10 Facts About Slovaks

1.

Slovaks are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovak.

FactSnippet No. 819,418
2.

Slovaks have historically been variously referred to as Slovyenyn, Slowyenyny, Sclavus, Sclavi, Slavus, Slavi, Winde, Wende, or Wenden.

FactSnippet No. 819,419
3.

In political terms, the medieval Slovaks were a part of the multi-ethnic political nation Natio Hungarica, together with Hungarians, Slavonians, Germans, Romanians and other ethnic groups in the Kingdom of Hungary.

FactSnippet No. 819,420
4.

The transformation process was slowed down by conflict with Hungarian nationalism and the ethnogenesis of the Slovaks become a political question, particularly regarding their deprivation and preservation of their language and national rights.

FactSnippet No. 819,421
5.

Also, the first history of Slovaks written by Georgius Papanek, traced the roots of the Slovaks to Great Moravia in Historia gentis Slavae.

FactSnippet No. 819,422
6.

However, the Slovak national revival not only accepted the continuity of population but emphasized it, thus proving that Slovaks are equal citizens of the state and neither a Hungarian "unique statesmanlike gift" nor Christianization was required for the foundation of the state.

FactSnippet No. 819,423
7.

Hunfalvy tried to prove that ancestors of Slovaks did not live in the territory of the present-day Slovakia before arrival of the old Hungarians, but Slovaks emerged later from other Slavs who came to the Kingdom of Hungary from neighbouring countries after the 13th century.

FactSnippet No. 819,424
8.

Janos Karacsonyi assumed that central and northern Slovakia were uninhabited and in his next work "Our historical right to the territorial integrity of our country" he claimed that the remainder of the original Slavs were assimilated by Magyars and modern Slovaks are descendants of immigrants from Upper Moravia and Oder .

FactSnippet No. 819,425
9.

Gyorffy accepted that smaller groups of Slavs could remain in the territory of Slovakia, but stated that the Slovaks' origin was in sparse settlement of various Slavic groups strengthened by later colonization.

FactSnippet No. 819,426
10.

In terms of sports, the Slovaks are probably best known for their ice hockey personalities, especially Stan Mikita, Peter Stastny, Peter Bondra, Zigmund Palffy, Marian Hossa and Zdeno Chara.

FactSnippet No. 819,427