Introduction to the Slovak Republic

Slovakia has been an independent country since 1993 after the division of former Czechoslovakia. Its accession to the European Union in 2004 saw the culmination of democratic changes in the country and ensured its position among the ranks of  democratic European states.

Slovakia's location on the crossroads of trading routes, it’s inclusion into the Great Moravian, Hungarian and Habsburg Empires and Czechoslovakia explains its diverse culture and historical legacy. Bratislava was the capital city of the Kingdom of Hungary in the 16th century, and 11 Hungarian monarchs were subsequently crowned there.

Since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, Slovakia's society and economy have undergone enormous changes. Slovakia has become a member of the European Union and NATO. The past two decades have seen dynamic economic growth, a strengthening economy, and a rise in the standard of living.

• Slovakia borders with the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Ukraine, and Poland
• Slovakia has the population of 5.4 million and is 428 kilometres from east to west
• Slovakia's capital, Bratislava, is situated on the river Danube which connects Bratislava to Vienna (60 km), Budapest (200 km), as well as the Black Sea
• The geographical centre of Europe is located in Slovakia 
• Slovakia is home to 18 national minorities
• Many famous people have Slovak roots – such as the painter, Andy Warhol, the astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, the astronomer Maximilián Hell, the inventor of the parachute Štefan Banič and others
• Slovaks also play for a number of British football teams – Filip Sebo for Glasgow Rangers, Stano Varga for Celtic, and Szillard Nemeth for Middlesborough.
• Slovakia is currently one of the world's top ten car manufacturers
• The largest meteor ever to hit Europe landed near the small town of Zboj in East Slovakia in 1866, its flight could be seen from the High Tatras, 200 km (120 miles) away