsequent German occupation of Czechoslovakia, and to return the Republic to its 1937 boundaries. The government operated from London and it was ultimately considered, by those countries that recognised it, the legitimate government for Czechoslovakia throughout the Second World War.

Adolf Hitler greeting Jozef Tiso, 1941.

75,000 Jews were deported from the country and taken to German death camps. Thousands of Jews, however, remained to labour in Slovak work camps in Sereď, Vyhne, and Nováky. Tiso, through the granting of presidential exceptions, has been credited with saving as many as 40,000 Jews during the war, although other estimates place the figure closer to 4,000 or even 1,000. Nevertheless, under Tiso's government, the vast majority of Slovakia's Jewish population (between 75,000–105,000 individuals) were murdered. The Slovak state paid Germany 500 RM per every deported Jew for "retraining and accommodation" (similar payment, but only 30 RM was paid by Croatia).

After it became clear that the Soviet Red Army was going to push the Nazis out of eastern and central Europe, an anti-Nazi resistance movement launched a fierce armed insurrection, known as the Slovak National Uprising, 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.

Soviet influence and Communist party rule (1948–1989)

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.

The Velvet Revolution ended 41 years of authoritarian Communist rule in Czechoslovakia in 1989.

After World War II, Czechoslovakia was reconstituted and Jozef Tiso 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. Out of about 130,000 Carpathian Germans in Slovakia in 1938, by 1947 only some 20,000 remained.

As a result of Yalta Conference, Czechoslovakia came under the influence and later under direct occupation of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact, after a coup in 1948. The country was invaded by the Warsaw Pact forces (with the exception of Romania) in 1968, ending a period of liberalisation under the leadership of Alexander Dubček. In 1969 Czechoslovakia became a federation of the Czech Socialist Republic and the Slovak Socialist Republic. Czechoslovakia was never part of the Soviet Union and remained an independent nation.

Establishment of the Slovak Republic (after 1993)

Slovakia became a member of the European Union in 2004 and signed the Lisbon Treaty in 2007.

The end of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia in 1989, during the peaceful Velvet Revolution, was followed once again by the country's dissolution, this time into two successor states. The word "socialist" was dropped in the names of the two republics, i.e. the Slovak Socialist Republic was renamed Slovak Republic. In July 1992 Slovakia, led by Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar, 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 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 went their separate ways after 1 January 1993, an event sometimes called the Velvet Divorce. Slovakia has remained a close partner with the Czech Republic. Both countries co-operate with Hungary and Poland in the Visegrád Group. 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 as its national currency.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Slovakia

See also: Geomorphological division of Slovakia

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. Amongst these mountain ranges are the high peaks of the Fatra-Tatra Area (including Tatra Mountains, Greater Fatra and Lesser Fatra), Slovak Ore Mountains, Slovak Central Mountains or Beskids. The largest lowland is the fertile Danubian Lowland in the southwest, followed by the Eastern Slovak Lowland in the southeast.

Tatra mountains

Main article: Tatra Mountains

Panorama of the High Tatras

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  Gerlachovský štít (2,655 metres or 8,711 feet), the highest peak in Slovakia

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  Kriváň (2,495 metres or 8,186 feet), the country's symbol on 1,2 and 5 euro cents

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  View from Lomnický štít (2,634 metres or 8,642 feet)

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  Skalnaté pleso Observatory (1,751 metres or 5,745 feet)

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  Ľadový štít (2,627 metres or 8,619 feet)

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  Bystrá (2,248 metres or 7,375 feet)

Tatras, with 29 peaks higher than 2,500 metres (8,202 feet) AMSL, are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains. Tatras occupy an area of 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi), of which the greater part 600 square kilometres (232 sq mi) lies in Slovakia. They are divided into several parts.

To the north, close to the Polish border, are the High Tatras which are a popular hiking and skiing destination and home to many scenic lakes and valleys as well as the highest point in Slovakia, the Gerlachovský štít at 2,655 metres (8,711 ft) and the country's highly symbolic mountain Kriváň. To the west are the Western Tatras with their highest peak of Bystrá at 2,248 metres (7,375 ft) and to the east are the Belianske Tatras, smallest by area.

Separated from the Tatras proper by the valley of the Váh river are the Low Tatras, with their highest peak of Ďumbier at 2,043 metres (6,703 ft).

The Tatra mountain range is represented as one of the three hills on the coat of arms of Slovakia.

National parks

Main article: List of national parks of Slovakia

A topographic map of Slovakia

There are 9 national parks in Slovakia:

Name	Established	Area
Tatra National Park	1949	738 square kilometres (73,800 ha)
Low Tatras National Park	1978	728 square kilometres (72,800 ha)
Veľká Fatra National Park	2002	404 square kilometres (40,400 ha)
Slovak Karst National Park	2002	346 square kilometres (34,600 ha)
Poloniny National Park	1997	298 square kilometres (29,800 ha)
Malá Fatra National Park	1988	226 square kilometres (22,600 ha)
Muránska planina National Park	1998	203 square kilometres (20,300 ha)
Slovak Paradise National Park	1988	197 square kilometres (19,700 ha)
Pieniny National Park	1967	38 square kilometres (3,800 ha)

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  Tatra National Park

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  Low Tatras National Park

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  Slovak Paradise National Park

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  Pieniny National Park

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  Veľká Fatra National Park

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  Malá Fatra National Park

Caves

Domica Cave

Main article: List of caves in Slovakia

Slovakia has hundreds of caves and caverns under its mountains, out of which 15 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's World Heritage Site status. They are Dobšinská Ice Cave, Domica, Gombasek Cave, Jasovská Cave and Ochtinská Aragonite Cave. Other caves open to the public include Belianska Cave, Demänovská Cave of Liberty, Demänovská Ice Cave or Bystrianska Cave

Rivers

Belá River

Main article: List of rivers of Slovakia

Most of the rivers stem in the Slovak mountains. Some only pass through and the others make a natural border with surrounding countries (more than 620 kilometres (385 mi)). For example, the Dunajec (17 kilometres (11 mi)) to the north, the Danube (172 kilometres (107 mi)) to the south or the Morava (119 kilometres (74 mi)) to the West. The total length of the rivers on Slovak territory is 49,774 kilometres (30,928 mi).

The longest river in Slovakia is the Váh (403 kilometres (250 mi)), the shortest is the Čierna voda. Other important and large rivers are the Myjava, the Nitra (197 kilometres (122 mi)), the Orava, the Hron (298 kilometres (185 mi)), the Hornád (193 kilometres (120 mi)), the Slaná (110 kilometres (68 mi)), the Ipeľ (232 kilometres (144 mi), forming the border with Hungary), the Bodrog, the Laborec, the Latorica and the Ondava.

The biggest volume of discharge in Slovak rivers is during spring, 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 Danube is the largest river that flows through Slovakia.

Lakes

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  Štrbské pleso natural lake is a popular tourist destination in the High Tatras

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  Popradské pleso

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  Zelené pleso Kežmarské

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  Veľké Hincovo pleso

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  Žabie pleso in the High Tatras

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  Zbojnícke Ľadové pleso in Veľká Studená dolina

There are around 175 naturally formed tarns in High Tatras. With an area of 20 hectares (49 acres) and its depth of 53 metres (174 ft), Veľké Hincovo pleso is the largest and the deepest tarn in Slovakia. Other tarns in the High Tatras include Štrbské pleso, Popradské pleso, Skalnaté pleso, Zbojnícke pleso, Velické pleso, Žabie pleso, Krivánske zelené pleso or Roháčske plesá. Other than in the High Tatras there are Vrbické pleso in Low Tatras, Morské oko and Vinné jazero in Vihorlat Mountains or Jezerské jazero in Spišská Magura.

The largest dams on the river Váh are Liptovská Mara and Sĺňava. Other well-known dams are Oravská priehrada in the north, Zemplínska Šírava and Domaša in the east, Senecké jazerá, Zlaté piesky or Zelená voda in the west.

Climate

Köppen climate classification types of Slovakia

Autumn in Slovakia

Winter in Banská Štiavnica

The Slovak climate lies between the temperate and continental climate zones with relatively warm summers and cold, cloudy and humid winters. Temperature extremes are between −41 to 40.3 °C (−41.8 to 104.5 °F) although temperatures below −30 °C (−22 °F) are rare. The weather differs from the mountainous North to the plain South.

The warmest region is Bratislava and Southern Slovakia where the temperatures may reach 30 °C (86 °F) in summer, occasionally to 39 °C (102 °F) in Hurbanovo. During night, the temperatures drop to 20 °C (68 °F). The daily temperatures in winter average in the range of −5 °C (23 °F) to 10 °C (50 °F). During night it may be freezing, but usually not below −10 °C (14 °F).

In Slovakia, there are four seasons, each season (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) 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 fog is often, especially in winter.

Spring starts with the 21st of March and is characterised by colder weather with average daily temperature of 9 °C (48 °F) in the first weeks and about 14 °C (57 °F) in May and 17 °C (63 °F) in June. In Slovakia, the weather and climate in the spring is very unstable.

Summer starts on 22 June and is usually characterised by hot weather with daily temperatures exceeding 30 °C (86 °F). July is the warmest month with temperatures up to about 37 to 40 °C (99 to 104 °F), 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 25 °C (77 °F) (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 14 °C (57 °F), in November to 3 °C (37 °F). Late September and early October is a dry and sunny time of year (so-called Indian Summer).

Winter starts on 21 December with temperatures around −5 to −10 °C (23 to 14 °F). 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 is changing 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 −20 °C (−4 °F) and colder.

Biodiversity

Rupicapra rupicapra tatrica in the Tatra Mountains

Slovakia signed the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity 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 animals (such as annellids, arthropods, molluscs, nematodes and vertebrates), fungi (Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota, Glomeromycota and Zygomycota), micro-organisms (including Mycetozoa), and plants.

Fungi

Over 4000 species of fungi have been recorded from Slovakia. Of these, nearly 1500 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.

Politics and government

Main articles: Politics of Slovakia and Law of Slovakia

See also: Prime Minister of Slovakia and List of Presidents of Slovakia

Grassalkovich Palace in Bratislava is the seat of the President of Slovakia

Slovakia is a parliamentary democratic republic with a multi-party system. The last parliamentary elections were held on 5 March 2016 and two rounds of presidential elections took place on 15 and 29 March 2014.

The Slovak head of state is the president (currently Andrej Kiska), elected by direct popular vote for a five-year term. Most executive power lies with the head of government, the prime minister (currently Robert Fico), who is usually the leader of the winning party, but he/she 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 body is the 150-seat unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic (Národná rada Slovenskej republiky). Delegates are elected for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation. Slovakia's highest judicial body is the Constitutional Court of Slovakia (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.

Slovakia has been a member state of the European Union and NATO since 2004. As a member of the United Nations (since 1993), Slovakia was, on 10 October 2005, elected to a two-year term on the UN Security Council from 2006 to 2007. Slovakia is also a member of WTO, OECD, OSCE, and other international organisations.

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 is based on Austro-Hungarian codes. The legal code was modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge the Marxist–Leninist legal theory. Slovakia accepts the compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction with reservations.

The National Council building in Bratislava

Episcopal Summer Palace, the seat of the government of Slovakia

The president is the head of state and the formal head of the executive, though with very limited powers. The president is elected by direct, popular vote under the two-round system for a five-year term.

Following National Council elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president. Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister has to receive the majority in the parliament.

Main office holders

Office	Name	Party	Since
President	Andrej Kiska	Independent	15 June 2014
Prime Minister	Robert Fico	SMER-SD	4 April 2012
Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic	Andrej Danko	SNS	23 March 2016
Deputy Speakers of the National Council of the Slovak Republic	Béla Bugár Martin Glváč Andrej Hrnčiar Lucia Nicholsonová	Most–Híd SMER-SD #SIEŤ Freedom and Solidarity	23 March 2016 23 March 2016 23 March 2016 23 March 2016

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Slovakia

See also: List of diplomatic missions of Slovakia

Embassy of Japan in Bratislava

Slovak Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Slovakia has been a member of European Union since 2004. Slovakia has been an active participant in US- and NATO-led military actions. There is a joint Czech-Slovak peacekeeping force in Kosovo.

Slovakia is a member of the United Nations and participates in its specialised agencies. It is a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the OECD. It also is part of the Visegrad Four (Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland), a forum for discussing areas of common concern.

The Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic entered into a Customs Union upon the division of Czechoslovakia in 1993, which facilitates a relatively free flow of goods and services. Slovakia maintains diplomatic relations 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.

Military

Main article: Military of Slovakia

Slovak Air Force MiG-29 NATO upgrade

Slovak 5th Special Forces Regiment operating in eastern Afghanistan

The Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic number 14,000 uniformed personnel. Slovakia joined NATO in March 2004. From 2006 the army transformed into a fully professional organisation and compulsory military service was abolished.

Slovak Ground Forces are made up of two active mechanised infantry brigades. The Air and Air Defence Forces comprise one wing of fighters, one wing of utility helicopters, 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

The US State Department in 2010 reported:

"The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas. Notable human rights problems included some continuing reports of police mistreatment of Romani suspects and lengthy pretrial detention; restrictions on freedom of religion; concerns about the integrity of the judiciary, corruption in national government, local government, and government health services; violence against women and children; trafficking in women and children; and societal discrimination and violence against Roma and other minorities."

Human rights in Slovakia are guaranteed by the Constitution of Slovakia from the year 1992 and by multiple international laws signed in Slovakia between 1948 and 2006. Slovakia excludes multiple citizenships.

Administrative divisions

Main articles: Regions of Slovakia, Districts of Slovakia, and List of municipalities and towns in Slovakia

As for administrative division, Slovakia is subdivided into 8 krajov (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 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 many okresy (sg. okres, usually translated as districts). Slovakia currently has 79 districts.

The okresy are further divided into obcí (sg. obec, usually translated as "municipality"). There are currently 2,891 obcí.

In terms of economics and unemployment rate, the western regions are richer than eastern regions. Bratislava is the sixth richest region of the European Union and GDP per capita is about 3 times higher than in other Slovak regions.

Prešov Košice Žilina Banská Bystrica Trenčín Nitra Trnava Bratislava

Name in English Name in Slovak Administrative seat Population (2011) Bratislava Region Bratislavský kraj Bratislava 602,436 Trnava Region Trnavský kraj Trnava 554,741 Nitra Region Nitriansky kraj Nitra 689,867 Trenčín Region Trenčiansky kraj Trenčín 594,328 Banská Bystrica Region Banskobystrický kraj Banská Bystrica 660,563 Žilina Region Žilinský kraj Žilina 688,851 Košice Region Košický kraj Košice 791,723 Prešov Region Prešovský kraj Prešov 814,527

Economy

Main article: Economy of Slovakia

A graphical depiction of Slovakia's product exports in 28 colour-coded categories.

Slovakia is part of the Schengen Area, the EU single market, and since 2009, the Eurozone (dark blue)

The Slovak economy is a developed, high-income economy, with the GDP per capita equalling 76% of the average of the European Union in 2014. The country used to be dubbed the "Tatra Tiger" before the recent global economic crisis. Slovakia successfully transformed from a centrally planned economy to a market-driven economy. Major privatisations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in private hands, and foreign investment has risen.

Before the financial crisis of 2007–08, Slovakia had experienced high and sustained economic growth. In 2007, 2008 and 2010 (with GDP growth of 10.5%, 6% and 4% retrospectively), Slovakia was the fastest growing economy in the European Union. In 2011 and 2012, Slovakia was the 2nd fastest growing Eurozone member after Estonia. In 2012, more than 75% of Slovak exports went to, and more than 50% of Slovak imports came from, other European Union member states.

The ratio of government debt to GDP in Slovakia reached 58% by the end of 2013.

Unemployment, peaking at 19% at the end of 1999, decreased to 7.5% in October 2008 according to the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. In addition to economic growth, migration of workers to other EU countries also contributed to this reduction. According to Eurostat, which uses a calculation method different from that of the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, the unemployment rate in September 2016 is at 9.4% the seventh highest in the Eurozone.

National Bank of Slovakia in Bratislava

Inflation dropped from an average annual rate of 12% in 2000 to just 3.3% in 2002, an election year, but it rose again in 2003–2004 because of rising labour costs and taxes. It reached only 1% in 2010 which is the lowest recorded rate since 1993. The rate was at 4% in 2011.

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 on 7 May 2008. The Slovak koruna was revalued on 28 May 2008 to 30.126 for 1 euro, which was also the exchange rate for the euro.

Slovakia is an attractive country for foreign investors mainly because of its low wages, low tax rates and well educated labour force. In recent years, Slovakia has been pursuing a policy of encouraging foreign investment. FDI 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, along with other post-communist countries, still faces major challenges in the field of the knowledge economy. The business and public research and development expenditures are well below the EU average. The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks Slovak secondary education the 30th in the world (placing it just below the United States and just above Spain).

In March 2008, the Ministry of Finance announced that Slovakia's economy is developed enough to stop being an aid receiver from the World Bank. Slovakia became an aid provider at the end of 2008.

Industry

ESET headquarters in Bratislava

Refinery of Slovnaft in Bratislava

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 and electrical engineering. Since 2007, Slovakia has been the world's largest producer of cars per capita, with a total of 1.143.653 cars manufactured in the country in 2016 alone. There are currently three automobile assembly plants: Volkswagen's in Bratislava (models: Volkswagen Up, Volkswagen Touareg, Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne), PSA Peugeot Citroën's in Trnava (models: Peugeot 208, Citroën C3 Picasso) and Kia Motors' Žilina Plant (models: Kia Cee'd, Kia Sportage, Kia Venga). In 2018, Jaguar Land Rover is set to open the country's fourth automobile assembly plant in Nitra.

From electrical engineering companies, Foxconn has a factory at Nitra for LCD TV manufacturing, Samsung at Galanta for computer monitors and television sets manufacturing.

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, Singapore and Poland.

Bratislava's geographical position in Central Europe has long made Bratislava a crossroads for international trade traffic. Various ancient trade routes, such as the Amber Road and the Danube waterway, have crossed territory of present-day Bratislava. Today, Bratislava is the road, railway, waterway and airway hub.

Energy

Wind power stations in Cerová

Nuclear Power Plant Jaslovské Bohunice

Nuclear Power Plant Mochovce

In 2012, Slovakia produced a total of 28 393 GWh of electricity 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 (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 energy, 15.1% by hydro power 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 and Mochovce, each of them containing two operating reactors. Prior to 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 instantly stopped being self-dependent in energy production. Currently there is another block (V2) with two active reactors in Jaslovské Bohunice. It is scheduled for decommissioning in 2025. Two new reactors are under construction in Mochovce plant. The nuclear power production in Slovakia sometimes draws attention to Austrian green-energy activists who occasionally organise protests and block the borders between the two countries.

Transportation

Main article: Transport in Slovakia

Bratislava Airport

D1 motorway

Highway network in Slovakia prior to May 2016

A tram in the northern town of Vysoké Tatry

There are four main highways D1 to D4 and eight express ways R1 to R8. Most of them are still in the planning phase.

The D1 motorway connects Bratislava to Trnava, Nitra, Trenčín, Žilina and beyond, while the D2 motorway connects it to Prague, Brno and Budapest 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 connects Slovakia directly to the Austrian motorway system and was opened on 19 November 2007.

In Bratislava there are currently five bridges standing over the Danube (ordered by the flow of the river): Lafranconi Bridge, Nový Most (The New Bridge), Starý most (The Old Bridge), Most Apollo and Prístavný most (The Harbor Bridge).

The city's inner network of roadways is made on the radial-circular shape. Nowadays, the city experiences a sharp increase in the road traffic, increasing pressure on the road network. There are about 200,000 registered cars in Bratislava, (approximately 2 inhabitants per car).

Bratislava's M. R. Štefánik Airport is the main international airport in Slovakia. It is located 9 kilometres (5.6 miles) 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, 1,937,642 in 2006 and 2,024,142 in 2007. Smaller airports served by passenger airlines include those in Košice and Poprad.

The Port of Bratislava is one of the two international river ports in Slovakia. The port connects Bratislava to international boat traffic, especially the interconnection from the North Sea to the Black Sea via the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal. Additionally, tourist lines operate from Bratislava's passenger port, including routes to Devín, Vienna and elsewhere.

Tourism

Main article: Tourism in Slovakia

See also: List of castles in Slovakia

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  Bratislava Castle

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  Trenčín Castle

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  Spiš Castle

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  Bojnice Castle

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  Orava Castle

Cable cars at Jasná in the Tatra Mountains

The centre of Bardejov – a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Slovakia features natural landscapes, mountains, caves, medieval castles and towns, folk architecture, spas and ski resorts. More than 4.3 million people visited Slovakia in 2015, and the most attractive destinations are the capital of Bratislava and the High Tatras. Most visitors come from the Czech Republic (about 26%), Poland (15%) and Germany (11%).

Typical souvenirs from Slovakia are dolls dressed in folk costumes, ceramic objects, crystal glass, carved wooden figures, črpáks (wooden pitchers), fujaras (a folk instrument 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 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 has been the most important scientific and research institution in the country since 1953. Slovaks have made notable scientific and technical contributions during the history. The list of important scientists and their inventions include:

• Jozef Murgaš (1864–1929), contributed to development of wireless telegraphy
• Ján Bahýľ (1856–1916), constructed the first motor-driven helicopter (four years before Bréguet and Cornu)
• Štefan Banič (1870–1941), constructed the first actively used parachute
• Aurel Stodola (1859–1942), created a bionic arm in 1916 and pioneered steam and gas turbines
• John Dopyera (1893–1988), constructed a resonator guitar, an important contribution to the development of acoustic string instrument
• Eugen Čerňan (1934), American astronaut of Slovak origin was the last man to visit the Moon
• Ivan Bella (1964), first Slovak in space, having participated in a 9-day joint Russian-French-Slovak mission on the space station Mir in 1999.
• Daniel Gajdusek (1923–2008), (of Slovak ancestry) won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1976 for work on Kuru

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Slovakia

Further information: List of Slovaks

Ethnic makeup of Slovakia according to Census 2011

Linguistic makeup of Slovakia, according to Census 2011

According to the 2011 census, the majority of the inhabitants of Slovakia are Slovaks (80.7%). Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority (8.5%). Other ethnic groups include Roma (2%), Czechs (0.6%), Rusyns (0.6%) and others or unspecified (7.6%). Unofficial estimates on the Roma population are much higher, around 5.6%.

In 2007 Slovakia was estimated to have a total fertility rate of 1.33 (i.e., the average woman will have 1.33 children in her lifetime), which is significantly below the replacement level and is one of the lowest rates among EU countries.

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

Main article: Slovak language

See also: History of the Slovak language

Ľudovít Štúr, the author of the Slovak language standard.

The Slovak alphabet has 46 characters, of which 3 are digraphs and 18 contain diacritics.

The official language 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 languages 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 2nd highest in the European Union. The best known foreign language in Slovakia is 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.

The deaf community uses the Slovak Sign Language. Even though spoken Czech and Slovak are similar, the Slovak Sign language is not particularly close to Czech Sign Language.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Slovakia

See also: History of Christianity in Slovakia

The Slovak constitution guarantees freedom of religion. In 2011, 62.0% of Slovaks identified themselves as Roman Catholics, 8.9% as Protestants, 3.8% as Greek Catholics, 0.9% as Orthodox, 13.4% identified themselves as atheists and 10.6% did not answer the question about their belief. In 2004, about one third of the then church members regularly attended church services. The Slovak Greek Catholic Church is an Eastern rite sui iuris Catholic Church. The pre–World War II population of the country included an estimated 90,000 Jews (1.6% of the population). After the genocidal policies of the Nazi era, only about 2,300 Jews remain today (0.04% of the population).

In 2016, Slovak parliament passed a new bill that will obstruct Islam and other religious organisations from becoming state-recognized religion by doubling the minimum followers threshold from 25,000 to 50,000. The law passed by a two-third majority at the parliament. In 2010, there were an estimated 5,000 Muslims in Slovakia representing less than 0.1% of the country's population.

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  St. Martin's Cathedral in Bratislava

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  Church of St. Elizabeth, commonly known as Blue Church in Bratislava

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  St. Elisabeth Cathedral in Košice is Slovakia's largest church

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  Basilica of St. Giles in Bardejov

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  Basilica of St. James in Levoča

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  Church tower at Liptovská Mara

Education

Main article: Education in Slovakia

Education in Slovakia is compulsory from age 6 to 16. The education system consists of elementary school which is divided into two parts, first grade(age 6–10) second grade(age 10–15) which is finished by taking nationwide testing called Monitor from slovak language and math. Students are then obliged to take one year in high school. They are able to pick from Gymnasium which is seen as the highest level of high-school education, specialised high school with bacalaureat and specialised highschool without bacalaureat. Schools with bacalaureat take 5 years to complete while the ones without usually take less. After finishing high school students can go to university.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Slovakia

Folk tradition

This wooden church in Bodružal is an example of Rusyn folk architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Folk architecture in Čičmany.

Slovak folk dancing at Hontianska paráda a folklore festival in the village of Hrušov

Slovak women in traditional dress, demonstrating a traditional method of grinding grain into flour.

Folk tradition has rooted strongly in Slovakia and is reflected in literature, music, dance and architecture. The prime example is a Slovak national anthem, "Nad Tatrou sa blýska", which is based on a melody from "Kopala studienku" folk song.

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 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 which has been the UNESCO World Heritage Site 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 list too, in Bodružal, Hervartov, Ladomirová and Ruská Bystrá.

The best known Slovak hero, found in many folk mythologies, is Juraj Jánošík (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 literature works and many movies throughout the 20th century. One of the most popular is a film Jánošík directed by Martin Frič in 1935.

Art

Visual art in Slovakia is represented through painting, drawing, printmaking, illustration, arts and crafts, sculpture, photography or conceptual art. The supreme and central gallery institution displaying Slovak art nowadays is the Slovak National Gallery, established in 1949.

Medieval time

German painting of a cathedral in Košice, 1900

Well-known sculptor of the 15th century Late Gothic era in Slovakia is the Master Paul of Levoča. Although his work can be found in many places (Banská Bystrica, Spišská Sobota or Lomnička), his most famous is a wooden altar in the Church of St. Jacob in Levoča. With its height of 18.62 metres (61 ft), it is the tallest Gothic altar in the world. Well-known painters of that time are the Master from Okoličné, author of the altar in St. Elisabeth Cathedral in Košice, and Master M.S. of the 16th century, whose statue of Madonna can be seen in the Saint Catherine Church in Banská Štiavnica. The statues of Saint Catherine and Saint Barbara are in the art gallery of the Slovak Mining Museum in Banská Štiavnica.

19th century

The 19th century in Slovakia was a turbulent period of time when Slovaks began experiencing their national revival in the kingdom of Austria-Hungary. Romanticism of Jozef B. Klemens (1817–1883) and Peter Michal Bohúň (1822–1879) was represented in the portrait paintings of Slovak national protagonists of that time (Štefan Moyses, Andrej Sládkovič, Karol Kuzmány or Ľudovít Štúr), depicting the revolutionary atmosphere of the 1840s in the background. Other important painters of the 19th century were mainly portraitists Vojtech Angyal, Dominik Skutecký (1849–1921), J. Štetka, E. Ballo, Jozef Hanula (1863–1944), landscapist Karol Miloslav Lehotský (1846–1915) and impressionists Maximilián Schurmann (1863–1944) and P. Kern.

Sculpture in the 19th century was dominated by a sacral sculptor Vavrinec Dunajský (1784–1833) and his son Ladislav Dunajský, author of Ján Hollý memorial in Dobrá Voda. Another important sculptors were Ján Koniarek (1878–1952), Alajos Stróbl (1856–1926), János Fadrusz (1858–1903) and Alojz Rigele (1879–1940).

20th century

Mikuláš Galanda – Mother (1933)

Andy Warhol Museum of Modern Art in Medzilaborce. Andy Warhol's parents were immigrants from Slovakia.

Painters Mikuláš Galanda (1895–1938), Martin Benka (1888–1971), Janko Alexy (1894–1970), Miloš Alexander Bazovský (1899–1968), Gustáv Mallý (1879–1952) and Jan Hála (1890–1959) are considered to be the ones who laid foundations of the Slovak modern art in the first half of the 20th century. The inspiration of their work stems mainly from the lives of everyday people in Slovak rurals which they admired and idealised. The painters influenced by Art Nouveau, symbolism and expressionism are Zolo Palugyay (1898–1935), Anton Jasusch (1882–1965), Edmund Gwerk (1895–1956) or Július Jakoby (1903–1985). Important also is Blažej Baláž (1958).

Some of the most distinguished Slovak artists, whose work was closely linked to modern European art streams are Koloman Sokol (1902–2003), who became a professor of graphic techniques at the Escuela de las Artes del Libro and at the University of Mexico City from 1937 to 1941, Ľudovít Fulla (1902–1980) who received many international prices for his work and Imro Weiner-Kráľ (1901–1978). The generation of 1909 is represented by Cyprián Majerník (1909–1945), Ján Želibský, Ján Mudroch (1909–1968), Ladislav Čemický (1909–1968) and Ester M. Šimerová (1909).

Slovak graphic art experienced its peak during the 20th century. The most notable print-makers are Koloman Sokol (1902–2003), Vincent Hložník (1919–1997), Albín Brunovský (1935–1997), Jozef Jankovič (1937), Dušan Kállay (1948), Vladimír Gažovič (1939), Karol Ondreička (1944–2003) Blažej Baláž (1958) or the young generation of artists Katarína Vavrová, and Matej Krén.

Andy Warhol (1928–1987), a leading figure in the 20th century visual art movement known as pop art, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as Andrej Varchola to Slovak parents Ondrej Varchola (1889–1942) and Júlia (née Zavacká, 1892–1972). A museum dedicated to him is in Medzilaborce, where his parents lived.

Notable Slovak photographers in the 20th century are Martin Martinček (1913–2004) and Karol Kállay (1926–2012). Both Martinček and Kállay received the EFIAP (Excellence de la Fédération Internationale de l' Art Photographique) price in 1970.

Sculpture in the 20th century is represented by Ján Koniarek (1878–1952), Július Bártfay (1888–1979), Tibor Bártfay (1922) Ján Mathé (1922), Jozef Kostka (1912–1996), Ladislav Snopek (1919–2010), Rudolf Uher or Rudolf Hornák.

21st century

The Slovak Horologe - Slovenský orloj in Stará Bystrica

Notable Slovak artists of the 21st century include Cyril Blažo (1970), Martin Vargic and Viliam Loviska (1964)

Literature

Further information: Slovak literature

For a list of notable Slovak writers and poets, see List of Slovak authors.

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 Slovakized 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.

There were two leading persons who codified the Slovak language. 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 language took principles from the central Slovak dialect in 1843.

Slovakia is also known for its polyhistors, of whom include Pavol Jozef Šafárik, Matej Bel, Ján Kollár, and its political revolutionaries and reformists, such Milan Rastislav Štefánik and Alexander Dubček.

Famous globetrotter and explorer, count Móric Benyovszky had Slovak ancestors.

Music

Main article: Music of Slovakia

The new Slovak National Theatre building in Bratislava

Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra in Bratislava

State Theatre Košice

Classical music

The most important Slovak composers have been Eugen Suchoň, Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský, Ján Cikker, Ján Levoslav Bella, Alexander Moyzes and Dezider Kardoš, in the 21st century Vladimír Godár and Peter Machajdík.

Pop music

Popular music began to replace folk music beginning in the 1950s, when Slovakia was still part of Czechoslovakia; American jazz, R&B, and rock and roll were popular, alongside waltzes, polkas, and czardas, among other folk forms. By the end of the 1950s, radios were common household items, though only state stations were legal. Slovak popular music began as a mix of bossa nova, cool jazz, and rock, with propagandistic lyrics. Dissenters listened to ORF (Austrian Radio), Radio Luxembourg, or Slobodná Európa (Radio Free Europe), which played more rock.

Due to Czechoslovak isolation, the domestic market was active and many original bands evolved. Slovakia had a very strong pop culture during the 1970s and 1980s. This movement brought many original bands with their own unique interpretations of modern music. The quality of socialist music was very high. Stars such as Karel Gott, Olympic, Pražský výběr (from the Czech Republic) or Elán, Modus, Tublatanka, Team (from Slovakia) and many others were highly acclaimed and many recorded their LPs in foreign languages.

After the Velvet Revolution and the declaration of the Slovak state, domestic music dramatically diversified as free enterprise encouraged the formation of new bands and the development of new genres of music. Soon, however, major labels brought pop music to Slovakia and drove many of the small companies out of business. During the 1990s, American grunge and alternative rock, and Britpop have a wide following, as well as a newfound enthusiasm for musicals.

Jazz

Peter Lipa (born 1943) is a well-known Slovak singer, composer and promoter of modern jazz. He is one of the main organisers of the "Bratislava Jazz Days" festival, which takes place in the capital city at the end of October each year since 1975. It is the biggest jazz venue in Slovakia.

Martin Valihora (1976), having been awarded a scholarship on the Berklee College of Music in Boston, he established himself as a part of the New York's jazz scene. He has been playing with the world's famous Japanese jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara.

Other notable Slovak jazz players are Laco Déczi (1938) – composer, jazz trumpeter, Marián Varga (1947) – composer, organ player

Cuisine

Main article: Slovak cuisine

See also: Slovak wine and Beer in Slovakia

Tokaj wine region located in southeastern Slovakia

Halušky with bryndza cheese, kapustnica soup and Zlatý Bažant dark beer – examples of Slovak cuisine

Traditional Slovak cuisine is based mainly on pork meat, poultry (chicken is the most widely eaten, followed by duck, goose, and turkey), flour, potatoes, cabbage, and milk products. It is relatively closely related to Hungarian, Czech and Austrian cuisine. On the east it is also influenced by Ukrainian and Polish cuisine. In comparison with other European countries, "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. 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 a sheep milk, characterised by a strong taste and aroma. Bryndzové halušky must be on the menu of every traditional Slovak restaurant.

A typical soup is a sauerkraut soup ("kapustnica"). A blood sausage called "krvavnica", made from any and all 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 sweet wine more popular than dry, but in recent years tastes seem to be changing. Beer (mainly of the pilsener style, though dark lagers are also consumed) is also popular.

Sport

Main article: Sport in Slovakia

Sport activities are practised widely in Slovakia, many of them on a professional level. Ice hockey and football have traditionally been regarded as the most popular sports in Slovakia. Among the most popular are also tennis, handball, basketball, volleyball, whitewater slalom or athletics.

Ice Hockey

The Slovak national ice hockey team celebrating a victory against Sweden at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Ondrej Nepela Arena, the premier ice hockey stadium in the country located in Bratislava

One of the most popular collective sports in Slovakia is ice hockey. Slovakia became the member of IIHF on 2 February 1993 and ever since has won 4 medals in Ice Hockey World Championships, consisting of 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medal. The most recent success is a silver medal from 2012 IIHF World Championship in Helsinki. Slovak national hockey team made five appearances in the Olympic games too, ended up 4th in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The country has 8280 registered players and is ranked 8th in the IIHF World Ranking at present. Prior to 2012, Slovak team HC Slovan Bratislava joined the Kontinental Hockey League, considered the strongest hockey league in Europe, and the second-best in the world.

Slovakia organised the 2011 IIHF World Championship in ice hockey in which the team of Finland won the gold medal. The venue took place in Bratislava and Košice.

The most notable Slovak hockey players who played or are still playing in the National Hockey League are Stan Mikita, Peter Šťastný, Marián Šťastný, Anton Šťastný, Peter Bondra, Žigmund Pálffy, Marián Gáborík, Marián Hossa, Pavol Demitra, Zdeno Chára, Miroslav Šatan, Ľubomír Višňovský, Tomáš Kopecký, Andrej Sekera or Jaroslav Halák.

Football

Football stadium City Arena in Trnava

Association football is the most popular sport in Slovakia, with over 400 000 registered players. Since 1993, Slovak national football team has qualified only once to the FIFA World Cup in 2010, in which they proceeded into Play-offs, where they were defeated by Netherlands. The most notable result was the 3–2 victory over Italy. In 2016 Slovak national football team has qualified to the UEFA Euro 2016 under head coach Ján Kozák which helped the team reach their best ever position of 14th in the FIFA World Rankings.

In club competitions, only three teams have qualified to UEFA Champions League Group Stage, namely MFK Košice in 1997–98, FC Artmedia Bratislava in 2005–06 season and MŠK Žilina n 2010–11. FC Artmedia Bratislava has been the most successful team after finishing 3rd in Group Stage and therefore qualifying to Round of 32 of UEFA Cup. They also remain as the only Slovak club that has won a match in Group stage.

The most famous Slovak players are: Marek Hamšík, Martin Škrtel, Juraj Kucka, Peter Dubovský and Jozef Adamec.

Whitewater slalom

Whitewater slalom is the most successful Olympic sport in modern-day Slovakia. Apart from winning many World and European Championships, Slovak canoeists collected medals in each Summer Olympic Games since their first appearance in Atlanta 1996.

Athlete	Gender	Category	Atlanta 1996	Sydney 2000	Athens 2004	Beijing 2008	London 2012	Rio 2016
Michal Martikán	male	C-1 (canoe single)						–
Pavol Hochschorner	male	C-2 (canoe double)	–					–
Peter Hochschorner	male	C-2	–					–
Elena Kaliská	female	K-1 (kayak single)	–	–			–	–
Juraj Minčík	male	C-1	–		–	–	–	–
Matej Beňuš	male	C-1	–	–	–	–	–
Ladislav Škantár	male	C-1	–	–	–	–	–
Peter Škantár	male	C-2	–	–	–	–	–

See also

• Cinema of Slovakia
• Outline of Slovakia
• Protected areas of Slovakia
• Public holidays in Slovakia
• Remembrance days in Slovakia
• Telecommunications in Slovakia
• LGBT rights in Slovakia

Lists

• List of towns in Slovakia
• List of football clubs in Slovakia
• List of villages and municipalities in Slovakia
• List of museums in Slovakia
• List of tourism regions of Slovakia
• List of traditional regions of Slovakia

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 Republic
• President of the Slovak Republic
• Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic
• Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic

Tourism and living information

• Official Slovak National Tourism Portal
• Railways of Slovak Republic
• Slovakia at Lonely Planet

Maps

• Wikimedia Atlas of Slovakia
• Geographic data related to Slovakia at OpenStreetMap

General Information

• "Slovakia". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 
• Slovakia profile from the BBC News
• Slovakia from UCB Libraries GovPubs
• Slovakia at DMOZ
• Key Development Forecasts for the Slovak Republic from International Futures