Official name: Slovenská republika (Slovak Republic),or in short Slovensko (Slovakia)
ISO 2-letter code: SK, 3-letter code: SVK
IATA code: OM
Area: 49.036 sq. km (18.921 sq. miles)
Population: 5 396 193 (1999)
Population density: 109 per sq. km
Capital: Bratislava.
Bordering countries: Hungary (679 km), Poland (598 km), Czech Republic (265 km), Austria (127 km) and Ukraine (98 km)
Religion: About 60 percent of Slovaks are Roman-Catholic. According to the number of believers, Evangelic Church of the Augsburg Confession (6.2%), Greek Catholic Church (3.4%), Reformed Christian Church (1.6%), Orthodox Church (0.6%) and Jewry should be mentioned. Religion plays a major role in life in Slovakia, with about 72 percent of Slovaks claiming Church membership (without any confession 9.7%, no data 18.2%).
Nationalities: Slovak 85,7%, Czech 1,0%, Hungarian 10,6%, Roma 1,4%, Ruthenian 0,3%, Ukrainian 0,3%, German 0,1%, Polish 0,1% and others.


Colours in order: white, blue, red.
Colours in emblem: background - red, cross – white, hills – blue.
Official language: Slovak, a language of the West Slavic subgroup of Slavic languages. Other languages spoken in Slovakia include Hungarian, Czech, Ukrainian, and Roma. Most members of minority ethnic groups speak Slovak in addition to their own native languages.
National anthem: Nad Tatrou sa blýska.
Type of institution: Parliamentary democracy.
Parliament: National Council of the Slovak Republic, located near Bratislava Castle, has one chamber with 150 members elected to four-year terms by popular vote. All citizens over the age of 18 are eligible to vote in the Slovak Republic.
Executive: The Slovak Republic has both a president and a prime minister. The president is elected by citizens for a five-year term. The prime minister is a head of the government. Under the advice of the prime minister, the president also appoints a cabinet.
Judiciary: The Slovak Republic has a Constitutional Court composed of ten judges. These judges are appointed to seven-year terms by the president. The country's judicial system also includes the Supreme Court, Military Court and several regional and district courts.

Slovakia, a country in the heart of Europe situated between the Tatra Mountains and the Danube river, covers an area of 49 036 square km. Its geographic co-ordinates are: 16°50´ - 22°34´of the eastern geographical longitude (5°44´length span) and 47°44 - 49°37´of the northern geographical latitude (1°53´ of latitude difference). The connecting line between the northernmost and southernmost points is 428 km long. In 2000 the population of Slovakia totalled 5 383 214, with a population density of 109 inhabitants per square km. It is the youngest state, established on 1st January 1993 after the split of former Czechoslovakia. Nowadays, Slovakia is becoming a crossroads of economic and trade routes between East and West.
The country geography is characterised by major differences in height above sea level. Central and northern Slovakia is a mountainous region - the Carpathians cross this area. Southern and eastern Slovakia is a lowland region, and is the main agricultural area of the country. The Danube river connects Vienna, Budapest with the Rhine-Main channel, and the Black sea ports.

Archaeology has demonstrated the existence of man in the territory of Slovakia in the Middle Palaeolithic Era that lasted from 200 000-35 000 B. C. Historical events in Slovakia resulted from its geographical position in the centre of the European continent. The region was the place where cultural influence from the East and West met. This is evident from the ethnic structure of the population. From the east and south-east, Nomadic Kimers, Skyts, Daks, Huns, Avars and Ancient Magyars penetrated Central Europe. From the west, Celts, Germans and Romans imprinted their influence upon the population.
The Slavs made their way to Central Europe in 5th - 7th century A. D. Slovakia was settled by the Slavic Slovaks in the 6th or 7th century. This is also the origin of the first Slavic states, the Empire of Samo and the Empire of Great Moravia with Slovak territory forming part of this. The first important state organisation among the western Slavs was the Empire of Samo that emerged in 623 and ruled the territory for 35 years before being incorporated into Great Moravia which included also part of Bohemia, southern part of Poland and western part of modern Hungary. In 828 the Prince Pribina of Nitra had a stone church in Nitra consecrated by the Archbishop of Salzburg. In 863 two Thessaloniki missionaries, the brothers Cyril and Methodius, arrived in Great Moravia at the invitation of Prince Rastislav who desired to free himself from the Frankish influence. Cyril created the first Slavonic alphabet, the Hlaholic, the forerunner of contemporary Cyrillic, and translated liturgical books as well. Pope Hadrian II approved the use of Old Slavonic as a liturgical language alongside Latin, and consecrated Methodius as an Archbishop of Rome. The Great Moravian Empire ceased to exist in 906. From the 11th century till 1918 the territory of Slovakia was part of the Hungarian empire.
In 1467 the Academia Istropolitana University began instruction in Bratislava, founded on the model of the University of Bologna by King Mathias Corvinius, a propagator of the new ideas of renaissance humanism in Hungary. Due to the efforts of Benedict Kischdy, the Hungarian bishop of Eger, the University of Košice was founded in 1657. In 1763 Maria Theresa established a college for training mining, metal-working and forestry specialists in Banská Štiavnica in central Slovakia, as in the Middle Ages mining represented an important branch of the economy in Slovakia. Comenius University was founded in Bratislava in 1919.
In 1787 Anton Bernolák codified Slovak as a literary language. At first, it was used only by Catholics and in 1843 it was legalised. The Slovak cultural institution Matica Slovenská was founded in 1863.
The first World War led to the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and establishment of the new state, the Czechoslovak Republic. The first Czechoslovak Republic was declared in 1918. The Munich Diktat of 1938 resulted in the split of the Czechoslovak Republic. The second Czechoslovak Republic was established after World Word II, in 1945. In 1969 the Decree on Czecho-Slovak Federation was signed, according to which Czechoslovakia became a federal state. The ”Velvet Revolution” in 1989 started the period of social and economic reform. The independent Slovak Republic was established on 1st January 1993.

The natural landscape of Slovakia with its temperate climate is determined above all by the mountain arch of the Carpathians as part of the Alpine-Himalayan system. West Carpathians are characterised by the alternation of genetically different mountain zones, composed of the flysch, crystaline, carbonate and volcanic rocks, individual basins, hollows and valleys of various size. The highest parts of the Carpathians - the High Tatras, the Low Tatras, the Great Fatra and the Small Fatra mountains are characterised by an alpine landscape with areas of dwarf pine, alpine meadows, cliffs, rocks with sparse vegetation and crags with a total area of about 1% of the territory of Slovakia. The High Tatras are espe-cially characterised by relic glacial relief forms. The Gerlach Peak (2 655 m a. s. l.), as the highest point of the High Tatras is the highest point in Slovakia and in the Carpathian massive as a whole.
The relief of the country is characterised by great differences in height. In northern and central Slovakia the countryside is mountainous and is covered by the Carpathians range. Highlands up to 1500 m a. s. l. (occupying 14% of the territory) and uplands up to 800 m a. s. l. (45% of the territory) on SW and SE give way to lowlands. The main surface streams Váh, Nitra, Hron, Ipeľ are tributaries of the river Danube with the river Morava coming in from the west. The Hornád and Bodrog are tributaries of the river Tisa in the east of the country. In the south of Slovakia the lowlands of the intramontane Pannonian Basin with altitudes up to 300m (occupying about 40% of the territory) are located. They are split into three parts: the Záhorie Lowland, the Danubian Lowland and the Eastern Slovakian Lowland with their margins bordered by the mountain ranges. The lowest point in Slovakia is near the village of Streda nad Bodrogom in East Slovakia (95 m a. s. l.). Lowlands in the south are important agricultural areas. The Danube is the most important river and forms a waterway connecting Slovakia with the Black Sea ports and, through the Rhine - Main - Danube channel, with the west European ports.

Slovakia has a continental climate, with four distinct seasons. Winters are typically cold and dry, while summers tend to be hot and humid. The average daily temperature range is -3° to 2° C in January and 16° to 21° C in July, temperatures tend to be cooler in the mountains. The territory of Slovakia is in the temperate zone. The warmest region is the Danube Lowland and the coldest the High Tatras. Slovakia receives an average of about 650-mm (about 26 inch.) of rainfall annually. The precipitation oscillates between 450 and 2000 mm. Snow cover in lowlands lasts 30-40 days. In mountains above 1000 m a. s. l. snow cover lasts for more than 100 days a year.

In Slovakia, there are more than 1000 mineral and thermal water springs, of which many are exploited for the spa therapy (e.g. Piešťany, Trenčianske Teplice, Sliač, Bardejov, etc.) for the bottling of table and mineral water (e.g. the brand names Fatra, Slatina, Santovka, Baldovská, Budiš, etc.).

Slovakia is widely known for its caves, and has more than 3000 registered caves, of which some 400 have been explored. Twelve of them are open to the public: the Belianska Cave, Bystrianska Cave, Demänovská Cave, Cave of Freedom, Demänovská Ice Cave, Dob-šinská Ice Cave, Domica, Driny, Gombasecká Cave, Harmanecká Cave, Jasovská Cave, Och-tinská Aragonite Cave, and Važecká Cave.

Substrate and relief conditions have spatially differentiated the topoclimate, river network, character of ground water, and by synergic effect also the soil and vegetation cover of the country. The river flood plains of the lowlands to the foothills are skirted by alluvial forests (willow-poplar and alder forests), gradually changing with increased altitude, to vegetation zones with oak, oak-hornbeam, beach, spruce, dwarf pine, sub-alpine and alpine meadows. The high mountain fauna includes chamois, marmot and golden eagle. In forest areas we find bear, wolf, lynx, fox, wild cat, deer, fallow-deer, moufflon, boar, badger, grouse, woodcock, hazel-grouse and snipe. In the lowlands the hare, pheasant, partridge, crane, heron, wild goose and wild duck and the rare species such as bustard and cormorant are found. Besides the protected species, there are animals interesting for the hunt. In the rivers and water reservoirs trout, and eel are valuable for sport fishing and the catfish, the largest fish in Slovakia, is found there.

• Highest peak: Gerlach in the High Tatras, 2.655 m (8.708 ft) above sea level
• Lowest point: village of Streda nad Bodrogom, 95 m (312 ft) above sea level
• Longest river: the Váh, 435 km
• Largest lake: Veľké Hincovo pleso in the High Tatras, 0,179 sq. km (0,07 sq. mil)
• Longest cave: Demänovská jaskyňa - system of caverns in the Low Tatras, 22 km (13,75 mil)
• Most caves: in the Low Tatras, over 130
• Largest animal: Bison, 2 m (6,6 ft) tall, 3,5 m (11,5 ft) in length, weight 1,3 tonnes
• Largest bird: Bustard, 1 m (3,28 ft) tall, weight 18 kg and a 2 m (6,6 ft) wingspan
• The highest lying settlement: Štrbské pleso, 1.355 m (4,444 ft) above sea level
• Deepest geothermal bore hole: Stará Lesná in the High Tatras, 3.750 m (12.300 ft)

Settlements in Slovakia represent a valuable wealth of historical, cultural and architectonic monuments, the attraction of which contributes to the life of the inhabitants and draws the tourists. Historical centres of 16 cities are protected as sites of urban conservation (e.g. Bardejov, Levoča, Prešov, Banská Štiavnica, Spišská Sobota, Kremnica). Many castles and monasteries, churches, wooden churches, buildings, barrows, fortifications are protected as national cultural monuments (e. g. Bojnice Castle, church at Šaštín, monastery Červený Kláštor, wooden church at Miroľa, building of Academia Istropolitana, Bradlo barrow, fortification of Komárno). The town of Banská Štiavnica, Castle of Spiš and its surroundings and the folk architecture of the rural settlement at Vlkolinec have been included by UNESCO in its List of Monuments of World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
Bratislava , Slovakia’s capital and largest city, as the most important economic and cultural centre, has a population of about 450 000. Other important cities include: Košice (250 000), an industrial city and the cultural centre of East Slovakia; Nitra (90 000), an agricultural and food-processing centre; Prešov (90 000), an electrical engineering and ecclesiastical centre; Banská Bystrica (80 000) located in the middle of Slovakia, in a mining and manufacturing area; and Žilina (85 000), a business and transport centre.

There are 60 museums in Slovakia, which are annually visited by some 8 million visitors. This number, in relation to the number of the country's inhabitants , ranks Slovakia among the countries with the highest rate of visitors. Each cultural region in Slovakia has its museum, which, besides other exhibits, has also ethnographic exhibitions which present a picture of the history and development in a particular area. In addition, there are many specialised museums in Slovakia and various unique exhibitions. Most of the museums and galleries are housed in rare historical buildings, renovated castles and manor houses, in architecturally interesting palaces that are by themselves attractive from the tourist point of view. Lovers of music and those who are interested in its history may visit a number of historical buildings connected with the names of great musicians, and also exhibitions of musical instruments.
There is a Hummel museum in Bratislava, situated in the native house of the renowned pianist and composer. Franz Schubert taught music in southern Slovakia at Želiezovce, and over 20 his compositions are connected with his stay there. In the local chateau there is now a museum dedicated to the memory of the composer. In the early 19th century Beethoven used to stay at the classicist manor house in the village of Dolná Krupá (in western Slovakia), where he composed his famous Moonlight Sonata. The rococo lodge next to the manor in which he stayed, is in memory of him. The extensive musical heritage of Slovakia is also reflected in an exhibition of keyboard instruments in Markušovce (in eastern Slovakia).
Of great interest to visitors from abroad are also the exhibitions of folk art for which Slovakia is well known. There are collections of richly ornamented folk costumes, embroidery, crafted wood articles, leather, rattan, pottery. Besides the Slovak National Museum - the Institute of Ethnography in Martin , several other museums are known for their abundant collections of folk art, e.g. the Museum in Brezno, the Kysuce Museum in Čadca, Tekov museum at Levice.
Among the specialised museums, the most well known are the Museum of Commerce at Klobušice, The Museum of Slovak Karst at Liptovský Mikuláš, Museum of Coins and Medals at Kremnica, Slovak Technical Museum at Košice, Slovak Glass Museum at Lednické Rovne.