Slovakia - My Homeland

The Slovak Republic is situated in the heart of Europe. The territory of Slovakia is not big and it has five neighbours. It borders to the Czech Republic and Austria in the west, to the Hungary in the south, to the Poland in the north, to the Ukraine in the east. Slovakia has more than 5 millions inhabitants. Most people are Slovaks but there are also some minorities and ethnic groups. The biggest minority group are Hungarians who live along the southern boarder. The Gypsy ethnic group is the biggest in Slovakia.

Te official language is Slovak. Official currency is Slovak crown; there is a plan to change currency into Euro in 2009. The republic is headed by the president, elected b the parliament for a period of five years. The capital of Slovakia is Bratislava and it lies on the river Danube. It is the seat of the President of Slovakia. Bratislava is situated in the south-west part of Slovakia near to the boarders of Hungary and Austria.

The surface of Slovakia is predominantly mountainous but there are many plains in the south and in the eastern part too. There are wheat growing areas, corn growing parts, sunflowers areas, and vine growing areas and fruits orchards.

The highest mountains are the High Tatras. There are lot of tourist and ski- centres in Slovakia, the famous are for example Chopok, Lomincký štít, Donovaly…The highest peak of Slovakia is Gerlach with height of 2655 m.

Slovakia has a lot of rivers. The Váh is the longest river and the Danube is the biggest one. The Slovak climate is mild. The most typical feature of the climate is the alternation of four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter).

The most widely spread forms of transport in Slovakia is road and railway transport. In addition to this, we also make use of air-transport. There are tree international airports in Slovakia (in Bratislava, Košice and Poprad).

The territory of Slovakia is very rich in mineral springs; many of them are thermal springs. Famous spas are opened in towns Piešťany, Trenčianske Teplice and Bardejov.

Most of the Slovaks practice some form of Christian religion, primarily Roman Catholicism. Over 60% of the population is Roman Catholic. There are also Protestant, Eastern Orthodox and the other smaller religious minorities.