Slovakia

Slovakia’s roots can be traced to the 9th century state of Great Moravia. Subsequently, the Slovaks became part of the Hungarian Kingdom, where they remained for the next 1,000 years. Following the formation of the dual Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1867, language and education policies favoring the use of Hungarian (Magyarization) resulted in a strengthening of Slovak nationalism and a cultivation of cultural ties with the closely related Czechs, who were under Austrian rule. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the close of World War I, the Slovaks joined the Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar period, Slovak nationalist leaders pushed for autonomy within Czechoslovakia, and in 1939 Slovakia became an independent state allied with Nazi Germany. Following World War II, Czechoslovakia was reconstituted and came under communist rule within Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country’s leaders to liberalize communist rule and create “socialism with a human face,” ushering in a period of repression known as “normalization.” The peaceful “Velvet Revolution” swept the Communist Party from power at the end of 1989 and inaugurated a return to democratic rule and a market economy. On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a nonviolent “velvet divorce” into its two national components, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Slovakia joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004 and the euro zone on 1 January 2009.

Here is a list of some of the most interesting and visited places. Cities or areas listed will always have more than just one thing see and do. With the popular cities or areas we list some of the best known, which should go on everyone’s, must see list when they visit.

Bratislava Blue Church Braislava Castle Devín Castle Old Town Slavin St. Michael’s Gate & Tower Kežmarok Košice St. Elizabeth Cathedral Levoča Oravsky Podzamok Orava Castle Spišské Podhradie Spišsky Hrad Spišsky Kapitula Štrbské Pleso Tatras National Park Žehra Spiš Castle

Date		Name	Type
Jan 1	Wednesday	Republic Day	National holiday
Jan 6	Monday	Epiphany	National holiday
Mar 20	Friday	March Equinox	Season
Mar 25	Wednesday	Struggle for Human Rights Day	Observance
Apr 10	Friday	Good Friday	National holiday
Apr 12	Sunday	Easter Sunday	Observance, Christian
Apr 13	Monday	Easter Monday	National holiday
Apr 13	Monday	Unfairly Prosecuted Persons Day	Observance
May 1	Friday	Labor Day	National holiday
May 4	Monday	Anniversary of the Decease of M. R. Štefánik	Observance
May 8	Friday	End of World War II	National holiday
Jun 7	Sunday	Anniversary of the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation	Observance
Jun 20	Saturday	June Solstice	Season
Jul 5	Sunday	St. Cyril & St. Methodius Day	National holiday
Jul 5	Sunday	Foreign Slovaks Day	Observance
Jul 17	Friday	Independence Day	Observance
Aug 4	Tuesday	Matice Slovenska Day	Observance
Aug 29	Saturday	National Uprising Day	National holiday
Sep 1	Tuesday	Constitution Day	National holiday
Sep 9	Wednesday	Day of the Victims of Holocaust and of racial violence	Observance
Sep 15	Tuesday	Day of Our Lady of Sorrows	National holiday
Sep 19	Saturday	Foundation of the Slovak National Council Day	Observance
Sep 22	Tuesday	September Equinox	Season
Oct 6	Tuesday	Dukla Pass Victims Day	Observance
Oct 27	Tuesday	Černová Tragedy Day	Observance
Oct 28	Wednesday	Establishment of the Independent Czecho-Slovak State	Observance
Oct 29	Thursday	Birth of Ľudovít Ŝtúr Day	Observance
Oct 30	Friday	Anniversary of the Declaration of the Slovak Nation	Observance
Oct 31	Saturday	Reformation Day	Observance
Nov 1	Sunday	All Saints’ Day	National holiday
Nov 17	Tuesday	Fight for Freedom and Democracy Day	National holiday
Dec 21	Monday	December Solstice	Season
Dec 24	Thursday	Christmas Eve	National holiday
Dec 25	Friday	Christmas Day	National holiday
Dec 26	Saturday	St. Stephen’s Day	National holiday
Dec 30	Wednesday	Day of the Declaration of Slovakia as an Independent Ecclesiastic Province	Observance