SLOVAKIA

Final Year Project for Kelvindale Primary School
Karol Kalna, Jr.
Glasgow, May 2000

Slovakia is a republic in Central Europe bordered in the north by Poland, in the east by Ukraine, in the south by Hungary, and in west by Austria and the Czech republic. Geographical map of Slovakia There are rugged mountains in the central and northern part of Slovakia and lowlands in the south. Slovakia has a temperate climate. We can enjoy cool, hot summers and cold, cloudy, humid winters with plenty of snow which allow spend the time on skies.

Composition of major nationalities in Slovakia Composition of minor nationalities in Slovakia

Bratislava

The capital of Slovakia, the town, where I was born and where I have grown up, is really bustling town. In Bratislava, people would not sit on benches being bored, they will rather explore the town because there are so many interesting places. You can walk along the Danube riverside, go through the Michaels Gate, visit the Bratislava Castle or walk over the New Bridge. A great spot in the town centre is St. Martins Cathedral, the site of the coronation of 17 Hungarian kings and queens. The House at the Good Shepherd Exhibition of Historic Clocks, narrow toy-like building calls itself narrowest in Europe, there you can see the table clock carved from a single piece of wood. Michaels Gate is the most recognisable symbol of the old town. Students say that if you talk between the outer and inner gates you will have bad luck, especially during exam times. The tower museum, hidden behind the plain wooden door, has a strong display of weaponry.
Slovak National Theatre

One of the prettiest building is the Town Hall; Slovaks gather at its clock tower to celebrate the new year like the Town Hall or the Bratislava castle. Royal artefacts, scientific and musical instruments are all on display, but the highlights lie in the basement where the feudal courts of justice are brutally brought to life.
There is the Danube where you can go sailing or have a ride on the little trams that go around the city. We got a small airport nearby (From there I fly to the Czech Republic). A very good place is the National Theatre (That is where I saw lots of plays).

Bratislava castle

Bratislava castle stands at the end of the Small Carpathian mountain, above the Danube river. The hill was first used as a Slavic fort for the Great Moravian Empire in 907. In 1427, King Zhigmund of Luxembourg, built up a fort in expectation of a Hussite attack. The Habsburgs used the castle to buffer Vienna from the Turks, building it between 1552 and 1570 and adding the third floor and the four corner towers between 1635 and 1646. Bratislavas golden age was during the reign of Maria Theresa of Austria, from 1740 to 1780. Maria Theresa frequently held court at the castle. The Empress often chose to ride her horse through the castle. The stair ways are very short, with a gentle slope, because it was easier for her horse to go up and down them. After Maria Theresas reign, the castle went downhill. Coronation Jewerly

After the fire in 19th century, the castle was neglected for a century. It also suffered heavily under bombings in World War II. The castle has been reconstructed between 1958 and 1968, and was home to the Slovak Parliament until 1993. Now, the castle houses the national museum.
Imagine what the view from the castle hill overlooking the Danube must have look like the first settlers of the area 2000 years ago: flat fertile land on both sides of the river, behind them, wooded sloping mountains. Bratislava had different names in the past, it was called Posonium (Latin), Pressburg (German) or Presporok (Slovak from German) before.

Trnava

Trnava is an important centre of West Slovakia and is one of Slovakia's oldest cities (13th century). The historic centre was surrounded by medie- val town walls. The old university, established in 1635, occupies the north-western part of the Old Town. The visitors can also admire the Clarist convent. Trnava has been called the Slovak Rome because of many churches, starting with University Basilica of St. John the Baptist, the Dominicans, the Franciscans, and the Poor Clares, massive 14th cen- tury Church of St. Nicholas and the Church of St. Helen, the oldest one in Trnava. There are also two synagogues and the Archbishop's Palace.

Kosice

Kosice is the centre of East Slovakia. This city, the second largest in Slovakia, has a long and rich history. In the town centre is the Gothic cathedral, the Cathedral of St. Elizabeth, as well as the Chapel of St. Michael. You can discover the beauty of monuments and buildings of great cultural and historical interest as well as several galleries and museums. The visitor can relax in the quiet of Municipal Park located in the area around the city centre.

Banská Bystrica

This is the cultural centre of Central Slovakia. Banská Bystrica is one of the Slovakian cities with the richest architecture. A national cultural monument dominates the city centre. The Church of our Lady is the oldest building. Among the many monuments and buildings is the Clock Tower which, like the Tower of Pisa, leans. In Banská Bystrica is the SNP Museum which commemorates the resistance to Nazi oppression.

Trencín

The high point of Trencín is the fortified castle which overlooks the city. The castle was built on a huge rock, on which a Roman inscription testifies to Trencín's history. The construction of the castle goes back to the 11th century and building continued until the 14th century. It became the property of Matúš Cák, a prominent Slovak historical figure, who ordered the construction of the Tower which carries his name and which is today, one of the symbols of the city. Matúš Cák controlled most of Slovakia for 20 years, earning the moniker "Lord of the Váh and the Tatras". Years later, castle was acquired by the Zapolsky family.
Town of Trencin

Like so many Slovak castles, this one has its own fairy tale. The legend is rooted in the castles well, which reaches down through 79 meters of solid rock. When Stefan Zapolsky, a commander of Hungarian King Mathiass army, returned victorious from a war with the Turks, he brought a servant named Fatima to be his wife. When Omar, the wealthy Turk from whom Fatima was taken, found out, he offered his wealth to the castle lord as ransom. Zapolsky said. "I am rich enough. I have everything, but I have no water." Omar saw a ray of hope. "If I force this rock to give water, will you return Fatima to me?" The lord agreed. The Turks dug for three years and when at last water appeared, Omar drew it with a golden glass and gave it to Zapolsky with the words. "Here is the water, but your heart was harder than this rock."
In 1790 castle was destroyed by fire. The castle has been renovated and is in excellent condition. The tourists can climb the wood-topped Matúš Cáks tower for one of the most beautiful views over the Váh valley. They can see Renaissance townhouses and the Baroque town hall, now the Trencín Museum. Exhibitions are organised in the castle as well as medieval music concerts. The castle can also be visited at night. On the hills leading to the castle is the beautiful Catholic Parish Church of the Virgin Mary.

Nitra

Nitra is the oldest town in Slovakia. In the 9th century, it was a princely seat of the Great Moravian Empire. In 830, the first castle and Christian church in Slovakia were built. Nitra became an independent royal town in 1248. It suffered from several Turkish invasions. The region possesses a number of quite interesting historical monuments. The Nitra Castle is the most visited monument in the city. There is a Franciscan Church too. The cultural life in Nitra is very rich. A classical guitar festival is organised there each year. The areas around Nitra provide several highly interesting activities. A hiking path will take you, for example, to Zobor, from the top of which is a lovely view of this winegrowing region. There are ruins of the oldest monastery in Slovakia. The national natural reserve at Zobor is home to numerous species of animals and plants. Topolcianky is a village located 30 kilometres to the north-east of Nitra. It houses a Renaissance castle, whose architecture reflects a classic and then Baroque influence. At Topolcianky, there is also a European buffalo reserve and horse-breeding farms.

Zilina

Zilina is a city located in the centre of Northwest Slovakia at the confluence of the Váh and the Kysuca. By population, it is the third largest city of Slovakia. The real centrepiece of Zilina is the twin-towered Church of the Holy Trinity, next to which is a Renaissance belfry.
The most well-known monument in the surrounding areas is the Budatín Castle, that is home to the largest collection of the tinkers craft in the world. That was a typical craft of this region. The tinkers started as poor itinerant workers who travelled around the countryside repairing earthenware pottery by wrapping it in wire. At the beginning of the 19th century, two-thirds of the men from villages in the Zilina region worked as tinkers. In the middle of the last century, the tinkers wandered to the Austro-Hungarian empire, and as far as Russia, England and North America.

Vysoké Tatry

Vysoké Tatry, or the High Tatras, are the highest mountains in Slovakia. Twenty of the peaks are over 2400 meters, and 35 clear mountain lakes are scattered among them. The focal point of the Tatras is Kriván, "the crooked old man", 2494 meters peak, Slovak national symbol. The highest peak is Gerlachovsk Stít, 2655 meters. All of the peaks and much of the forest are set in the High Tatras National Park (TANAP). Under this protection, the territory is used for recreational activities, hiking and climbing in the summer, cross-country and downhill skiing in the winter. Peak of Krivan

All hikers in the High Tatras must be aware that in an alpine climate, weather can change by the minute (like in Scotland). It is always necessary check with the Mountain Services, and never even leave the marked trails. Only the electric trains rises through the forests, the cable railway leads to the downhill ski area Hrebienok, cable car runs to the alpine lake Skalnaté Pleso, another cable car runs to the summit of 2632 meters high Lomnicky Stí, the second highest peak in Slovakia.

Caves

Underground is probably the last place you imagine heading on vacation. Slovakias 240 caves could change your mind. The most famous caves in Slovakia are Jasov Cave, Drina Cave, Dobsina Ice Cave, Domica Cave, Cave of Freedom, Ochtinska Cave and lots of other. The first time I was in the Drina Cave. It is up a high hill. If you will come to a cave you will enter a room or a path that get fence around. Behind the fence is a stream that is flowing along the cave. People are throwing coins in it to have good luck. You always go with a guide not to be lost. When I was there I was 6 years old. The thing the guide dose is he will say "Never stay be- hind or this will happen". The guide will go to a electric box and turn off the lights. I felt scared, but in few seconds it came back.

Danube

The Danube is one of the greatest rivers in the world. It is bigger then Kelvin river even river Clyde. So boats got the power to sail in it. Over Danube is a land that still belong to Slovakia so we build a bridge over it. Danube got 4 Bridges.
We got the Old Railway Bridge, the Bridge of Youths, the Petrzalkas and the New Bridge with a restaurant on the top that stand on one support leg. It looks like an flying plate. Because Danube is big we can build a hydro electrical power station on this river.

Gabcikovo

But if we would block the river the boats cant sail through. Well, we got a special invention that solve this problem. It look like a port that got two giant rooms filled with water. The water moves up and down so the ships can come throw. You will come through a giant door that will shut behind you. The water will fall down and in the other room the rises up. When it stop another giant door open at front of you and you will sail off.

Another rivers

We got even other rivers like Váh, Hron, Bodrog and another.

Váh

Váh is our longest river while Danube is the river with the largest flow of water. Because it is long we build a lot of hydro-electric power station there. We build even a man build manger. Its a good place to go sailing.

Hron

Hron is our another river that is used like every other river in Slovakia. Fishing, sailing, electricity, swimming or exploring.

Castles

If you have already seen the Bratislava castle and castles in Nitra and Trencín, you have only got 177 to go. Many of them are worth seeing. About half are ruins, and half restored, and each castle has its own mystique about it.
The year was 1852 when Ján Pálffy inherited the fairy-tale palace, that has been the star in Bojnice since the 11th century. A great admirer of the chateaux along Frances Loire valley wanted to create an enormous yet charming home for himself and his collection of arts. It is a bit of Hans Christian Andersen in Slovakia now. In Bojnice we can find spa. There is also the oldest and largest Zoo in Slovakia, including African elephants, pumas, lions, and apes. It is wonderful place for children.

Outlines of Slovak history

500 bc 100 bc	Celtic tribes on Slovak territory.
500 ac 700 ac	Slavonic tribes came for the region east of the Vistula river. They have elected a frankish merchant Samo as their king.
770 - 960	The Roman Emperor Calemagne annexed Bavaria, uprooted the Avar dominion and established East Mark (Austria). Frankish mission ended west Slovakia and Moravia. Prince Pribina estabished the first church in Nitra. This nephew Rastislav the prince of Moravia asked Constantinopolis for missionaries. They send Constantin and Methodius. They arrived to Moravia in 863 and translated the most important liturgical texts in the language of Slavs using Cyrilic. New Moravian Prince Svatopluk started to christianise and annex the neighbouring Slavonic territories (Krakow region, Silesia, Bohemia, Lusatania, Pannonia)
960 - 1200	Boleslav II, king of Bohemia, extended his rule to parts of Galicia and Slovakia.
1200 - 1310	Mongol invade Kingdom of Hungaria and bring huge destructions after king Bela IV lost battle at Mohi. Later, Germans are invated to Kingdom of Bohemia and Hungary. They founded a number of cities in Slovakia like [I need to check which ones].
1310 - 1526	Hungary Crowns weakness was transmitted throughout Europe.
1526 - 1740	Bratislava become the administrative capital of Hungarian kingdom. The precious metals from the New World drastically reduced the value of Czech and Slovak silver. During 17th century, a Slovak territory, the Upper Hungaria, became a battle field when several Hungarian nobles from Transylvania rose up against Habsburgs.
1740 - 1848	During the reign of Maria Theresa Austria lost Silesia to Prussia. Reforms of Maria Theresa and Joseph II made a less impact on Slovakia because the Hungarian nobility wanted to extend their own independence from the Habsburgs.
1848 - 1914	At the beginning of 20th century about 30000 people yearly left Slovakia for the countries on the other side of Atlantic Ocean.
1914 - 1917	It was World War I on July 28, 1914. Professor T.G Masaryk decided to stay abroad and join the pro-independence Czechoslovak movement. But many Slovaks and Czechs fought in lines of Austro-Hungarian army against Russia and Italy.
1918 - 1929	Czechoslovak republic was established on 18 October, 1918. On this day an independent republic was proclaimed in Prag by Czech nationalists. A month later Slovak nationalists in Martin decided that Slovakian territory joins Czechoslovak Republic. On 30 October 1918 the Slovak National Council adopted a resolution that declared a right of the self-determination for Slovaks and endorsed the principle of Czechoslovak unity. In May 1918 a conflict broke out between the Czechoslovak Legion and the Soviet Government in Siberia. The national currency (the Czechoslovak crow-Kcs) was introduced in April 1919. A constitution adopted in February 1920, defined Czechoslovakia as a democratic republic headed by an elected president. The constitution provided a protection of fundamental civil and political rights of all citizens on completely equal basis as well as a protection of national and re- ligious minorities. A relative political stability of Czechoslovakia was based on the solid administration and the political tradition inherited from Hamburg's Monarchy.
1929-1938	Czechoslovak economy was growing initially quite rapidly. A one quarter of direct investment came from foreign investors. But only a one company, Bata Works Czechoslovakia, held the first place among world competitors. Czechoslovakia was very hard hit during the world economic crisis of 1929-1933. Two bilateral treaties were signed to protect Czechoslovakia again the increasing danger from Germany, France- Russian and Czechoslovak-Russian pacts. In winter 1938 Hitler annexed Austria and publicly promised to help Sudeten Germans which require to joint the west part of Czechoslovakia to Germany. On 30 September 1938 French and British together with Mussolini and Hitler reached an agreement in Munich stating that Sudeten districts should be separated from Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovak president accepted the Munich arbitration, resigned and flew into exile. The Slovak diet, under Hitler pressure, declared an independent Slovakia on 14 March 1939. The rest of Czechia was overtaken by German on 15 March 1939.
1939 - 1945	Some Czechs began to form resistance organisations. However they were confined to gathering of intelli- gence, sabotage of industrial production, occasional attacks on German officials and maintaining communications with the exile government in London. The nationalistic Slovak state was proclaimed under pressure form Germany. During this time Slovak nazi government agreed to deport 56 000 Jews to German concentration camps. However several high-ranking officers of the Slovak army began to plan an uprising against the regime. On 29 August 1944 the Slovak National Uprising began when an illegal Slovak National Council officially declared a free Slovak territory. It took Germans a two months to crush the uprising. The Soviet army was passively waiting in the Carpatian Mountains and Soviet officials vetoed airlift of a help lead by Americans from Italy. A new government returned to Czechoslovakia on April 3 1945. They set foot in Kosice where they announced their program subsequently called Kosice program.
1945 - 1948	As envisaged in Kosice program large-scale industry and all banking and insurance were nationalised and the first stage of land reform was performed. Some industries were transferred from Sudeten area to Slovakia. On the 26 May 1946 elections to Constituent National Assembly, Communists emerged as the strongest party with a total for the whole country of 38 percent.
1948 - 1966	February 1948 meant the end of Moscow compromise from 1945. Traditional consumer industries were undermined. Living standard declined. Since high wages were paid to employees in industries that did not produce consumers goods and services the population accumulated enormous savings. In 1968 a sort of economic reform with an emphasis on overall economic efficiency was introduced. The third five-year plan for 1960-65 came to a bitter end, know as the first socialist economic recession.
1967-1968	In October 1967 Alexander Dubcek, the First Secretary of the Slovak Communistic Party, unexpectedly criticised the communistic president. In January 1968 Dubcek was elected the First Secretary of Czechoslovak Communist Party. In April 1968 the Communist Party proclaimed a new action program. Many economic reforms were introduced. Borders with the west was opened. But this Czechoslovak experiment can not be tolerated in the hard sphere communist world. On 21 August 1968 the Soviet Army with other allies invaded and occupied Czechoslovak territory. Many leader, including Dubcek, were kidnapped to the USSR.
1969 - 1989	On 17 April 1969 the central committee announced that Dubcek was replaced by Husák as First Secretary of Czechoslovak Communist Party. Since 1970 the most elements of the economic reforms from 60s were withdrawn and Czechoslovakia became a rigidly neo-Stalinistic country.
1989 - 1992	On 17 November 1989 the independent student demonstration in Prag was brutally dispersed by special police forces. The next week students and actors begun strong resistance against ruling Communistic Party. As still more and more people joint this fight whole Communistic regime tumbled down after several days. Shortly, Václav Havel, playwright and prominent dissident, was elected by the Czechoslovak president. The first free elections for 40 years were hold up in June 1990. The free market economy was introduced in 1991. The new democratic government immediately started a huge program of privatisation of the state owned companies. But a new born democracy and economic freedom led also to tension between Czech and Slovak part of country. When the Movement for Democratic Slovakia, a new-born populist party, won the second free election in 1992, the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic was split to the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.
1993 - 1998	After the unexpected divorce, a new Slovak government, now completely independent, was forced to keep all economic reforms. Michal Kovác from the Movement for Democratic Slovakia was elected by the president of Slovak Republic. After one years, he found himself as a leader of opposition to the prime minister Vladimír Meciar. Except a short time period, Meciar became the prime minister again when he won elections in 1994.
1998 - 2004	In the 1998 elections, Meciar finally lost to United Democratic opposition. However, the price for Meciar's period of rule was high: Slovakia lost its chance to joint NATO and a chance to joint EU as well. A new coalition government decided to continue in the radical economic reforms. The second Slovak president, Rudolf Schuster, was directly elected by voters in 1999 when he faced Vladimir Meciar as an opponent. The elections of 2002 was won again by coalition parties opposing Meciar's Movement for Democratic Slovakia. The Meciar nationalistic period seems to be definetively over. Slovakia joints NATO on 2003.
2004 - 2005	On 1 May 2004 Slovakia became a member state of European Union together with other thirteen new members. In 2004, a new Slovakian president, again directly elected by voters, became Ivan Gasparovic when beating a candidature of Meciar. He was elected by voters on the grounds that he will do less harm to country than Meciar. joining.