Slovakia
Slovakia (in Slovak: 
Slovensko (?·i)), officially called Slovak Republic (in Slovak: Slovenská republika (?·i)), it is a landlocked country and one of the twenty-seven sovereign States that form the European Union. Located in Central Europe, it borders north with Poland, east with Ukraine, south with Hungary, west with Austria and northwest with Czech Republic. It has a population of 5 389 180 inhabitants and its capital is Bratislava, with 425 155 inhabitants. The Carpathian mountains occupy the entire northern part of the country.
The fall of the Eastern Bloc in 1989 also meant the end of Czechoslovakia as such and the creation of two successor states: Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which became independent from each other on January 1, 1993.
History
The territory of modern Slovakia was occupied by the Celts around 450 BC. C., who built oppida in Bratislava and Liptov. The oldest written record from Slovakia is a series of silver coins bearing the names of Celtic kings. From the year 6 d. C., the Roman Empire established and maintained several settlements on the Danube. In the western and central zone of Slovakia between the years 20 and 50 AD. C. there was the barbarian kingdom of Vannius, founded by the Germanic people of the Quadi.
Slavic peoples settled on the territory of Slovakia in the V century. Western Slovakia was the center of King Samo's empire during the 7th century century. Later, in the 8th century, the Principality of Nitra arose, and its first ruler—prince, in German fürst—Pribina made consecrate in the year 828 the first Christian church in Slovakia. From 833, together with its neighbor Moravia, the principality formed the nucleus of the Great Moravian Empire. Its heyday was the arrival of Saints Cyril and Methodius in 863, during the reign of Prince Rastislav, and territorial expansion during the reign of King Svätopluk.
Kingdom of Hungary
King Stephen I, "The Saint," founded the Kingdom of Hungary in 1000. Slovak settlements stretched across the northern part of present-day Hungary, while Hungarians settled in the southern part of Slovakia. The ethnic composition became more diverse with the arrival of the Carpathian Germans (in the 13th century), the Vlachs (in the 14th century), and the Jews.
The population was devastated and shrank by the Mongol invasion in 1241 and the famine that followed. However, Renaissance Slovakia was characterized by its burgher towns, numerous rock-built castles, and the development of art. In 1467, Matías Corvino founded the first university in Bratislava, but it was short-lived.
At the beginning of the expansion of the Ottoman Empire in Hungary and the occupation of Buda in the early 16th century, the center of the Kingdom of Hungary moved in 1536 to Pozsony (today Bratislava, also known as Pressburg, Pressporek or Posonium), which became the capital of the kingdom. Many Hungarians moved to Slovakia to escape the cruelty of the Ottoman government, with the consequent reduction in the proportion of Slovaks. The Ottoman-Hungarian wars and frequent insurrections against the Habsburg monarchy also caused extensive damage and destruction, especially in rural areas. When the Turks withdrew from Hungary in the 18th century century, Slovak influence within the kingdom waned, although Bratislava continued to being the capital of Hungary until 1848, when it was transferred to Budapest.
Guided by the idea of seceding from the Hungarian administration associated with the Austrian monarchy, the Slovaks supported the Habsburg emperors against the Hungarians whenever there was a conflict between Hungary and the Habsburg kings regarding the autonomy of Hungary. For this reason, during the period of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, between 1867 and 1918, the Slovaks suffered cultural repression through the Magyarization process promoted by the Hungarian government.
The Slovaks were, after the Ruthenians, more oppressed than any other minority in Hungary and among the poorest, occupying mountainous and infertile territories. Being an almost completely rural population, little trade was in the hands of the Jews, often agents of Magyarization, which led to the development of anti-Semitism with nationalist and economic roots.
Czechoslovakia
In 1920 the Treaty of Trianon granted the current territory occupied by Slovakia to Czechoslovakia, which had been created in 1918, and which also included the regions of Bohemia and its neighbor Moravia.
In the chaos that followed the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Slovakia was attacked in 1919 by the provisional Hungarian Soviet Republic and one-third of Slovakia's area temporarily became the Slovak Soviet Republic. Czechoslovakia was constantly threatened by the revisionist governments of Germany and Hungary, until it was divided by the Munich Agreement of 1938. In 1939, Slovakia became a separate state under the Catholic priest Jozef Tiso, who became president of the country. and Vojtech Tuka, who took over as prime minister. At this stage, the Slovak government openly adopted Nazi ideology during the regime of Hlinka's Slovak People's Party. Tiso's government adopted a rigorous anti-Semitic policy, which led to the genocide of the Slovak Jewish population, exterminating 83% of it, although more recent estimates increase the number. In 1944, the Anti-Nazi resistance movement carried out a major armed insurrection, known as the Slovak National Uprising.
Communism
After World War II, Czechoslovakia was reconstituted and Jozef Tiso was executed in 1947 for collaborating 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. Of the approximately 130,000 Carpathian Germans in Slovakia in 1938, in By 1947 only about 20,000 remained. The NKVD rounded up and deported more than 20,000 people to Siberia.
As a result of the Yalta Conference, Czechoslovakia came under the influence and later direct occupation of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact, following a coup in 1948. Eight thousand two hundred and forty people ended up to forced labor camps between 1948 and 1953.
In 1968, after the Prague Spring, the country was invaded by the forces of the Warsaw Pact (People's Republic of Bulgaria, Hungarian People's Republic, Polish People's Republic and the Soviet Union, with the exception of the Socialist Republic of Romania and the People's Socialist Republic of Albania) in 1968, ending a period of liberalization under the leadership of Alexander Dubček. During the occupation, 137 Czechoslovak civilians were killed and 500 seriously injured.
In 1969 Czechoslovakia became a federation of the Czech Socialist Republic and the Slovak Socialist Republic. Czechoslovakia became a puppet state of the Soviet Union. However, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was never part of the Soviet Union and remained independent to a certain extent.
The borders with the so-called West were protected by the Iron Curtain. About 600 people, men, women, and children, were killed on the Czechoslovak border with Austria and West Germany between 1948 and 1989.
Slovak Republic
The end of communist rule in Czechoslovakia in 1989, during the peaceful Velvet Revolution, was again followed by the dissolution of the country, this time into two successor states. The word "socialist" it was dropped in the names of the two republics, and the Slovak Socialist Republic was renamed the Slovak Republic. On July 17, 1992, Slovakia, led by Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar, declared itself a sovereign state, which meant that its laws took precedence over those of the federal government. Throughout the fall of 1992, Mečiar and Czech Prime Minister Václav Klaus negotiated the details of the federation's dissolution. In November, the federal parliament voted for the official dissolution of the country on December 31, 1992.
The Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic separated on January 1, 1993, an event sometimes referred to as the Velvet Divorce. Nevertheless, Slovakia has remained a close partner of the Czech Republic. Both countries cooperate with Hungary and Poland in the Visegrád Group. Slovakia became a member of NATO on March 29, 2004 and of the European Union on May 1, 2004. On January 1, 2009, Slovakia adopted the euro as its national currency. In 2019, Zuzana Čaputová became the first female president of Slovakia.
Government and politics
Slovakia is a parliamentary democratic republic with a multi-party system.
The head of state since June 2019 is President Zuzana Čaputová, elected by direct popular vote for a five-year term. Most of the government's decisions are concentrated in the head of government, Prime Minister Eduard Heger (2021 to present), who is usually the leader of the political party that wins the last elections and must form a coalition with a majority in Parliament to govern.
The highest legislative body in Slovakia is the unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic, which has 150 members. Deputies are elected for a period of four years through a proportional representation system. The highest-ranking judicial body is the Constitutional Court (Ústavný súd), which hears constitutional matters. The Court has thirteen members who are appointed by the president from a list of candidates presented by Parliament.
Executive Branch
The government is made up of ministers from political parties who have formed a majority coalition with a simple majority, that is, it has more than 75 members in the plenary session of the National Assembly of the Slovak Republic. The government is headed by the prime minister, who has no ministerial agenda of his own. His role is to draft laws, issue government regulations, and make policy statements. The so-called absolute majority is required for the approval of laws, and a large majority of 3/5 is required to amend the Slovak Constitution. The government is currently led by Eduard Heger from the OĽANO party.
The President of the Slovak Republic, together with the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Parliament, is the country's highest constitutional official. The president is the head of state and has a special status. He is elected in direct elections for 5 years. The position of president is quite representative. His powers include, for example, authorizing the next prime minister to form a government, which he then appoints. He also has what's known as a "small veto," which means he can send a law back to the National Council for reconsideration. The President is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, in addition to signing international treaties, appointing constitutional judges, appointing and removing parliament, calling a referendum, or granting an amnesty. The current President of the Republic is Zuzana Čaputová.
The president appoints the prime minister. The rest of the cabinet members are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister.
Legislative branch
The Parliament (the National Assembly or Národná rada Slovenskej republiky) is the country's supreme legislative body. It determines the rules of conduct for the entire State. It has 150 members, deputies elected in democratic elections that are held (except in the case of early elections) every four years. The electoral system for National Council elections is proportional, so the election results and the redistribution of votes for parliamentary seats largely follow the proportion of electoral votes. MPs win their seats as individuals on a ballot, so they cannot be deprived of their seats if their views diverge from the party line, i.e. there is no overriding mandate. Slovakia has a unicameral parliament. Its basic powers include the promulgation of the Constitution and laws, the debate of the declaration of the government program, the control of government activities, the approval of the State budget and the election and dismissal of judges.
Foreign Relations
The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (Slovak: Ministerstvo zahraničných vecí a európskych záležitostí) is responsible for maintaining the foreign relations of the Slovak Republic and managing its international diplomatic missions. The director of the ministry is Ivan Korčok. The ministry oversees Slovakia's affairs with foreign entities, including bilateral relations with individual nations and their representation in international organizations.
Slovakia joined the European Union and NATO in 2004 and the eurozone in 2009.
Slovakia is a member of the United Nations (since 1993) and participates in its specialized agencies. On October 10, 2005, the country was elected to a two-year term on the UN Security Council, from 2006 to 2007. It is also a member of the Schengen Area, the Council of Europe (CoE), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and is part of the Visegrád Group (V4: Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland).
In 2022, Slovak citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 182 countries and territories, ranking the Slovak passport ninth in the world.
Slovakia maintains diplomatic relations with 134 countries, mainly through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As of December 2013, Slovakia maintained 90 missions abroad, including 64 embassies, seven missions to multilateral organizations, nine consulates general, one consular office, one Slovak economic and cultural office, and eight Slovak institutes. In Bratislava there are 44 embassies and 35 honorary consulates.
Slovakia and the United States maintain strong diplomatic ties and cooperate in the military and police spheres. US Department of Defense programs have contributed significantly to Slovak military reforms. About a million Americans trace their roots to Slovakia, and many retain strong cultural and family ties to the Slovak Republic. President Woodrow Wilson and the United States played a major role in establishing the original Czechoslovak state on October 28, 1918.
Defense
The President is formally the Commander-in-Chief of the Slovak Armed Forces.
Slovakia joined NATO in March 2004. Starting in 2006, the army became a fully professional organization and conscription was abolished. The Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic have 14,000 uniformed personnel.
The country has been an active participant in US and NATO led military actions and has been involved in many United Nations peacekeeping military missions: UNPROFOR in Yugoslavia (1992-1995), UNOMUR in Uganda and Rwanda (1993-1994), UNAMIR in Rwanda (1993-1996), UNTAES in Croatia (1996-1998), UNOMIL in Liberia (1993-1997), MONUA in Angola (1997-1999), SFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1999-2003), OSCE mission in Moldova (1998-2002), OSCE mission in Albania (1999), KFOR in Kosovo (1999-2002), UNGCI in Iraq (2000-2003), UNMEE in Ethiopia and Eritrea (2000- 2004), UNMISET in East Timor (2001), EUFOR Concordia in North Macedonia (2003), UNAMSIL in Sierra Leone (1999-2005), EU support action for the African Union in Darfur (2006), Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan (2002-2005), Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq (2003-2007) and UNDOF on the borders of Israel and Syria (1998-2008).
As of 2021, Slovakia has 169 servicemen deployed to Cyprus for UN-led peace support operations UNFICY and 41 troops deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina for EUFOR Althea
The Slovak ground forces consist of two brigades of active mechanized infantry. The Air and Air Defense Forces comprise a fighter wing, a utility helicopter wing, and a SAM brigade. The training and support forces comprise a National Support Element (Multifunctional Battalion, Transport Battalion, Repair Battalion), a garrison force from the capital Bratislava, as well as a training battalion, and various logistic and communication and information bases.. Among the various forces under the direct command of the General Staff is the 5th Special Forces Regiment.
Human Rights
In terms of human rights, regarding membership of the seven bodies of the International Bill of Human Rights, which include the Human Rights Committee (HRC), Slovakia has signed or ratified:
 Slovakia | International treaties | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CESCR | CCPR | CERD | CED | CEDAW | CAT | CRC | MWC | CRPD | |||||||||
| CESCR | CESCR-OP | CCPR | CCPR-OP1 | CCPR-OP2-DP | CEDAW | CEDAW-OP | CAT | CAT-OP | CRC | CRC-OP-AC | CRC-OP-SC | CRPD | CRPD-OP | ||||
| Pertenence |  | |   | | | | | | | | | |  |  | | | |
 Signed and ratified,  signed, but not ratified,  neither signed nor ratified,  without information,  it has agreed to sign and ratify the body concerned, but also recognizes the competence to receive and process individual communications from the competent bodies. | |||||||||||||||||
Status of major international human rights instruments
Territorial organization
Since 1949 (except for the period 1990-1996) Slovakia has been subdivided into eight "kraje" (singular - kraj), usually translated as "regions", which take the name of their main city. Their number, borders, and functions have changed several times throughout history.
The "kraje" are further subdivided into "okresy" (singular - okres, usually translated as "districts"). There are currently 79 districts in Slovakia.
| N.o | Region | Slovak | Capital |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bratislava Region | Bratislavský kraj | Bratislava |
| 2 | Trnava Region | Trnavský kraj | Trnava |
| 3 | Trenčín Region | Trenčiansky kraj | Trenčín |
| 4 | Nitra Region | Nitriansky kraj | Nitra |
| 5 | Žilina Region | Žilinský kraj | Žilina |
| 6 | Banská Bystrica Region | Banskobystrický kraj | Banská Bystrica |
| 7 | Prešov Region | Prešovský kraj | Prešov |
| 8 | Košice Region | Košický kraj | Košice |
Geography
Slovakia is an inland Central European state (it has no coast), a member of the European Union. The capital and most populous city is Bratislava, with a population of 430,000. Other important cities are Košice, Prešov, Žilina, Nitra, Banská Bystrica, Trnava and Martin.
The Slovakian landscape is noted for its mountains, the Carpathians, which stretch across the entire width of the northern part of the country. In this area are the Tatras mountains; The High Tatras is very popular for skiing and is home to beautiful landscapes with lakes and valleys, as well as the highest point in Slovakia, Gerlachovský štít at 2,655 meters above sea level.
The main rivers include the Danube, the Váh, the Nitra and the Hron. The climate in Slovakia is temperate, with relatively warm summers and cold, cloudy and wet winters. WWF divides the territory of Slovakia between two ecoregions: the Carpathian montane forest in the northern mountains and the Pannonian mixed forest in the southern lowlands.
Together with its Hungarian and Czech neighbors, Slovakia is in the region with the highest level of air pollution and acidity from rainfall in Europe. This is due to vehicular traffic and chemical and food processing plants. In 2013, some 250,000 Slovaks suffered from illnesses related to this pollution.
Relief
The surface of Slovakia is mostly mountainous: mountains and highlands cover about three-fifths of the territory. The extensive mountain range of the Carpathians is full of mountain ranges and basins. The different groups of mountain ranges differ according to their origin and the rocks that compose them. Around the middle reaches of the Hron River there is a group of volcanic mountains: the Kremnické vrchy, Vtáčnik, Poľana, Javorie, Štiavnické vrchy and others. The Slanské and Vihorlatské mountains in the east are also of volcanic origin. Bands of furrow mountains stretch from the Little Carpathians in the southwest through central and northern Slovakia. The highest mountains are Mala Fatra, Veľká Fatra, Nízke Tatry and Vysoké Tatry. In the Tatra Mountains, the highest peak in Slovakia - Gerlachovský štít (Gerlach Peak) - rises 2,655 m above sea level. Other well-known peaks are Lomnický štít (2,632 m), the symbol of Slovakia Kriváň (2,492 m) and Rysy (2,499 m). The largest mountain range is the Slovak Ore Mountains.
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Different mountain ranges are separated by valleys and river basins. The largest are those in Košice, Juhoslovenská, Hornonitrianská, Turčianská, Žilinská and others. The lowlands extend to the southwest, south, and east. They belong to the vast lowlands of the Pannonian basin. The largest and most fertile is the Danube Lowland. Its southern part, with the island of Žitný ostrov, where the largest groundwater reserves are located, is the Danube plain. To the north, it enters the Danube plateau, divided by the lower course of the Váh, Nitra, Žitava, Hron and Ipeľ rivers. The second largest is the lower area of eastern Slovakia. It is crossed by several rivers - Topľa, Ondava, Laborec, Uh, Latorica, whose waters are drained by Bodrog and Tisa. Between the Little Carpathians and the Morava River lies the smaller Záhorská Plain in terms of area.
Climate
The Slovak climate falls between the temperate and continental climate zones, with relatively warm summers and cold, cloudy, and wet winters. Extreme temperatures are between -41 and 40.3 °C, although temperatures below -30 °C are rare. The climate differs from the mountainous north to the southern plains.
The warmest region is Bratislava and southern Slovakia, where temperatures can reach 30 °C (86 °F) in summer, occasionally up to 39 °C (102 °F) in Hurbanovo. During the night, temperatures drop as low as 20 °C (68 °F). Daily temperatures in winter range from -5°C to 10°C. During the night there may be frosts, but they do not usually drop below -10 °C (14 °F).
In Slovakia there are four seasons, each of which (spring, summer, autumn and winter) lasts three months. Dry continental air brings summer heat and winter frost. Conversely, ocean air brings the rains and reduces summer temperatures. In the lowlands and valleys there is usually fog, especially in winter.
Spring begins on March 21 and is characterized by cooler weather, with an average daily temperature of 48 °F (9 °C) in the first few weeks and around 57 °F (14 °C) in May and 17 °C (63 °F) in June. In Slovakia, the weather and climate in spring are very unstable.
Summer begins on June 22 and is often characterized by heat, with daily temperatures exceeding 86°F (30°C). The month of July is the warmest, with temperatures up to 37-40 °C (99-104 °F), especially in the southern regions of Slovakia, in the urban area of Komárno, Hurbanovo or Štúrovo. Showers or thunderstorms can occur due to the summer monsoon called Medardova kvapka (Medard's drop - 40 rainy days). Summer in northern Slovakia is usually mild, with temperatures around 25 °C (77 °F) (less in the mountains).
Autumn in Slovakia begins on September 23 and is characterized mostly by wet and windy weather, although the first few weeks can be very warm and sunny. The average temperature in September is about 14 °C (57 °F), and in November 3 °C (37 °F). The end of September and the beginning of October is a dry and sunny time (the so-called Indian summer).
Winter begins on December 21 with temperatures between -5 and -10 °C (23 to 14 °F). In December and January it usually snows, they are the coldest months of the year. At lower altitudes, snow does not stay all winter, but instead turns to melt and frost. Winters are colder in the mountains, where snow usually lasts until March or April and nighttime temperatures drop to -20 °C (-4 °F) and colder.
Rivers
Most of the rivers originate in the Slovakian mountains. Some only pass through Slovakia, while others serve as a natural border with neighboring countries (more than 390 miles [620 kilometers]). For example, the Dunajec (17 kilometers) to the north, the Danube (172 kilometers) to the south or the Morava (119 kilometers) to the west. The total length of the rivers in Slovak territory is 49,774 kilometers.
The longest river in Slovakia is the Váh (403 kilometers), the shortest is the Čierna voda. Other important and large rivers are the Myjava, the Nitra (197 km), the Orava, the Hron (298 km), the Hornád (193 km), the Slaná (110 km), the Ipeľ (232 km, forming the border with Hungary), the Bodrog, the Laborec, the Latorica and the Ondava.
The greatest flow of Slovakian rivers occurs during the spring, when the snow melts from the mountains. The only exception is the Danube, whose discharge is greatest during the summer, when the snow melts in the Alps. The Danube is the largest river that flows through Slovakia.
Mountains
The Tatra Mountains, with 29 peaks over 2,500 meters high, are the highest mountain range in the Carpathians. The Tatras cover an area of 750 square kilometers, of which the largest part, 600 square kilometers, is in Slovakia. They are divided into several parts.
To the north, near the Polish border, are the High Tatras, which are a popular destination for hiking and skiing and are home to many picturesque lakes and valleys, as well as Slovakia's highest point, Gerlachovský štít, with 2,655 meters, and the Kriváň mountain, of great symbolic value for the country. To the west are the Western Tatras, with their highest peak, Bystrá, at 2,248 meters, and to the east the Belian Tatras, the smallest in area.
Separated from the Tatras proper by the Váh river valley are the Low Tatras, with their highest peak of Ďumbier at 2,043 meters.
The Tatra mountain range is represented as one of the three hills of the Slovakian shield.
Biodiversity
Slovakia signed the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity on May 19, 1993 and acceded to it on August 25, 1994. Subsequently, it developed a National Biodiversity Strategy and an Action Plan, which were received by the Agreement on November 2, 1998.
Slovakia's biodiversity includes animals (such as annelids, arthropods, molluscs, nematodes, and vertebrates), fungi (Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota, Glomeromycota, and Zygomycota), microorganisms (including Mycetozoa), and plants. The geographical position of Slovakia determines the richness of the diversity of fauna and flora. More than 11,000 plant species have been described throughout its territory, almost 29,000 animal species and more than 1,000 protozoan species. Endemic biodiversity is also prevalent.
Slovakia is found in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome and in the terrestrial ecoregions of Pannonian mixed forests and Carpathian montane coniferous forests. As elevation changes, associations of Vegetation and animal communities form higher levels (oak, beech, fir, scrub pine, alpine meadows and subsoil). Forests cover 44% of Slovakia's territory. In 2019, the country had an average Forest Landscape Integrity Index score of 4.34/10, ranking it 129th in the world out of 172 countries. Regarding the forest masses, 60% are leafy and 40% are coniferous. The presence of animal species is strongly related to the types of plant associations and suitable biotopes.
More than 4,000 species of fungi have been recorded in Slovakia. Of these, almost 1,500 are lichen-forming species. Some of these fungi are certainly 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% are endangered, 17% are vulnerable, and 7% are rare. The conservation status of non-lichen-forming fungi in Slovakia is not well documented, but a red list exists for its largest fungi.
Nature Conservation
In Slovakia, 9 national parks and 14 protected landscape areas (PPAs) provide large-scale nature protection. The oldest and largest in terms of area is the Tatras national park. Other national parks are Pieniny National Park, Low Tatras, Slovak Paradise, Slovak Karst, Mala Fatra, Veľká Fatra, Poloniny and Muránska Planina National Park. A total of 1,098 small protected areas, 41 protected bird areas and 642 areas of European importance have been declared in Slovakia. Protected areas cover about 23% of the country's surface.
Environmental problems have increased in recent years. The Slovaks are changing the environment both for the better and for the worse with their actions. Thermal power plants and other heating plants that burn solid fuels, the metallurgical and chemical industries and automobile transport are the main responsible for air pollution. They emit larger amounts of pollutants into the air, causing acid rain and, in windless conditions, urban smog.
Slovak nature is also harmed by storms, snow calamities, landslides, pests, fires, floods and unauthorized logging (even in national parks). Wastewater from factories and housing estates contaminates surface and groundwater. In all cities there are problems with waste disposal. However, the selective collection of waste materials (plastics, glass, paper, metals, textiles, etc.) and their reprocessing and reuse -recycling- is gradually taking place. A part of the unprocessed waste is incinerated and the rest is concentrated in landfills.
Geology
Slovakia belongs to the alpine mountain system, which formed in the late Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Rocks of Paleozoic and possibly Proterozoic origin also participated in the formation. Until the late Mesozoic, most of the area of present-day Slovakia was below sea level. The core of the last Western Carpathians is formed by granite, gneiss and mica schists formed by metamorphism and covered by limestone rocks and dolomites formed by sedimentary rocks.
Toward the end of the Mesozoic and into the Cenozoic, significant changes in the structure of the Earth's crust occurred through folding and orogenesis. In the late Tertiary, present-day mountains formed from uplifted icebergs, from sunken basins, and from lowlands, which formed in molasses basins in the Miocene and Pliocene. The construction of the mountain continued by gradually raising the area. In the south of central and eastern Slovakia there was volcanic activity, from which the current volcanic mountains were formed. Towards the end of the Neogene, when the last parts of the sea and lakes disappeared from Slovakia, the current river system was formed. The current relief was also formed by Quaternary glacial activity and erosion. The geological structure of Slovakia is diverse. The flysch zone includes the Western and Eastern Outer Carpathians in north and northeast Slovakia, which are separated from the Inner Carpathians by the Pieniny rock belt. Next come the Paleogene zones of the Inner Carpathians, on the inner (southern) side of the rock belt, which include basins, low mountains, and montane areas from Žilina to about Prešov, with a spur to the Humenné zone. The core mountains belong to the so-called Fatra-Tatra zone, consisting of granite, gneiss and mica schists in the core and limestone and dolomites on the top, and extend in two zones from the Little Carpathians and the Tribeč Mountains to the Tatras and the Low Tatras.
The volcanic mountains are located to the south of the central mountains and essentially form the Central Uplands of Slovakia; other volcanic mountains are the Slanské vrchy and the Vihorlat in the east and the Small Burda Mountains near Štúrovo. The Slovak Ore Mountains consist of two independent zones, namely the Vepor zone in the west and the Čierna hora range in the east, as well as the Gemer zone with other eastern submountains. Some authors include the small Zemplínske vrchy mountains as a separate tectonic unit (see also the map on the right), while others include them among the volcanic mountains.
Slovakia lies on the Eurasian plate and has several seismically active zones. These include the Komárno area, the Little Carpathians (especially around Dobrá Voda), the Trenčín to Žilina area, the Banská Bystrica area, the High Tatras and the Northern Zips (with continuation in the Polish Podhale) and the landscape of Zemplín. The strongest recorded earthquakes occurred in central Slovakia in 1443, in Žilina in 1613 and in Komárno in 1763 and in Dobrá Voda in 1906.
Caves
Due to geological conditions, many karst caves and a smaller number of caves of non-karst origin (eg andesite, basalt, granite, schist) have been formed in Slovakia. Most of the karst caves were formed in Middle Triassic Mesozoic limestone, and to a lesser extent in travertines or isolated less soluble rocks. Including the transitional short caves, more than 7,100 caves are known in Slovakia and new ones are constantly being discovered. Most of them are found in the Slovak Karst, Muránska planina, Greater Fatra, as well as in all submountains of the Tatras.
About 20 caves are operated as exhibition caves, 13 of them by the Slovak State Cave Administration (Slovenská správa jaskýň, abbreviated SSJ). Among them are five caves included in the UNESCO World Heritage "Aggtelek and Slovak Karst Caves": Domica, Jasovská jaskyňa, Gombasecká jaskyňa, Ochtinská aragonitová jaskyňa and Dobšinská ľadová jaskyňa. In the Demänová cave system, the Demänovská jaskyňa Slobody and the Demänovská ľadová jaskyňa are open to the public.
The other caves operated by the SSJ are Belianska jaskyňa, Brestovská jaskyňa, Bystrianska jaskyňa, Driny, Harmanecká jaskyňa and Važecká jaskyňa. Other exhibition caves outside the SSJ network are the Bojnická hradná jaskyňa in Bojnice, the Jaskyňa mŕtvych netopierov in the Low Tatras, the Krásnohorská jaskyňa in the Slovak Karst and the Zlá diera in the Bachureň mountains.
The three longest caves are in the Demänová cave system in the Low Tatras (41 kilometers), Mesačný tieň in the High Tatras (32 kilometers) and Stratenská diera in the Slovak Paradise (22 kilometers). The deepest caves are Hipmanove jaskyne in the Low Tatras (495 meters), Mesačný tieň (451 meters) and Javorinka (374 meters) in the High Tatras.
Economy
While between 1970 and 1985 the income of the population increased by 50%, in the 1990s they fell sharply. Gross domestic product did not return to the 1989 level until 2007.
Slovakia has successfully navigated the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy system. By 2001, the Slovak government had already shown significant progress in stabilizing the macroeconomy and implementing structural reforms. A significant set of privatizations has been carried out, the banking system is almost entirely in the hands of foreign banks, and levels of foreign investment have grown. Slovakia's economic growth exceeded expectations in the early 2000s, despite recession in some of its most important export markets.
Slovakia belongs to the European Union since May 1, 2004, which has made it easier for many companies and factories of German, French and Spanish origin, among others, to settle in the country, especially in the automobile industry. This has had an impact on the high rate of economic growth it has had in recent years (6.1% in 2005). Its economy is one of the fastest growing in Europe. In 2007, 2008 and 2010 (with GDP growth of 10.5%, 6% and 4% retrospectively). In 2016, more than 86% of Slovak exports went to the European Union, and more than 50% of Slovak imports came from other European Union member states.
Unemployment, which peaked at 19% at the end of 1999, decreased to 5.95% at the end of 2017, the lowest rate recorded in recent Slovak history.
As of January 1, 2009, Slovakia joined the eurozone and adopted the euro as its official currency, which fifteen countries had done before.
In 2014, more than 10% of the active population works abroad.
Tourism
Slovakia has several characteristics that make it an attractive country from the point of view of tourism. It has numerous winter sports centers, historic cities, picturesque castles, caves, unique wooden churches, national parks and other riches and natural landscapes.
Approximately 40% of Slovakia is covered by forests. Slovakia's forests are rich in fauna, including brown bears, wolves, lynxes, foxes, wild boars, rabbits, squirrels, polecats, beavers, and muskrats. In mountainous areas you can see chamois and alpine marmots. Being one of the few areas whose environment was not damaged by human intervention, Slovakia has a very high percentage of national parks and other protected areas.
One of the main attractions in Slovakia are the Tatra Mountains (which are divided into the High Tatras and the Low Tatras), which are the highest part of the Carpathians. There you can observe interesting native species of fauna and flora, as well as offering numerous options for skiing, mountain walks and rock climbing.
Kayaking and canoeing on the rivers and streams of Slovakia is very popular. There is also a long tradition of rafting, especially on the Dunajec River.
Slovakia's position in Europe and the country's past (part of the Kingdom of Hungary, the Habsburg Monarchy, and Czechoslovakia) made many cities and towns resemble cities in the Czech Republic (such as Prague), Austria (like Salzburg) or Hungary (like Budapest). In many cities a historic center with at least one square is preserved. There are large historical centers in Bratislava, Trenčín, Košice, Banská Štiavnica, Levoča and Trnava. The historic centers have undergone restoration in recent years.
Historic churches can be found in virtually every town and city in Slovakia. Most of them are built in the Baroque style, but there are also many examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture, for example in Banská Bystrica, Bardejov and Spišská Kapitula. The Basilica of St. James in Levoča, with the highest wood-carved altar in the world, and the Church of the Holy Spirit in Žehra, with its medieval frescoes, are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. St. Martin's Co-Cathedral in Bratislava was the coronation church of the Kingdom of Hungary. The oldest sacred buildings in Slovakia date from the Great Moravian period, in the IX century.
Very valuable structures are complete stave churches in northern and northeastern Slovakia. Most were built from the 15th century onwards by Catholics, Lutherans and members of Eastern rite churches.
Tourism is one of the main sectors of the Slovak economy, although it is still underserved. It is based on domestic tourism, since most of the tourists are Slovak nationals and residents who travel for leisure within the country. Bratislava and the High and Low Tatras are the busiest tourist stops. Other popular tourist destinations are the cities and towns of Košice, Banská Štiavnica or Bardejov, and numerous national parks, such as the Pieniny Malá and Veľká Fatra National Park, the Poloniny National Park or the Slovak Paradise National Park, among others.
There are many castles scattered throughout the country. Among tourists, some of the most popular are Bojnice Castle, Spiš Castle, Stará Ľubovňa Castle, Krásna Hôrka Castle, Orava Castle (where many scenes from Nosferatu were shot), Trenčín Castle and Bratislava Castle, as well as ruined castles, such as Beckov Castle, Devín Castle, Šariš Castle, Považie Castle and Strečno Castle (where Dragonheart was filmed).
Caves open to the public are mainly located in northern Slovakia. Driny is the only cave located in western Slovakia that is open to the public. The Dobšiná Ice Cave, the Demänovská Ice Cave, the Demänovská Cave of Freedom, the Belianska Cave or the Domica Cave are some of the most popular tourist stops. The Ochtinská Aragonite Cave, located in central Slovakia, is one of only three aragonite caves in the world. In Slovakia there are thousands of caves, thirteen of which are open to the public.
Slovakia is also known for its many spas. Piešťany is the largest and busiest spa town in the country, attracting many visitors from the Gulf countries, especially the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. Bardejov, Trenčianske Teplice, Turčianske Teplice and Rajecké Teplice are other important spa towns. Some well-known minor spa towns and villages are Štós, Číž, Dudince, Kováčová, Nimnica, Smrdáky, Lúčky and Vyšné Ružbachy, among others.
Typical souvenirs from Slovakia are dolls dressed in traditional costumes, ceramic objects, glass, carved wooden figures, črpáks (wooden pitchers), fujaras (a UNESCO-listed folk instrument) and valaškas (decorated folk axes) and, above all, products made from corn husks and wire, especially human figures. Souvenirs can be bought at the shops of the state organization ÚĽUV (Ústredie ľudovej umeleckej výroby-Folk Art Production Center). The Dielo chain of stores sells works by Slovak artists and craftsmen. These shops are mostly found in towns and cities.
The prices of imported products are usually the same as in neighboring countries, while the prices of local products and services, especially food, are usually lower.
Industry
Although Slovakia's GDP comes mainly from the tertiary (service) sector, the industrial sector also plays an important role in its economy. The main industrial sectors are automobile manufacturing and electrical engineering. As of 2007, Slovakia is the largest automobile producer per capita in the world, with a total of 1,090,000 cars manufactured in the country in 2018 alone. 275,000 people are directly and indirectly employed by the automobile industry. There are currently four car assembly plants: Volkswagen in Bratislava (models: Volkswagen Up, Volkswagen Touareg, Audi Q7, Audi Q8, Porsche Cayenne, Lamborghini Urus), PSA Peugeot Citroën in Trnava (models: Peugeot 208, Citroën C3 Picasso), Kia Motors in Žilina (models: Kia Cee'd, Kia Sportage, Kia Venga) and Jaguar Land Rover in Nitra (model: Land Rover Discovery). Hyundai Mobis in Žilina is the largest supplier to the automobile industry in Slovakia.
Of the electrical engineering companies, Foxconn has a factory in Nitra for the manufacture of LCD televisions, Samsung in Galanta for the manufacture of computer monitors and televisions. Slovnaft, based in Bratislava and with 4,000 employees, is an oil refinery with a processing capacity of between 5.5 and 6 million tons of crude oil per year. Košice-based steel producer U.S. Steel is the largest employer in eastern Slovakia, with 12,000 workers.
ESET is a computer security company from Bratislava with more than 1,000 employees worldwide today. Its branches are in the United States, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Argentina, the Czech Republic, Singapore, and Poland. In recent years, high-tech-oriented and service companies have thrived in Bratislava. Many global companies, such as IBM, Dell, Lenovo, AT&T, SAP, and Accenture, have built outsourcing and service centers here. Reasons for the influx of multinational companies include proximity to Western Europe, skilled labor and the high density of universities and research facilities. Other large companies and employers based in Bratislava include Amazon, Slovak Telekom, Orange Slovensko, Slovenská sporiteľňa, Tatra banka, Doprastav, Hewlett-Packard Slovakia, Henkel Slovensko, Slovenský plynárenský priemysel, Microsoft Slovakia, Mondelez Slovakia, Whirlpool Slovakia and Zurich Insurance Group Slovakia.
Bratislava's geographical position in Central Europe has long made it a crossroads for international trade traffic. Several ancient trade routes, such as the Amber Route and the Danube waterway, have traversed the territory of the current Bratislava. Today, Bratislava is a hub for highways, railways, waterways, and airways.
Agriculture
Slovakia has a well-developed agricultural sector, using 19,350 km² of arable land (39.5% of the country's area). At the beginning of the XX century, it employed 60% of the population. Today, agriculture, hunting, and related industries employ about 4.9% of the economically active population (about 100,050 employees). The fertile soils are suitable for crop production. Cereals occupy the largest areas (more than half), mainly wheat, corn and barley. Vegetables, legumes and oilseeds (sunflower, rapeseed) are expanding. Potatoes, rye, and annual or perennial fodder crops are grown in the upper basins. Slovakia has a long tradition of fruit growing and viticulture, the products of which are well known abroad. Most of the grapes and other fruits are grown in western Slovakia (Modra, Pezinok) and in the eastern lowlands of the country (Tokaj region)
In livestock production, the number of cattle heads is gradually declining. The number of pigs and cattle is the one that decreases the most. Sheep breeding is already permanently down. Poultry populations are the most numerous. Most of the livestock production is concentrated in the lowlands, where there are sufficient sources of fodder. Mountain pastures and meadows are also frequently used for cattle and sheep rearing. Fishing remains only of local importance, taking place mainly in local rivers and reservoirs.
Demographics
As of 2011, Slovakia has a population of 5,397,036. Life expectancy is 76 years. 99.6% of the population is literate. The average number of children per woman is only 1.4.
Most of the people in Slovakia are ethnically Slovak (80.7%). Hungarians are the largest ethnic minority (8.5%) and are concentrated in the southern region of the country. Other ethnic groups include Czechs (0.6%), Ruthenians (0.6%), and Ukrainians, Germans, Moravians and Poles who make up 1% each. The percentage of the Roma population is 2 % according to the last census (which is based on own estimates of Roma organizations); but around 5.6% based on data provided by municipal authorities (which compute only the permanent population). However, note that in the case of 5.6%, the percentages of Hungarians and Slovaks are lower by 4 percentage points.
The official state language is Slovak, which belongs to the Slavic language family, but Hungarian (9.4%) is widely spoken in the south and enjoys co-official status in some regions. Also noteworthy is Romani, which is used as a mother tongue by 2.3% of the population.
The Slovak constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The majority of Slovak citizens (66.0%) belong to the Catholic Church distributed between 62% Roman Rite Catholicism and 3.8% practicing Greek Rite Catholicism, both groups in communion with the Pope in Rome; 5.9% adhere to various branches of Lutheranism; 3.8%; 1.8% profess Calvinism, and 0.9% are Eastern Orthodox. On the other hand, 13.4% of the population declares themselves without religion, and 10.6% does not define themselves in religious matters. Of an estimated population of one hundred and twenty thousand Jews before World War II, around two 1,300 Jews remain in the country.
The life expectancy of Roma is 11 years less than the Slovak average for men and 14 years less for women (as of 2017).
Religion
Christianity is the predominant religion in Slovakia. The majority (62%) of Slovaks profess Catholicism and follow the Latin rite; Adding to 4% Greek Catholics (following the Byzantine rite), all Catholics of both rites in communion with the Pope in Rome represent 66% of the Slovak population. Members of the various Protestant denominations, mainly Lutherans or Reformed churches, together represent 9%. Members of other churches, including the unregistered, make up 1.1% of the population. Eastern Orthodox Christians are found mainly in Ruthenian (Russian) areas. The Catholic Church divides the country into eight dioceses, including three archdioceses in two different provinces. The Slovak Greek Catholic Church is a metropolitan Church sui iuris (an autonomous Church within the Catholic Church) with three eparchies in Slovakia and one in Canada. In general, about a third of Church members regularly attend religious services. The religious situation is dramatically different from that of the neighboring Czech Republic, which is notable for its atheist or irreligious majority.
Other religions practiced in Slovakia include the Baha'i Faith, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism. There are 18 registered churches and religions. There were an estimated 0.2% Muslims in Slovakia in 2010. While the country had an estimated World War II Jewish population of 90,000, only about 2,300 Jews remain today. In 2010, an estimated 5,000 Muslims in Slovakia represented less than 0.1% of the country's population.
In 2016, the Slovak parliament passed a bill requiring all religious movements and organizations to have a minimum of 50,000 verified practicing members in order to be recognized by the state. The bill has been welcomed as a method of curbing potentially dangerous and abusive new religious movements and criticized for favoring Christianity and violating the ideal of state secularism.
Languages
The official language is Slovak, a member of the Slavic language family. Hungarian is widespread in the southern regions, and Russinian is used in some parts of the northeast. Minority languages are co-official in municipalities where the minority population reaches the legal threshold of 15% in two consecutive censuses.
Slovakia is among the top countries in the EU in terms of knowledge of foreign languages. In 2007, 68% of the population aged 25 to 64 claimed to speak two or more foreign languages, which is second in the European Union. The best known foreign language in Slovakia is Czech which shares many similarities. The Eurostat report also shows that 98.3% of Slovak upper secondary students master two foreign languages, well above the European Union average of 60.1%. 2012 Eurobarometer, 26% of the population have knowledge of English at conversational level, followed by German (22%) and Russian (17%).
The deaf community uses Slovak Sign Language. Although spoken Czech and Slovak are similar, Slovak Sign Language is not particularly similar to Czech Sign Language.
Education
The Program for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks Slovak secondary education 30th in the world (just below the United States and above Spain) Education in Slovakia is Compulsory from 6 to 16 years old. The educational system consists of primary school, which is divided into two parts, the first grade (from 6 to 10 years) and the second grade (from 10 to 15 years), which ends with the completion of tests at the national level. called Monitor, in Slovak and math. Parents can apply for social assistance for a child studying at primary school or high school. If approved, the State provides the basic study needs for the child. Schools provide books to all their students, with the usual exceptions of books for the study of a foreign language and books that require taking notes in them, which are present mostly in the first grade of primary school.
After completing primary school, students are required to complete one year of secondary school.
After high school, students can and are encouraged to go to college. Slovakia has a wide range of universities. The largest university is the Comenius University, established in 1919. Although it is not the first university established on Slovak territory, it is the oldest still in operation. Most of the universities in Slovakia are financed by public funds, which anyone can access. All citizens have the right to free education in public schools.
There are several privately funded universities in Slovakia, but public universities consistently rank higher than their private counterparts. Universities have different criteria for accepting students. Anyone can apply for a place at any university.
Immigration and Emigration
Slovakia is not one of the traditional countries of destination for immigrants and, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), it is a "culturally homogeneous country" unaffected by the dramatic increase in migration in the 20th century. Until recently, Slovakia was affected almost exclusively by emigration, whose citizens left the country for many different reasons. At the beginning of the XX century, the territory of Slovakia was one of the areas with the highest emigration in the world. Before World War I, some 600,000 Slovaks immigrated to the United States alone, and in the interwar period another 200,000 inhabitants left the country, mainly for economic reasons. After the communists came to power in 1948, many inhabitants emigrated mainly for political reasons. The number of emigrants from all of Czechoslovakia is estimated to have been about 440,000 between 1948 and 1989. Mass emigration had many negative consequences for the country: a decline in the number of young people and, in some cases, the emigration of many specially educated residents.
Slovakia's accession to the European Union and the Schengen area changed this situation. Since then, the number of illegal immigrants in particular has decreased, while that of legal immigrants has tripled. Although Slovakia registered the second largest increase in the number of foreigners among all EU states between 2004 and 2008, the proportion of foreigners in the population remains low. In 2015, the proportion of foreigners in the total Slovak population was 1.56%, the sixth lowest among all EU countries. Of these, 42% come from the neighboring countries of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Austria and Ukraine. The next largest group of foreign citizens in Slovakia are people with citizenship of Southeast Europe and Russia (20.5%). 8% of foreigners in Slovakia are of Asian origin. Of the total of 58,321 asylum applications submitted up to 1993, 653 people were granted asylum and 672 were granted subsidiary protection as another form of international protection. In 2015, 330 asylum applications were submitted in Slovakia, of which a total of 8 people were granted asylum.
Infrastructure
Energy
In 2012, Slovakia produced a total of 28,393 GWh of electricity, while at the same time consuming 28,786 GWh. The level of consumption slightly higher than the production capacity (-393 GWh) meant that the country was not self-sufficient in energy supply. Slovakia imported electricity mainly from the Czech Republic (9,961 GWh - 73.6% of total imports) and exported mainly to Hungary (10,231 GWh - 78.2% of total exports).
Nuclear power accounts for 53.8% of total electricity production in Slovakia, followed by 18.1% thermal power, 15.1% hydropower, 2% solar power, 9, 6% from other sources and the remaining 1.4% is imported.
Slovakia's two nuclear power plants are located at Jaslovské Bohunice and Mochovce, each with two operating reactors. Before Slovakia's accession to the EU in 2004, the government agreed to shut down block V1 of the Jaslovské Bohunice power plant, incorporated in 1978. After shutting down the last of the two block V1 reactors in 2008, Slovakia was no longer self-sufficient in energy production. Currently there is another block (V2) with two active reactors in Jaslovské Bohunice. Its decommissioning is scheduled for 2025. Two new reactors are being built at the Mochovce power plant. Nuclear power production in Slovakia occasionally draws the attention of Austrian green energy activists, who organize protests and blockade the borders between the two countries.
Transportation
In Slovakia there are four main highways, from D1 to D4, and eight express roads, from R1 to R8. Many of them are still under construction.
The D1 motorway connects the national capital Bratislava with Trnava, Nitra, Trenčín, Žilina and beyond, while the D2 motorway connects it with Prague, Brno and Budapest in a north-south direction. A large part of the D4 motorway (an outer ring road) was opened by 2020, in order to relieve pressure on the Bratislava road network. The A6 motorway to Vienna connects Slovakia directly with the Austrian motorway network and was opened on November 19, 2007.
Slovakia has four international airports. Bratislava M. R. Štefánik Airport is the main and largest international airport. It is situated 9 kilometers (5.6 mi) northeast of the city center. It provides service to civil and government flights, scheduled and non-scheduled, national and international. The current runways allow the landing of all types of aircraft currently common. The airport has enjoyed rapid growth in passenger traffic in recent years; served 279,028 passengers in 2000 and 2,292,712 in 2018.
Košice International Airport is an airport serving Košice. It is the second largest international airport in Slovakia. Poprad-Tatry Airport is the third busiest airport, the airport is located 5 km west-northwest of the town of Poprad ski resort. It is an airport with one of the highest elevations in Central Europe, at 718 m, which is 150 m more than the Innsbruck airport in Austria. Sliač Airport is the smallest of the international airports and currently only operates summer charter flights to popular maritime tourist destinations.
Fluvial transport
Water transport in Slovakia takes place on the Danube (172 km), Váh (78.8 km), Bodrog (7.8 km) and Topľa (20 km) rivers. River transport is the cheapest and most ecologically advantageous mode of transport, the drawback is its slowness and dependence on the water level of the rivers. Passenger water transport is mainly used for leisure and excursions, while freight transport is important for foreign trade. River ports are located in Bratislava and Komárno.
Other waterways are used primarily for recreational and technological boating. The internationally important Vážska waterway project is partially completed and should connect the Danube, via the Váh, with the Oder and Vistula rivers.74 There are about 60 Slovak-flagged ships, none of which are owned by Slovakia.
Rail transport
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The railways are also facing a period of radical modernization. Its length, like that of the road network, is above average. In rail transport, freight transport predominates over passenger transport. In Slovakia, passenger rail transport is provided by Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko (ZSSK) and by the private companies RegioJet and Leo Expres. The ŽSR manages 3,690 kilometers (2007)[73] of normal, wide and narrow gauge lines. They also manage 1,159 signalized crossings, 8,773 points, 76 tunnels with a length of 43.3 km, 2,283 bridges with a length of 46.7 km and 2,344 level crossings. According to the law, ŽSR is the operator of the railways in Slovakia.
The most important railway junctions are Bratislava, Trnava, Galanta, Žilina, Vrútky, Košice, Zvolen, Leopoldov and Nové Zámky. The longest railway tunnel in Slovakia and also in the former Czechoslovakia is the Čremošniansky tunnel with a length of 4,697 m, which is located on the passenger railway line No. 170 Vrútky - Turčianske Teplice - Banská Bystrica - Zvolen.
Rail transport has a long tradition in Slovakia. Technical monuments include the Čiernohronská Railway in Čierny Balog and the Kysucko-oravská Forest Railway in Vychylovka, which was in operation from 1926 to 1971, part of which today serves as a tourist attraction. The city of Čierna nad Tisou (border station on the border with Ukraine, which serves as a transfer point for freight trains) has a special position in rail transport. The shortcomings of rail transport are its slow speed and outdated infrastructure.
Telecommunications
Since the beginning of the new millennium, telecommunications have modernized and developed considerably, especially the use of mobile or cell phones. In 2009, there were a total of 5.9 million mobile phones in use in the country, and more than 4 million people used the Internet. In general, the penetration of these services is comparable to that of other countries in the region.
In Slovakia, they broadcast about 40 national, regional and local television channels, mostly privately owned. Under the banner of Rozhlas a televízia Slovenska, created in January 2011, three national television channels are broadcast. It has two organizational components, Slovak Radio and Slovak Television, which operated independently before the creation of RTVS. There are about 20 radio programs in Slovakia. Despite this, the country continues to use an analogue system and is gradually moving to digital broadcasting. The use of fiber optics is also being introduced.
Radius
The most listened to radio stations in Slovakia are (3.er Quarter 2017) Rádio Expres (19.25%), Rádio Slovensko (SRo 1, 17.03%), Fun rádio (11%), Rádio Jemné (7.3%), Rádio Europa 2 (6, 86%), Rádio Regina (SRo 4, 6.26%), Rádio Vlna (5.34%), Rádio Anténa Rock (2.97%), Rádio FM (SRo 3, 2.56%) and Rádio Lumen (2.5%).
Slovak Public Radio has been broadcasting for more than 85 years and has 9 circuits. Rádio Slovensko, Rádio Regina, Rádio Devín, Rádio FM, Rádio Patria and Radio Slovakia International broadcast terrestrially. It broadcasts digitally over the Internet and since 2015 also on the DAB+ digital network: Rádio Klasika, Rádio Litera and Rádio Junior. The headquarters of Slovak Radio is on Mýtna street in Bratislava.
Television
TV broadcasts cover the entire territory of Slovakia. These are public and private media with different regional reach. Since the disappearance of Czech-Slovak Television, Slovak Television has broadcast in Slovakia, which has three channels, Jednotka, Dvojka and Trojka. Since 1956, Jednotka (until 2004 STV 1) broadcasts general programming, movies, series, programs and news. Dvojka (until 2004 STV 2) broadcasts since 1970 mainly Slovak documentaries, sports, children's programs and non-commercial Slovak and foreign films. Trojka started broadcasting in 2008 as a sports channel until 2011. It resumed broadcasting in 2019 and currently broadcasts movies and shows from its archive.
In 1996, the commercial television Markiza, which is the most watched television channel, also began broadcasting. Its director is Matthias Settele. It launched a second channel, TV Doma, for women, a third, for men, called TV Dajto, and a fourth channel, TV Foor, which disappeared in 2014.
Global Television became TV YOJ in 2002, which launched a second channel, Plus, and two more channels, TV WAU and TV Senzi, in 2013. Later, children's channels Ťuki TV and TV RiK were added. JOJ FAMILY was launched for the Czech Republic and the premiere channel JOJ CINEMA for Slovakia. The general manager is Marcel Grega.
In addition to these terrestrial broadcasters, there is also the TA3 news television, the monothematic TVA (business news), Nautik TV (originally underwater world, now mainly interactive programs), Music Box (music station), as well as other local and local televisions in Slovakia. TV Markiza (19.5%), TV YOJ (16.2%), Jednotka (10.1%), TV Doma (4%), TV Dajto (3.1%), Plus (3%), TV WAU (2.8%), Dvojka (2.2%) and TA3 (1.6%).
Television is an important social phenomenon in present-day Slovakia, it is a means of mass communication, it has strategic importance for the economy and it is also culturally educational. It acts directly on the senses and this is one of the basic indicators of its communicative function. It offers its listeners instruction and entertainment, information, aesthetic experience, education and training. The wide range of television activities shapes the general lifestyle of Slovaks. Television programs began to be broadcast regularly in Slovakia in 1953.
Science and Technology
The Slovak Academy of Sciences has been the country's leading scientific and research institution since 1953. Slovaks have made notable scientific and technical contributions throughout history. Slovakia is currently in the process of negotiating to become a member of the European Space Agency. Observer status was granted in 2010, when Slovakia signed the General Cooperation Agreement sharing information on ongoing education programs and inviting Slovakia to various ESA negotiations.
In 2015, Slovakia signed the European Cooperating State Agreement, under which Slovakia committed to funding the entry program called PECS (Scheme for European Cooperating States), which serves as preparation for full membership. Slovak research and development organizations can apply for funding for projects related to the advancement of space technologies. Slovakia is expected to become a full member of ESA in 2020, after the signing of the ESA Convention. Slovakia will be obliged to establish a state budget that includes the financing of ESA. Slovakia ranked 33rd in the Global Innovation Index in 2021.
Culture
A rare and interesting tourist curiosity in eastern Slovakia is the large number of churches in rural areas built of wood, which bear some similarities to stavkirke in Norway.
Folklore
Folk tradition runs deep in Slovakia and is reflected in literature, music, dance and architecture. The prime example is the Slovak national anthem, "Nad Tatrou sa blýska", which is based on a melody from the folk song "Kopala studienku".
The manifestation of Slovak folk culture is the Folklore Festival "Východná". It is the oldest and largest national festival with international participation, held annually in Východná. Slovakia is usually represented by many groups, but mainly by SĽUK (Slovenský ľudový umelecký kolektív-Slovak Folk Art Collective). The SĽUK is the largest Slovak folk art group, which tries to preserve the folk tradition.
An example of wooden folk architecture in Slovakia can be seen in the well-preserved village of Vlkolínec, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. The Prešov region preserves the most remarkable wooden folk churches in the world. Most of them are protected by Slovak law as cultural heritage, but some of them are also listed by UNESCO, in Bodružal, Hervartov, Ladomirová and Ruská Bystrá.
The best-known Slovak hero, present in many popular mythologies, is Juraj Jánošík (1688-1713) (the Slovak equivalent of Robin Hood). Legend has it that he took from the rich and gave to the poor. Jánošík's life was depicted in a list of literary works and many films throughout the 20th century. One of the most popular is the film Jánošík, directed by Martin Frič in 1935.
Architecture
Most of the buildings in Slovakia were constructed of a variety of construction materials with distinctive architecture. In the more mountainous areas of Slovakia it used to be wood, which is still abundant today. Wooden architecture (log houses) is built like a log cabin, by placing individual beams around the perimeter. The roofs were covered with wooden shingles and decorated pediments. Unfired clay with straw was also used to build simpler dwellings. These types of buildings were typical especially in the southern areas of Slovakia, Záhorie and Považie. Clay buildings were constructed using 'load-bearing' technology, in which fresh clay was tamped and staked between the plank formwork to form the perimeter and cross walls of the house.
The typical architecture of each region is preserved in the popular architecture reserves. The best known are Veľké Leváre, Brhlovce, Sebechleby, Čičmany, Špania Dolina, Vlkolínec, Podbiel and Ždiar. An example of the preservation not only of architectural monuments, but also of the possibilities of the economy of their ancestors, are open-air museums and museums of nature.
There are currently 10 open-air museums in Slovakia, presenting the monuments of building folk culture, village life and last but not least, technical monuments that were used in the past. They are located in various parts of the Slovak territory: the Museum of the Slovak People in Martin in the Turiec region, Vychylovka in the Kysuce region, Zuberec in the Orava region, Pribylina in the Liptov region, Svidník in the Šariš region, Humenné in the Zemplín region, Nitra in the Danube region, etc.
There are also many castles, palaces, churches, manor houses and other cultural monuments in Slovakia. According to some sources, the country has the highest concentration of castles per capita in the region. More durable stone was used in its construction. Also interesting are the reserves of urban monuments, which are located in most of our historical cities: Bratislava, Banská Štiavnica, Košice, Bardejov, Levoča, Banská Bystrica, etc. An inseparable part of Slovak architecture are the stave churches, which have been built in the area since the second half of the 15th century. They are an image of the perception of the religious life and the practice of the faith of the townspeople. At present, there are about 40 wooden churches in Slovakia. Not all of them are accessible and some are part of open-air museums.
Music and Dance
Popular music began to replace folk music starting in the 1950s, when Slovakia was part of Czechoslovakia; American jazz, R&B, and rock and roll were popular, along with waltzes, polkas, and czardas, among other folk forms. In the late 1950s, radios were common household items, although only state stations were legal. Slovak folk music that began as a mix of bossa nova, cool jazz, and rock.
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After the Velvet Revolution and the declaration of the Slovak state, largely national music, diversified as free enterprise, allows for a great expansion in the number of bands and genres represented on the Slovak market.
The development of Slovak music is a millennial process, directly related to the historical events of Slovakia and its cultural and social development. The oldest artistic expressions are popular songs, which are part of ceremonial folklore. These are various cartoons, Christmas carols and Easter, carnival celebrations, spells, songs, etc. Slovak ancestors made their difficult life more pleasant by singing and dancing. Various styles of folk songs are spoken of in Slovak folklore. Songs of the so-called ancient culture are widespread, including ritual songs (wedding songs, plaques, etc.), songs of peasant and pastoral culture (for example, lawn songs, harvest songs). The new song culture is mainly represented by songs with love and military themes. A typical element of musical traditions are multi-voice male chants, unique in Slovakia. The most interesting musical instruments of the Slovaks are the fujara, the ozembuch or the gajdy.
The origins of modern Slovak music date back to the post-war period of Czechoslovakia (1918). Musical artists faced a difficult task, whose objective was to overcome the traditional backwardness of the country in terms of musical art. To create a national modern music, the Slovaks set out to professionalize musical life. Music schools, conservatories and operas were created.
Slovakian composer Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský helped found the Bratislava Academy of Music and Theater. Gradually, the musical style turned from melodic-harmonic to sonorous, rich in sounds. The first representative of Slovak musical modernism was Alexander Moyzes, whose younger contemporaries were Eugen Suchoň and Ján Cikker. Pioneers of Slovak folk music include Gejza Dusík and František Krištof Veselý. Opera singers Edita Gruberová, Lucia Poppová, Gabriela Beňačková and Peter Dvorský also left their mark.
Hana Hegerová became the queen of Czech-Slovak song. In the 80s, a strong wave of Slovak pop music arrived: Karol Duchoň, Marika Gombitová, Miroslav Žbirka, Peter Nagy, Richard Müller, Pavol Hammel, the groups Elán (Vašo Patejdl, Jožo Ráž), Team (Pavol Habera) and Tublatanka. After the dissolution of the federation, new stars also appeared, such as the singers Katarína Knechtová, Kristína, Zuzana Smatanová, Jana Kirschner, Nela Pocisková, Mária Čírová, Sima Martausová, the singer Peter Cmorík, Marián Čekovský or the groups IMT Smile, No Name, Hex and Desmod.
The great variety of music is also related to the great variety of dances. In the past, dance was part of religious ceremonies, but it was also a means of entertainment. In each village there were approximately two or three dance parties during the year (the so-called "muzikas"). The dance is characterized by the alternation of fast and slow times. Among the most well-known folk dances are the verbunk, the odzemok, the stick dance, the hat dance, customary dances (for example, with a scythe, or vienok, grošové, etc.). Dupava dances are unique: women usually dance in a circle, while men are characterized by the shora dance in two rows facing each other.
Gastronomy
Slovak gastronomy is mainly based on meat, flour, potatoes, cabbage and dairy products.
Poultry, beef and, well above both, pork, are the most consumed meats. Among all the birds, the chicken is the most common, although the duck, the goose and the turkey are also popular. A sausage called jaternice, made from pig's blood and almost every other part of the animal, is also popular. Game meats, particularly wild boar, rabbit and venison, are also available depending on the time of year. The consumption of horse meat is generally frowned upon.
Wine is common throughout the country. Slovak wines are mainly produced in the southern areas along the Danube and its tributaries; the northern half of the country is too cold and mountainous for the cultivation of vines. Traditionally, white wine was more popular than red or rosé (except in some regions) and sweet than dry, but both trends appear to be changing. The beer (in Slovak Pivo) is also very popular.
Slovak cuisine comes from a region with severe weather conditions where intense cold reigns for at least three months of the year; this is one of the reasons for the preponderance of smoked meat, potatoes, sour (fermented) cabbage, dairy products and flours, products that can easily survive or be produced all year long regardless of cold or snowfall. In the same way, the ancient Slovaks harvested cabbage in the fall, sliced it, mixed it with spices, and made sour cabbage, a powerful source of vitamin C. The potato harvested in October served as a winter staple as did the fresh or sour cow's milk. Fish was consumed mainly carp.
Art
The visual arts in Slovakia are represented by painting, drawing, engraving, illustration, crafts, sculpture, photography or conceptual art. The Slovak National Gallery, founded in 1948, is the largest network of galleries in Slovakia. In Bratislava there are two exhibitions located in the Esterházy Palace (Esterházyho palác) and in the Water Barracks (Vodné kasárne), adjacent to each other. They are located on the banks of the Danube, in the old town.
The Bratislava City Gallery, founded in 1961, is the second largest gallery of its kind in Slovakia. It stores about 35,000 pieces of international Slovak art and offers permanent exhibitions in the Pálffy Palace and the Mirbach Palace, located in the Old Town. The Danubiana Art Museum, one of the youngest art museums in Europe, is located near the Čunovo waterworks (part of the Gabčíkovo waterworks). Other important galleries are: Andy Warhol Museum of Modern Art (Warhol's parents were from Miková), East Slovakia Gallery, Ernest Zmeták Art Gallery, Zvolen Castle.
Literature
Among the Christian themes, the poem Proglas stands out as a prologue to the four Gospels, partial translations of the Bible into Old Church Slavonic, Zakon sudnyj ljudem.
Medieval literature, in the period between the XI and XV, was written in Latin, Czech and Czech Slovak. The lyric (prayers, songs and formulas) was still controlled by the Church, while the epic was concentrated in the legends. Authors from this time include Johannes de Thurocz, author of the Chronica Hungarorum, and Maurus, both Hungarians. Worldly literature also arose and chronicles were written in this period.
Two important people codified Slovak. The first was Anton Bernolák, whose conception was based on the West Slovak dialect in 1787. It was the codification of the first literary language of the Slovaks. The second was Ľudovít Štúr, whose formation of Slovak took over from the Central Slovak dialect in 1843.
Slovakia is also known for its multifaceted people, including Pavol Jozef Šafárik, Matej Bel, Ján Kollár, and its political reformers and revolutionaries, such as Milan Rastislav Štefánik and Alexander Dubček.
Sports
Triple cycling world champion Peter Sagan is from Slovakia.
Football
Soccer is the most popular sport in Slovakia, with more than 400,000 registered players. The Slovakia National Soccer Team is controlled by the Slovak Football Association and attached to UEFA and FIFA. This team qualified for their first and so far, only World Cup: The 2010 World Cup. And as if that were not enough, Slovakia got a historic pass to the round of 16, after beating Italy 3-2, which at that time was the reigning World Cup champion. However, in that instance, they lost 2-1 to the Netherlands, thus closing a good debut in the World Cup.
Within the country, there is the Slovak Super League, which was founded in 1993 after independence, and the most successful team is Slovan Bratislava with 11 titles, followed by Žilina with 7 conquests. In 2016, the Slovakia national football team qualified for Euro 2016, under the management of Ján Kozák. This helped the team reach its best ever position of 14th in the FIFA world rankings.
In club competitions, only three teams have qualified for the UEFA Champions League group stage, namely MFK Košice in 1997-98, FC Artmedia Bratislava in the 2005-06 season and MŠK Žilina in 2010-11. FC Artmedia Bratislava have been the most successful team, finishing third in the UEFA Cup group stage, thus qualifying for the knockout stage. They remain the only Slovak club to have won a game in the group stage.
Ice Hockey
One of the most popular team sports in Slovakia is ice hockey. Slovakia became a member of the IIHF on February 2, 1993 and since then has won 4 medals at the Ice Hockey World Championships, consisting of 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze. The most recent success was a silver medal at the 2012 IIHF World Championship in Helsinki. The Slovak national hockey team has participated eight times in the Olympic Games, placing fourth at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and third with a bronze medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The country has 8,280 registered players and is currently ranked seventh in the IIHF world rankings. The Slovakian hockey teams HC Slovan Bratislava and HC Lev Poprad participated in the Kontinental Hockey League.
Slovakia hosted the 2011 IIHF World Championship, in which Finland won the gold medal, and the 2019 IIHF World Championship, in which Finland also won the gold medal. Both competitions took place in Bratislava and Košice.
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