SLOVAKIA

Slovakia is a state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about 49,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi). Slovakia is a landlocked country bordered by Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is the capital, Bratislava, and the second largest is Kosice. Slovakia is a member state of the European Union, Nato, United Nations, OECD, and WTO. The official language is Slovak a member of Slavic language family.

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History

The Slavs arrived in the territory of present day Slovakia in the fifth and sixth centuries during the migration period. In the course of history, various parts of today's Slovakia belonged to Samo's Empire (the first known political unit of Slavs), Principality of Nitra (as independent polity, as part of Great Moravia and as part of Hungarian Kingdom), Great Moravia, Kingdom of Hungary, the Austro-Hungarian Empire or Habsburg Empire, and Czechoslovakia. A separate Slovak state briefly existed during World War II, during which Slovakia was a dependency of Nazi Germany between 1939–1944. From 1945 Slovakia once again became a part of Czechoslovakia. The present-day Slovakia became an indipendent state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful dissolution of Czechslovakia.

Slovakia is a high-income advaced economy ith one of the fastest growth rates in the European Union and the OECD. The country joined the European Union in 2004 and the Eurozone on 1 January 2009. Slovakia together with Slovenia are the only former Communist nations to be part of the European Union,Eurozone,Schengen Area and NATO simultaneously.

Geografy

The Slovak landscape is noted primarily for its mountainous nature, with the Carpathian Mountains extending across most of the northern half of the country. Amongst these mountain ranges are the high peaks of the Tatra mountains. To the north, close to the Polish border, are the High Tatras which are a popular skiing destination and home to many scenic lakes and valleys as well as the highest point in Slovakia, the Gerlachovsky stit at 2,655 metres (8,711 ft), and the country's highly symbolic mountain Krivan.

Major Slovak rivers are the Danube, the Vah and the Hron. The Tisa marks the Slovak-Hungarian border for only5 km (3.1 mi).

The Slovak climate lies between the temperate and continental climate zones with relatively warm summers and cold, cloudy and humid winters. The area of Slovakia can be divided into three kinds of climatic zones and the first zone can be divided into two sub-zones.

Regions and districts

As for administrative divsion, Slovakia is subdivided into 8 krajov, each of which is named after its principal city. Regions have enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy since 2002. Their self-governing bodies are referred to as Self-governing (or autonomous) Regions (sg. samosprávny kraj, pl. samosprávne kraje) or Upper-Tier Territorial Units (sg. vyšší územný celok, pl. vyššie územné celky, abbr. VÚC).

Slovak regions

Bratislava Region (capital Bratislava)
Trnava Region (capital Trnava)
Trencin Region (capital Trencin)
Nitra Region (capital Nitra)
Zilina Region (capital Zilina)
Banska Bystrica Region (capital Banska Bystrica)
Presov Region (capital Presov)
Kosice Region (capital Kosice)

River

The Port of Bratislava is one of the two international river ports in Slovakia. The port connects Bratislava to international boat traffic, especially the interconnection from the North Sea to the Black Sea via the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal. Additionally, tourist lines operate from Bratislava's passenger port, including routes to Devin Vienna and elsewhere.

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