Slovakia

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Symbols:

The national symbols of the Slovak Republic are the national emblem, the national flag, the national seal and the national anthem.

The national emblem of the Slovak Republic has a red, early Gothic shield with a silver double cross mounted on the central peak of a blue three hill group.

The national flag of the Slovak Republic is composed of three horizontal stripes - white, blue and red (with white at the top followed by blue and red). In the front section of the national flag is the national emblem of the Slovak Republic

The national seal of the Slovak Republic has the national emblem surrounded by the inscription "Slovenska republika" (The Slovak Republic)

The national anthem of the Slovak Republic consists of the first two parts of the hymn on song Nad Tatrou sa blyska (Thunder Above the Tatra)

Lyrics:

Nad Tatrou sa blyska, hromy divo biju
Zastavme ich, bratia,
ved sa ony stratia
Slovaci oziju

To Slovensko nase posial tvrdo spalo,
ale blesky hromu
vzbudzuju ho k tomu
aby sa prebralo

The Slovak Republic, as a new state, entered world history on the 1st of January 1993. It arose by the splitting of the former Czechoslovakia into two independent sovereign states - the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic. Slovakia very quickly gained diplomatic acknowledgement from the most significant states of the world. As for international politics, the Slovak Republic has become a member of the most important international governmental organizations. It has been admitted to the United Nations Organization, EU, NATO, CE, OSCE, WTO, WHO, IMF, INTERPOL and altogether another 49 international governmental organizations

Location:

16° 50' - 22° 34' longitude East
47° 42' - 49° 37' latitude North.
The peak of Krahule hill, not far from the historic town of Kremnica in middle Slovakia, lies at the geographical centre of Europe.
The relief of the country shows great height differences, ranging from 95 m above sea level in eastern Slovakia - Streda nad Bodrogom, to 2,655 m above sea level - Gerlach Peak in the High Tatras. The land in north and central Slovakia is hilly - it is covered by the Carpathian mountain range. In the south it slopes down to the Poddunajska and the Vychodoslovenska plains, which are important agricultural regions.
The most important river is the Danube (Dunaj), the river route connecting Slovakia with the harbours of the Black Sea and, through the Rhine Main - Danube waterway, with west European harbours. In the past, two significant trade arteries led through Slovakia - the Amber (Jantarova) and Czech routes, along which not only goods (gold, amber, fur) used to flow, but also information, which enabled mutual knowledge of, and understanding between, particular peoples and countries. Today, Slovakia is becoming an important junction of economic and commercial relations between eastern and western Europe.

Area: 49 036 km2

Climate:

Slovakia is situated in the temperate climatic zone with a regular changing of yearly seasons. The coldest month is January with night temperatures of -10°C to -15°C, the hottest is July with a daily maximum around 32°C. Often in winter, temperature differences arise when in the mountain hollows the temperatures are lower than on the surrounding higher hills. In the high mountains snow remains for 130 days of the year.

Population:

Number of inhabitants - 5,379,455 (as of 26.5.2001), of which 51.4% were women.

Education:

Primary education (13.2%), lower secondary education (43,7%), full secondary education (30.2%), university education (12.9%)
More on education

Religion:

Official language: The Slovak language

Nationalities:

Smaller percentages are formed by the inhabitants of Ruthenian, German, Polish and Romany nationalities.

State organization:

A Parliamentary democracy with a 150-membered uni-cameral parliament (the National Council of the Slovak Republic). The head of state is the President, elected in a free and fair presidential election by universal suffrage. The National Council of the Slovak Republic is the highest legislative body.

The History of Slovakia:

The history of Slovakia is that of a European country, which, although never placed at the centre, took part in all the important movements in the framework of European history. Because Slovakia, with the exception of short periods, was not an independent state, knowledge of Slovak participation in history is less familiar. It seems to be concealed in the history of Hungary (Uhorsko) (until 1918) and later, of Czechoslovakia, In accordance with democratic changes in the former CSFR a state administrative process began, this leading to the decision to split the CSFR by constitutional means into two independent sovereign states. From 1. January 1993 the newly formed sovereign Slovak Republic came into being.

Capital city:

Bratislava (452 053 inhabitants)
It is situated in the foothills of the Little Carpathians at the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers, directly at the junction of the borders with Austria and Hungary. It is the residence of the President of Slovak Republic and of the central administrative, political, economical, social and scientific bodies and institutions,
Regional and Administrative Organization of Slovakia (regions, number of inhabitants in 2001):

Currency:

The Slovak crown (1 Sk) - 100 haliers.
Notes are in the value of: 5,000; 1,000; 500; 200; 100; 50 and 20 Sk. Coins are in the value of:; 10; 5; 2 and 1 Sk; 50 hal

State festivals and bank holidays:

Natural resources:

Copper, antimony, iron ore, lead, zinc, mercury, precious metals, magnesite, limestone, dolomite, gravel, ceramic materials, rock salt and others.

Fuel resources:

Brown coal, gas

Superlatives in Slovakia:

Cultural monuments from Slovakia placed in the world cultural heritage list of UNESCO in 1993:

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