Slovakia

Continent

Europe

Best States to Visit

Bratislava
Kosice
Nitra
Bardejov
Banska Stiavnika

Best Cities to Visit

Zilina
Levoca
Banska bystrika
Poprad
Trencin

Size

49,035 KM²

Population

5,460,000

GDP

$176

Spending Budget

$80 - $88

Famous For

Castles
Chateaux

Best Time to Visit

January
May
June
July
August
September
October

History

The Slavs arrived in the territory of present-day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries. In the 7th century, they played a significant role in the creation of Samo's Empire. In the 9th century, they established the Principality of Nitra, which was later conquered by the Principality of Moravia to establish Great Moravia. In the 10th century, after the dissolution of Great Moravia, the territory was integrated into the Principality of Hungary, which would then become the Kingdom of Hungary in 1000. In 1241 and 1242, after the Mongol invasion of Europe, much of the territory was destroyed. The area was recovered largely thanks to Béla IV of Hungary leading them to become an important ethnic group in the area, especially in what are today parts of central and eastern Slovakia.After World War I, and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the state of Czechoslovakia was established. The (First) Slovak Republic existed during World War II as a partially-recognized client state of Nazi Germany. At the end of World War II, Czechoslovakia was re-established as an independent country. Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia, sometimes known as the Velvet Divorce.

Present Day

Slovakia is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the southwest, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's mostly mountainous territory spans about 49,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi), with a population of over 5.4 million. The capital and largest city is Bratislava, and the second-largest city being Košice.Slovakia is a developed country, with an advanced high-income economy, ranking very high in the Human Development Index. It also performs favourably in measurements of civil liberties, press freedom, internet freedom, democratic governance and peacefulness. The country maintains a combination of a market economy with a comprehensive social security system, providing citizens with a universal health care, free education, and one of the longest paid parental leaves in the OECD. Slovakia is a member of the European Union and the Eurozone, as well as a member of the Schengen Area, NATO, the United Nations, the OECD, the WTO, CERN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and the Visegrád Group. It is the world's largest per-capita car producer, with a total of 1.1 million cars manufactured in 2019,which represents 43% of its total industrial output.

Future

Slovakia has come a long way since its founding in 1993 and its first decade of transition from a communist to a capitalist economic system. It is a member of several international organizations, including the United Nations, the IMF, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization (WTO). It is also an associate member of the European Union. It aspires to become a member of NATO and is working to update its military infrastructure for this purpose. The government's primary focus in recent years has been the preparation of legislative and regulatory structures for future EU membership, for which it has made a formal application.Total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the Slovak Republic in 2008 fell significantly compared to 1990 by about 25 Tg, which corresponds to a decrease of about 34 %. This means that the Kyoto targets for 2008 2012, a decrease of 8 % compared to 1990 levels, will be successfully met. Similarly, emissions of SO2, NOX, NH3 and NMVOC have decreased compared to 1990 and Slovakia will achieve the specific objectives.

Must Visit Places ------------

Ancient Geruluta rusovce

Ancient Gerulata Rusovce consists of the remains and findings of what was once part of a Roman military camp. The grounds date back to the 2nd to 4th centuries and visitors can now explore the museum that houses all of the items excavated at the site.

Bojnice Castle

Straight out of a fairytale, Bojnice Castle is a castle built with Gothic, Romantic, and Renaissance architectural elements. The castle was originally built in the 12th century but has been reconstructed and renovated many times over the years. Bojnice Castle is one of the most popular castles in Slovakia and visitors will love the fantasy environment surrounding it and its grounds.

Bratislava castle

The main castle of Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava Castle is one of the most dominant architectural buildings in the city. Visitors can spend the day exploring the fascinating castle and the stunning grounds that surround it.

Budatin Castle

Budatin Castle was built in the 13th century as a guarding castle that soon turned into a royal fortress. The castle has a riveting history, which includes surviving the Turkish threat in the 17th century and getting damaged during the revolutions of 1848/1849.

Chayan Sofer

Chatam Sofer is a memorial named after the rabbi it was dedicated to. The rabbi, Rabbi Moshe Schreiber, was a leading personality of European Judaism in the 19th century who taught thousands of people on Orthodox Jewish perspectives.

Church of St. Elizabeth

The Church of St. Elisabeth, more popularly known as the Blue Church because of its exterior, is a Hungarian Secessionist Catholic church. Visitors can explore the Blue Church, which stands out in the bluish hue of its facade, mosaics, majolicas, and blue-glazed roof

Devin Castle

Devin Castle, which translates to “observation points” or “watchtowers, is the ruins of one of the last fortifications built in the 17th century. The cliff in which the remains lie was an excellent vantage point as people could watch over trade routes on the Danube and Morava Rivers, and archaeologists have found that people had been settled there going back to the neolithic.

Krasna Horka Castle

Krasna Horka Castle, which means “a beautiful mountain”, is one of the few fully preserved castles left for visitors to explore in Slovakia. It is a National Cultural Monument of the Slovak Republic and has been mentioned in documents dating back to 1333.

Man at work- Cumil

Definitely worth checking out, Man at Work – Cumil is a beautiful sculpture that can be seen in Bratislava’s old town. Designed by Slovakian artist Viktor Hulik, the sculpture depicts a sewer worker who is resting at the top of a manhole watching the people passing by.

Michael's Gate

In medieval times, the town of Bratislava was surrounded by heavily fortified walls, which had only four gates through which people could enter and exit. Michael’s Gate, the smallest of the four, is the only city gate that remains and has been preserved since its construction in 1300.

Museum of Arms

The Museum of Arms can be found within Bratislava’s only remaining city gate of the original 13th-century fortifications, Michael’s Gate. In the museum, visitors will be introduced to the history of the town’s fortifications from construction to their destruction.

Ochtinska Aragonite Cave

Discovered in 1954, Ochtinska Aragonite Cave is famed for its rare aragonite structures. This carbonate mineral is a crystal that naturally forms from calcium carbonate and other forms of the minerals calcite and vaterite

Old Town Hall

Bratislava’s Old Town Hall is in Slovakia and comprises a range of buildings from the 13th century that surround the main square. One of the main features is the oldest city hall in Slovakia, which is also the oldest stone building still standing in Bratislava.

Orava Castle

Situated high above the Orava River, Orava Castle is considered to be one of the most beautiful castles in the country. The castle was built in the 13th century, in what was then the Kingdom of Hungary, and has an extensive history of destruction and reconstruction.

Primate's Palace

Built for Archbishop Jozsef Batthyany from 1778 to 1781, the Primate’s Palace can be found in the Old Town of Bratislava. The neoclassical palace was the location of some of Slovakia’s most historic events, including the signing of the fourth Peace of Pressburg, which ended the War of the Third Coalition.

Slavin

Unveiled in 1960, Slavin is a military cemetery and memorial monument that can be found in Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava. It was designed by famed Slovak architect, Jan Svetlik, to memorialize the Soviet Army soldiers who lost their lives during World War II.

Slovak National Gallery

The Slovak National Gallery was established in 1949 and comprises a network of galleries throughout Slovakia. The gallery’s headquarters can be found in Bratislava, along with artifacts that can be found in Esterhazy Palace and the Water Barracks

Slovak National Museum

The Slovak National Museum was established in 1961 and is one of the most important institutions, focusing on cultural education and scientific research on museology in the country. Headquartered in Bratislava, the Slovak National Museum comprises 18 specialized museums throughout Slovakia.

Slovak technical museum

The Slovak Technical Museum was established in 1947 and is one of the country’s major technology museums, with branches throughout Slovakia. The main headquarters and exhibits can be found in Kosice’s Main Street in a historic building often called The Captain Palace, while a few of the other branches can be found in the Museum of Aviation, the Manor House in Budimir, and the smelter in Vlachovo.

Spis Castle

Spis Castle is one of the largest castle sites in all of Central Europe and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. The castle was built in the 12th century on the site of an earlier castle and was an administrative, political, cultural, and economic center of Szepes County in what was then the Kingdom of Hungary.

St Elisabeth Cathedral

St. Elisabeth Cathedral is Slovakia’s biggest church and one of the easternmost Gothic cathedrals in Europe. Records of its existence go back to 1230, while the architectural structure that visitors presently see was completed in 1508. The cathedral is the main church of the Kosice Archdiocese and is filled with medieval works of stone art.

St Martin's cathedral

One of the largest and oldest churches in Bratislava, St. Martin’s Cathedral is famed for being the coronation church of the Kingdom of Hungary for 267 years. Some who were crowned at the church include the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II, his wife Maria, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, and the President of the German Confederation, Ferdinand I.

Trencin Castle

Trencin Castle dates back to the Roman Empire and has a long and interesting history that includes being the seat of Hungarian aristocrat, Jakab Cseszneky, as well as the residence of Matthew III Csak, a Hungarian oligarch.

Wooden Churches of the Slovak Carpathians

The Wooden Churches of the Slovak Carpathians comprises nine religious buildings constructed from wood. The structures, which are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, date back to the 16th century and can be seen in eight different locations throughout Slovakia.

Vlkolinec

One of the only remaining folk villages in the whole of Central Europe, Vlkolínec is full of impressive architecture, with traditional log houses lying next to a beautiful Baroque chapel and an antiquated old bell tower. A very quaint and charming place to visit, the tiny village is set in an idyllic spot amidst forest-clad hills and fields, with mountains seen in the distance.