TINA PICOTES VISITS SLOVENSKO

Tina Picotes in Bratislava, Slovakia

Tina Picotes is travelling across Central Europe. After spending some days in Slovensko, she wants to explains us some things about this wonderful and amazing country.

Slovensko or Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. Slovakia's territory spans about 49,000 square kilometres and is mostly mountainous. The population is over 5 million and comprises mostly ethnic Slovaks. The capital and largest city is Bratislava. The official language is Slovak.

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 and in the 9th century established the Principality of Nitra. 

More information: Slovak Republic

In the 10th century, the territory was integrated into the Kingdom of Hungary. After World War I and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Slovaks and Czechs established Czechoslovakia. A separate Slovak Republic (1939–1945) existed in World War II as a client state of Nazi Germany. In 1945, Czechoslovakia was re-established under Communist rule as a Soviet satellite. 

Tina Picotes in Bratislava, Slovakia

In 1989 the Velvet Revolution ended Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia, sometimes known as the Velvet Divorce.

The end of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia in 1989, during the peaceful Velvet Revolution, was followed once again by the country's dissolution, this time into two successor states. The word socialist was dropped in the names of the two republics. 

In July 17, 1992 Slovakia, led by Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar, declared itself a sovereign state, meaning that its laws took precedence over those of the federal government. Throughout the autumn of 1992, Mečiar and Czech Prime Minister Václav Klaus negotiated the details for disbanding the federation. In November the federal parliament voted to dissolve the country officially on December 31, 1992.

More information: Lonely Planet

Slovakia is a high-income advanced economy with a very high Human Development Index a very high standard of living and performs favourably in measurements of civil liberties, press freedom, internet freedom, democratic governance and peacefulness. The country maintains a combination of market economy with a comprehensive social security system. Citizens of Slovakia are provided with universal health care, free education and one of the longest paid maternity leave in the OECD.

Tina Picotes in Bratislava, Slovakia

The country joined the European Union in 2004 and the Eurozone on 1 January 2009. Slovakia is also 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. The Slovak economy is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and 3rd fastest in eurozone.

The first written mention of name Slovakia is in 1586: In Liptau, bei der Stadt Sankt Nikolaus in der Slovakia. It derives from the Czech word Slováky, previous German forms were Windischen landen, Windenland, the 15th century. The native name Slovensko (1791) derives from an older name of Slovaks Sloven what may indicate its origin before the 15th century. The original meaning was geographic, not political, since Slovakia was a part of multiethnic Kingdom of Hungary and did not form a separate administrative unit in this period.

 I'm a Slovak. And when I was growing up, I believed that 

I was Czechoslovakian because of what Russia did. 

They came in and took two separate countries - Slovakia and the Czech Republic - put them together as one.
 

Jesse Ventura