Download The Slovak Republic is an independent state situated in the Central

Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is an independent state situated in the Central Europe. It is bordered in
the north by Poland, in the northwest by the Czech Republic, in the west by Austria, in the
south by Hungary and in the east by Ukraine. The borders are mostly natural, made by rivers
and mountains.
The most important rivers of Slovakia include the Danube, the Vah, the Moravia, the Hron,
the Nitra, the Hornad, the Orava and other. The river Danube connects the country with the
Black Sea and the Northern Sea. It is the only river that is used for river transport.
There are numerous water dams in Slovakia, which serve the needs of hydroenergetics,
water supply, agriculture, tourism and sports. Most of them have been built on the Vah - 19
and on the Danube - 2. There are beautiful mountain lakes in the Slovakia, many of which
have a glacial origin. The country is also rich in thermal springs, which have been used in
healing diseases for many centuries.
Slovakia is largely a mountainous country. Only in the southern and south-eastern parts
there are extensive lowlands.
There are several national parks and protected regions in Slovakia such as the High Tatra
the Low Tatra, the Little Fatra, the Giant Fatra, the Muran Plain, Poloniny, the Upper Orava,
the Stiavnica Hills the Slovak Paradise and the Slovak Karst.
The High Tatra, the highest crescent of the West Carpathians, is situated in the north of
Slovakia and creates the natural border between Slovakia and Poland. It is the only mountain
range of the country that has an alpine character. The highest peak is the Gerlach Peak – 2655.
There are 27 more peaks higher than 2500 m.
The High Tatra is famous for its numerous valleys which are largely the results of glacial
activity. The best known are Ticha, Studena, Zelenovodska, Bielovodska valleys. There are
more than 90 lakes in them. The largest and the deepest of the lakes is Hincovo pleso. The
most frequently visited lake of the High Tatra is Strbske pleso.
The High Tatra is the Slovakia’s largest National Park covering 500 square kilometers.
Some 1500 species of various plants are represented in the flora of this area including the
oldest protected flower of Slovakia – edelweiss. It is possible to see a bear, the lynx, wild cats,
otters, mountain eagles, the chamois, the marmot and other animals in the High Tatra.
In the area of the Slovak Paradise plentiful plant families support a variety of fauna. There
are good conditions for butterflies (1324 species), and lizards, the brown bear and the lynx.
Numerous caves make homes for various species of bats. Dobsinska ladova jaskyna, located
into the region of Slovak paradise is the oldest ice cave in Europe.
Population and towns
With its more than 5 million inhabitants in 49 thousand square kilometers Slovakia belongs
to smaller countries of Europe. The people of different nations and ethnic groups live here.
The most numerous minorities are the Hungarians, the Romani people and the Ukrainers.
The capital of Slovakia, Bratislava, has more than 450 000 inhabitants. The bigger towns in
Slovakia include Kosice, Banska Bystrica, Presov, Nitra, Zilina, Trnava, Martin and others.
The smaller towns and villages most frequently visited by tourists because of their rich
cultural history include Banska Stiavnica, Vlkolinec, Kremnica, Kezmarok, Zdiar, Levoca …
The Spis Castle, Spisske Podhradie, Spisska Kapitula, Zehra, Vlkolinec and Banska
Stiavnica have been included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.
In the 18th century Banska Stiavnica became the seat of the Academy of Mining, the first
university of this kind in Europe.
Economy
In the past majority of people worked in agriculture, nowadays it is approximately 12% of
the population. As much as 50 % of the territory is a farmland. More than a half is used for
growing wheat, corn, potatoes, sugar beat, sunflower, tobacco and hops. The rest are
meadows and pastures for grazing sheep and cows.
Copper, iron ore, lead, zinc, precious metals, antimony, mercury, magnesite, limestone,
dolomite, gravel, mineral salt, brown coal, earth gas and other raw materials and fuel
resources can be found on the territory of Slovakia. Industry is the most important branch of
the Slovak economy. It employs 1/3 of the country’s population. Coal mining, steel industry,
wood, paper, glass and textile industries developed in the 19th century. Mills, breweries,
distilleries, sugar refineries and iron-works were built. Now, newer industries, such as car
manufacture, chemical industry and energetic have appeared. There are two nuclear plants in
Slovakia, in Jaslovske Bohunice and in Mochovce.
System of Government
The Slovak Republic is a parliamentary democracy with a one-house Parliament. The head
of the state, the President, is elected by the citizens. The Government is the supreme
legislative body. The state symbols are the national emblem, the flag, the seal and anthem.
The national emblem of the Slovak Republic has a red shield with a silver double cross
mounted on the central peak of the three blue hills. The national flag is composed of three
horizontal stripes – white, blue and red, with the national emblem placed in its front part.
History
Due to favorable natural conditions, the earliest human settlements originated in the
territory of Slovakia very early. Many Stone Age settlements were discovered in Slovakia.
The country was a cross-road of the Celtic and Germanic tribes. It was also affected by an
expansion of the Roman Empire.
The Slavonic tribes settled in the Carpathian Valley in the 5th and 6th centuries. In 623 the
princedom Samova risa originated. At the beginning of the 9th century there were two
princedoms in the territory of the country: Pribina’s and Mojmir’s Princedom. These formed
the basis for establishment of a lager state unit, the Great Moravian Princedom.
Thanks to the activities of the Prince Rastislav of Great Moravia, two Byzantine
missionaries, Constantine and Methodius, were called to Great Moravia in 863. Their mission
was enormously important for the people of the country as they made the Slavonic script and
brought Christianity to the region.
In the 10th century, the territory of Slovakia became a part of an early Hungarian state. In
the 13th century the country suffered during the Tatar invasion. New colonists came mostly
from Germany and silver, gold and copper mines appeared, and thus a tradition of mining was
established in Slovakia.
In 1465 the first university, Academia Istropolitana, was founded in Bratislava. In the 16th
century the Turks invaded the territory of Slovakia and lasted for 150 years.
In the revolutionary years 1848 and 1849 the Slovaks struggled for the abolition of feudal
system and for the national emancipation that was not successful till the Austrian-Hungarian
monarchy came to its end in 1918 and the Czechoslovak Republic originated.
Following the Munich Treaty in 1938, a new state unit, the Slovak Republic, was
established. In 1944, as the end of World War II was approaching, Slovakia was the place of a
great anti-fascist uprising, the Slovak National Uprising.
After the war, the Czechoslovak republic was established and lasted till January 1st 1993,
when the newly created sovereign Slovak Republic came into being after the split-up of the
former Czechoslovakia into two independent states.