Zóny pre každého študenta

Slovakia – maturitná téma

Slovakia

General information

Slovakia – small country in the heart of Europe, The Slovak Republic was established on 1st January 1993 as an independent country. 

Capital:Bratislava

Official language:Slovak

Anthem:Nad Tatrou sa blýska

Government:parliamentary republic

President:Kiska

Prime minister:Róbert Fico

Population:cca. 5,5 mill.

Currency:after1.1.2009 Euro, before Slovak crown

Borders:Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Austria

Climate:continental with 4 seasons

State emblem:a double cross with mountains in the background

National flag:3 horizontal stripes – white, blue, red on the left side with the state emblem

A.)LOCATION: Slovakia is situated in the Central Europe – we can say that it is in the heart of Europe

B.)MOUNTAINS: Slovakia is a very mountainous/ country. 
In the norththere are the High Tatras with the highest peak Gerlach Peak. There are also other peaks – for example Kriváň Peak and tarns/ - for example Štrbské pleso, Popradské pleso.
The Low Tatras are not as high as the High Tatras but the nature there is beautiful and it is an ideal place for hiking - the most popular peaks in the Low Tatras are Ďumbier, Zvolen, Chopok, Kráľová Hoľa.
In the west there are the Big Fatrathe Small FatratheWhite Carpathian Mountainsand the Small Carpathian Mountains.
In the east part of central Slovakia there are mountains called the Slovak Paradise and the Slovak Karst.

C.)RIVERS and LAKES: the biggest rivers are the river Danube, Moravia, Hron, Ipeľ and Ondava. The most important river is the river Danube – in Bratislava, Komárno and Štúrovo there are also ports. The longest river is the river Váh. Slovakia doesn’t have many lakes. The most important lakes are in the High Tatras – they are called tarns /plesá/– for example Štrbské pleso, Popradské pleso and so on. The biggest dams /priehrady/ are Domaša Dam, Liptov Dam, Orava Water Dam, Zemplínska Šírava… and the biggest water power station is Gabčíkovo.

D.) CLIMATE in Slovakia is mild. The warmest part of Slovakia is the south.

E.)INDUSTRY and AGRICULTURE: the biggest and for our economy the most important factories are the USS (the US Steel) Košice, VW Bratislava and Slovnaft. Woodworking industry is based in Zvolen, B. Bystrica. We can find the food industry in every town in Slovakia – the most important factories are in Bratislava, B. Bystrica, Martin ... The most of the industry is situated in the west of Slovakia which is bad for people living in other parts of Slovakia – many people are unemployed – for example in the east or in the north – Kysuce region…
Agriculture is very important for Slovakia – people in Slovakia grow potatoes, sugar beetscorn. In Pezinok and Modra people usually grow grape-wine. People in Slovakia also grow fruit and vegetables. Animal production is important, too – people keep cows, goats, hens - in hen farms, pigs, sheep.

2. The history of Slovakia

The area of modern Slovakia was settled by Slavs at the end of the 5th century. They belonged to Samo’s Empire. Later the Samo’s Empire was broken and Slavs became a part of 2 princedoms -Pribina’s Princedom and Mojmir’s Princedom. These two princedoms were united and they became the Great Moravian Empire. In 863 Cyril and Methodius came and they brought the Christian religion to this region – they were also the founders of the Slavic script. At the beginning of the 10th century the Great Moravia ended and the area of Slovakia became the part of the early feudal Hungarian state – the following centuries were hard for the Slavs - there were Tatar and Turkish invasions – they lasted for about 150 years. After that, in the 19th century we became a part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Personalities as Ľ. Štúr, Hurban, Hodža ... fought for our independence. After the World War I in 1918 the Czechoslovak republic was established, later in 1938 the Slovak State and in 1948 the communists came to power => the Czechoslovakia again. In 1989 there was a revolution in the Czechoslovakia and the two countries were divided. Since 1st January 1993 Slovakia is independent.

3. Places of interest 

There are many interesting places in Slovakia. These are:
Mountains 
Old towns/villages =>Vlkolínec, Čičmany, Vychylovka, Rajecká Lesná
Caves => The Dobšinská Ice Cave, Belianska Cave, Domanica
Castles => Devín Castle, Bratislava Castle, Bojnice Castle, Beckov
Spas /spa baths/ => Piešťany, Bardejov, Rajecké Teplice
Bratislava

The nature in Slovakia is very beautiful – in summer we can go hiking and in winter, we can go skiing in our mountains. We have The High Tatras and The Low Tatras - the nature there is protected by law (TANAP).
You can also visit old town and villages – for example Vlkolínec, Čičmany, Vychylovka where we you can see how people in Slovakia lived in the past – there are old wooden houses. Vlkolínec is protected by UNESCO. In Rajecká Lesná there is an old wooden Bethlehem.
In Slovakia there are many caves – The Dobšinská Ice Cave is the largest ice cave in Europe. Other caves are the Cave of Freedom, Belianska Cave, Gombasecká, Domica...

There are also some very nice castles in our country – for example:
Bojnice castle – every year there is a ghost festival /festival strašidiel/. 
Čachtice – a home of a bloody countess, Alžbeta Báthoryová, who killed young women and bathed in their blood.
Other castles are Beckov ruins, Trenčín Castle, Bratislava Castle, Spiš Castle, Orava Castle, Strečno, Krásna Hôrka and so on.
In Slovakia we have spa baths in Piešťany, Bardejov, Rajecká Lesná. 
People who come to Slovakia should also visit a historical town called Kremnica – there was a mine for gold and this town is famous for the production of golden coins.

4. People and their customs + traditions

Slovak people are very friendly and hospitable but they are not very rich. They like traditional music and dancing and therefore there are many folk festivals in Slovakia every year – for example in Detva, Východná... At these festivals you can hear folk music and see many beautiful folk costumes and folk dances. These festivals are also visited by foreign tourists. We also have typical food. Our national dish is “Bryndzové halušky“ which is a meal made of potatoes and cheese called bryndza. We have very good cheese in Slovakia – for example, oštiepok and parenica. Slovak national hero is Juraj Jánošík.

Slovak people are Christians and because of this the most important holidays are Christmas and Easter. For Christmas and Easter the Slovak families usually get together – they visit each other, bake cakes and cook traditional meals.

Zones.sk – Najväčší študentský portál
https://www.zones.sk/studentske-prace/anglictina/19551-slovakia-maturitna-tema/