49 Facts About Slovakia

Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe.

Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia, sometimes known as the Velvet Divorce.

Slovakia is a developed country with an advanced high-income economy, ranking very high in the Human Development Index.

Slovakia is a member of the European Union, the Eurozone, the Schengen Area, the United Nations, NATO, CERN, the OECD, the WTO, the Council of Europe, the Visegrad Group, and the OSCE.

Western Slovakia was the centre of Samo's empire in the seventh century.

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Slovakia named the German cleric Wiching the Bishop of Nitra.

The ethnic composition of Slovakia became more diverse with the arrival of the Carpathian Germans in the 13th century and the Jews in the 14th century.

However, in medieval times the area of Slovakia was characterised by German and Jewish immigration, burgeoning towns, construction of numerous stone castles, and the cultivation of the arts.

The territory comprising modern Slovakia, then known as Upper Hungary, became the place of settlement for nearly two-thirds of the Magyar nobility fleeing the Turks and became far more linguistically and culturally Hungarian than it was before.

Upper Hungary, modern Slovakia, became the site of frequent wars between Catholics in the west territory and Protestants in the east, as well as against Turks; the frontier was on a constant state of military alert and heavily fortified by castles and citadels often manned by Catholic German and Slovak troops on the Habsburg side.

The remainder of Czechoslovakia was renamed Czecho-Slovakia and promised a greater degree of Slovak political autonomy.

Parts of southern and eastern Slovakia were reclaimed by Hungary at the First Vienna Award of November 1938.

The territory of Slovakia was liberated by Soviet and Romanian forces by the end of April 1945.

On 17 July 1992, Slovakia, led by Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar, declared itself a sovereign state, meaning that its laws took precedence over those of the federal government.

Slovakia has, nevertheless, remained a close partner with the Czech Republic.

Slovakia became a member of NATO on 29 March 2004 and of the European Union on 1 May 2004.

Slovakia has hundreds of caves and caverns under its mountains, of which 30 are open to the public.

In Slovakia, there are four seasons, each season lasts three months.

Slovakia signed the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity on 19 May 1993, and became a party to the convention on 25 August 1994.

The geographical position of Slovakia determines the richness of the diversity of fauna and flora.

Slovakia is located in the biome of temperate broadleaf and mixed forests and terrestrial ecoregions of Pannonian mixed forests and Carpathian montane conifer forests.

The conservation status of non-lichen-forming fungi in Slovakia is not well documented, but there is a red list for its larger fungi.

Slovakia is a parliamentary democratic republic with a multi-party system.

Slovakia accepts the compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction with reservations.

Slovakia joined the European Union and NATO in 2004 and the Eurozone in 2009.

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Slovakia is a member of the United Nations and participates in its specialised agencies.

Slovakia maintains diplomatic relations with 134 countries, primarily through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Slovakia is divided into 8 kraje, each of which is named after its principal city.

Slovakia successfully transformed from a centrally planned economy to a market-driven economy.

Slovakia adopted the Euro currency on 1 January 2009 as the 16th member of the Eurozone.

The euro in Slovakia was approved by the European commission on 7 May 2008.

Slovakia is an attractive country for foreign investors mainly because of its low wages, low tax rates, well educated labour force, favourable geographic location in the heart of Central Europe, strong political stability and good international relations reinforced by the country's accession to the European Union.

Some regions, mostly at the east of Slovakia have failed to attract major investment, which has aggravated regional disparities in many economic and social areas.

Two nuclear power-plants in Slovakia are in Jaslovske Bohunice and Mochovce, each of them containing two operating reactors.

Typical souvenirs from Slovakia are dolls dressed in folk costumes, ceramic objects, crystal glass, carved wooden figures, crpaks, fujaras and valaskas and above all products made from corn husks and wire, notably human figures.

Slovakia is currently in the negotiation process of becoming a member of the European Space Agency.

Observer status was granted in 2010, when Slovakia signed the General Agreement on Cooperation in which information about ongoing education programmes was shared and Slovakia was invited to various negotiations of the ESA.

In 2015, Slovakia signed the European Cooperating State Agreement based on which Slovakia committed to the finance entrance programme named PECS which serves as preparation for full membership.

Slovakia will be obliged to set state budget inclusive ESA funding.

Slovakia was ranked 33rd in the Global Innovation Index in 2021.

Slovakia is ranked among the top EU countries regarding the knowledge of foreign languages.

Slovakia is the only member state of the European Union to not have any mosques.

Slovakia has several privately funded universities, however public universities consistently score better in the ranking than their private counterparts.

Folk tradition has rooted strongly in Slovakia and is reflected in literature, music, dance and architecture.

Slovakia is usually represented by many groups but mainly by SLUK .

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An example of wooden folk architecture in Slovakia can be seen in the well-preserved village of Vlkolinec which has been the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.

Visual art in Slovakia is represented through painting, drawing, printmaking, illustration, arts and crafts, sculpture, photography or conceptual art.

Slovakia became a member of the IIHF on 2 February 1993 and since then has won 4 medals in Ice Hockey World Championships, consisting of 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze.

Slovakia hosted the 2011 IIHF World Championship, where Finland won the gold medal and 2019 IIHF World Championship, where Finland won the gold medal.