SLOVAKIA INFORMATION
BRIEF HISTORY
- 828: First Slovak Christian church was established (in Nitra)
- 900–1918: Slovakia was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire
- 1918: Czechs and Slovaks became Czechoslovakia
- After WW II: Communist party controlled Czechoslovakia and beyond
- 1989: Velvet Revolution ended communist rule
- 1993: Slovak Republic became an independent nation
- 2004: Slovakia joined the NATO Alliance and the European Union
- Slovakia is the geographic center of Europe – near Kremnica
- Maximum length and width: 258 miles x 129 miles
- Area: Slovakia is less than half the size of Pennsylvania
- Terrain: rolling hills and mountains, similar to Pennsylvania
- Forests cover approximately 40% of Slovakia
- Skiing and hiking, especially in the Tatra Mountains
- Twelve caves open to the public, including two ice caves and an aragonite cave
- Nearly 200 castles & 1,500 mineral springs
- 1,141 protected areas (national parks, virgin forest, nature reserves, natural sites, etc.)
- Over 50 wooden churches are still standing (some nearly 500 years old)
- Democratically elected unicameral National Council with President, Prime Minister, and Judicial branch
- Slovakia is divided into eight administrative regions
- Capital city is Bratislava located in the southwestern corner of the country
- Slovakia is bounded by Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary and Ukraine
- Slovaks are very hospitable and generous
- They welcome guests with bread and salt
- Their main meal, which begins with soup, is at noon
- They take their shoes off when entering a house
- Population: approximately 5.4 million people
- Currency: Euro (effective January 1, 2009)
- Religions: Roman Catholic 69%, Protestant 11%, Greek Catholic 4%, other 3%, none 13% (World Factbook)
- Time zone: Central European (GMT + 1:00)
- Official Language: Slovak (one of 17 Slavic languages)
- To learn more about Slovakia, click here
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