All About Slovakia

The Slovak Republic was founded on 1 January 1993 ( former Czech and Slovak Federal republic. The president of the Slovak Republic is elected directly from the citizens and remains in the office for 5 years. The National Assembly ( Parliament) it is the legislative power, its 150 members are elected for 4 years term. The supreme body of the executive power is the government with the chairman at it head.

Get inspired, get information about Slovakia - read articles about:

Slovak Economy
Slovak Politics
Slovakia History
Slovak Geography
Slovak Culture
Slovak Folk Arts and Crafts
Slovak Minority
Slovak Cuisine
15 most beautiful cities in Slovakia
What other travellers said about Slovakia
National parks in Slovakia
Castles in Slovakia
Spas in Slovakia
Caves in Slovakia
Wooden churches in Slovakia
Slovakia Jewish Heritage in Slovakia
Golf in Slovakia

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Basic information:

President:
Ivan Gasparovic

Prime minister:
Iveta Radicova

Speaker of the National Council:
Richard Sulik

Government type:
parliamentary democracy

Independence:
1 January 1993

Constitution:
1 January 1993

European Union member:
1 May 2004

Schengen area entry:
21 December 2007

The euro currency:
01 January 2009

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Basic facts about Slovakia

Slovakia is lying in Central Europe. The central & northern Slovakia is mountainious and the southern and eastern part of the country is a lowland

Official name:
Slovak Republic or Slovakia, in our language - Slovenska republika or Slovensko

Capital:
Bratislava, 450 000 inhabitants

Inhabitants:
5,3 million

Density:
107/sq.km

Nationalities:
Slovak (85%), Hungarian (10%), Roma(1,5%), Czech(1%),Ruthenian(0,3%), Ukrainian(0,3%), German(0,1), Polish(0,1%) Religion: Roman-Catholic (65%), Greek-Catholic(3,4%), Reformist(1,6%), Orthodox(0,6%), without confession (6%)

Bordering countries:
Czech Republic 261.3km, Poland 508.2km, Ukraine 95.8km, Hungary 630.9km

Time zone:
UTC/GMT + 1 hour ( the summer time is GMT +2 from March to October )

Official language:
Slovak language

Electricity:
230V, 50Hz system (Travellers from US need a voltage converter) 

Unemployment rate (overview):

highest unemployment: Kosice, Presov, Banska Bystrica region 
lowest unemployment: Bratislava, Trnava, Trencin region  

Average salary (overview):

year 2008: in Slovak crowns (SKK)
since 2009 in EUR currency

obtain more information on portal.statistics.sk

Exchange rate (overview):

obtain more information on nbs.sk  

Bank holidays:
1 January - New Year's Day Anniversary of the Establishment of the Slovak Republic ( 01.01.1993 )
5 July - St. Cyril & Methodiu's Day
29 August - Anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising
1 September - The Day of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic
17 November - The day of the Fight for Freedom and Democracy

Climate:
The Slovak Republic has a mild, continental climate, with generally cold, dry winters and warm (sometimes hot), moist summers. Temperat ures will vary according to elevation in the many mountainous areas.The warmest and driest regions are the southern plains and the east ern lowlands. In those areas the average temperature is 10 degress of Celsius, and the average annual rainfall is near 500mm. Heavy snow with significant accumulation is common at higher elevations in Tatra mountains during the winter months.

Bratislava - the capital, experiences temperatures ranging frm a chilly minus 2 degrees C (35.6 F) in January to 25 degrees C ( 77 F ), with approximately 26 inches of precipitation per year, mostly in the Summer.

Currency:
The currency in use is euro. The euro is divided into 100 cents. Notes and coins of the following denominations are in circulation: Coins appear in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents, 1 EUR, 2 EUR, Notes appear in denominations of EUR 500 , 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5

Credit cards:
Major credit cards (American Express, Diners Club, VISA and Eurocard/Mastercard) and debit cards (Maestro and Visa Electron) may be u sed to withdraw cash from ATMs of major banks (VUB, Tatra Banka, Slovenska Sporitelna, Ludova Banka, CSOB Banka) and for payments in hotels, restaurants, shops and petrol stations. Credit cards can also be used to obtain cash.

Embassy locations:
To view a list of Foreign embassies in Bratislava & Slovakia embassies around the world, click on embassies

Customs rules:
The following duty-free items can be imported to Slovakia: tobacco products:
200 cigarettes or 50 cigars per person
alcohol beverages: 1 litre of spirits, 2 litres of wine
maximum reserve of 10 litres perfumes: 50 ml
Eau-de-toilette: 250ml home animals can be transported only with the respective veterinary persmision. On leaving the country are valid approximately the same rules.

People:
The Slovaks are descendants of a Slavic people who settled near the Dabube between 400 and 500 AD. .The population is about 85% Slovaks .Hungarians, concentrated in the southern border districts, form the largest minority. Czechs, Germans, Jews & Poles are found throu ghout the nation, while Ruthenians are concentrated in the east and northeast part of the country. There is a sizable population of Roma ( Gypsies, which is a derogative form ), who are found mainly in the eastern part of the country.

Traffic regulations:
Speed limit on the main road is 90 km/h (55miles per hour), on the highway 130 km/h (80miles per hour) and in the cities and villages i s 50km/h (31miles per hour). Children until 12 years of age must not be seated on front seat The safety belts have to be always fasten ed on all seats. To the requisite equipment of vehicle belong a medicine chest, towing rope, accident triangle and spare tire.

Emergency telephone numbers:
SOS/emergency calls - 112, Police - 158, Ambulance - 155, Fire brigade - 150, Road service - 18 124 Calls are free of charge from a mobile phone or any phone booths.

Distances in km (miles)
from Bratislava to neighbouring foreign capitals: o Vienna 66km (41miles), to Budapest 200km (124miles), to Prague 333km (206miles), to Warsaw 657km (406 miles), to Ukraine 1318 km (818 miles) Distances - from Bratislava to its 8 regions: to Trnava 56km (34miles), to Trencin 129km (80miles), to Nitra 95km (59miles), to Zilina 203km (126miles), to Banska Bystrica 211km (13 1miles), to Presov 421km (261miles) and to Kosice 403km (250miles)

Slovakia has been subdivided into 8 autonomous regions:
Capital of Slovak Republic, Bratislava Bratislava region (1) with the capital Bratislava city (450000)

Western part of Slovakia:
Trnava region (2) capital Trnava city (68000)
Trencin region (3) capital Trencin city (56000)
Nitra region (4) capital Nitra city (85000)

Central part of Slovakia:
Zilina region (5) capital Zilina city (85000)
Banska Bystrica region (6) capital Banska Bystrica (81000)

Eastern part of Slovakia:
Presov region (7) capital Presov city (91000)
Kosice region (8) capital Kosice city (240000) ( number of inhabitants )

Slovak flag:
The official flag of Slovak Republic is composed of three equal horizontal stripes of white ( at the top ),blue (in the middle) and red (at the bottom ) and a coat of arms of Slovakia, a double cross on a three mountains centered on the hoist side. Slovak flag, in common with other Slavonic nations, uses the red, white and blue colours. For example, such colours you find in Russian , Czech, Croatian, Slovenian flags. The Russian and the Slovenian flags even have the same horizontal stripes, but the Russian flag has no shield, while the Slovenian is slightly different.

Slovak flag & Slovak sign:

Slovak anthem:
The score for "Lightning over the Tatras" was written in 1884 by Janko Matuska to listen to an anthem State seal of Slovak republic:

Highest peak:
Gerlachovsky stit, 2655m ( 8710 ft) above the see level (High Tatras mountain range)

Longest river:
Vah river, 403km (250miles), springs in Tatra mountains and flows to Danube river

Maximum length:
428km (265miles) from Zahorska Ves to Nova Sedlica

Maximum width:
195km (121miles) from Sturovo to Skalite

Elevation ASL:
95m (311ft) Bodrog, Gerlachovsky peak 2655m (8710ft)

Major industries:
car manufacturing, engineering, chemicals, oil refining, plastics

Natural resources:
antimony ore, mercury, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc

Livestock:
cattle, pigs, chickens, sheep, goats

Health:
Tap water is fluoridated and safe to drink. Bottled water is very popular among the local citizens as their source of drinking water. There are no particular health threats associated with living there. It is advisable that persons with chronic conditions requiring prescription medication should keep a one to three month supply on hand. More info on www.europa.eu

Telephones:
The country code to dial into Slovakia is +421. To dial overseas from Slovakia dial 00 followed by the relevant country code and phone number. Mobile telephone use is widespread in Slovakia. Setting up a mobile phone account is a simple process. Cellular telephone service is available from three providers, T-Mobile, Orange and O2. Details of their services may be obtained in English from their respective websites,

www.t-mobile.sk
www.orange.sk
www.o2.sk

Fixed-line telephone:
www.t-com.sk

Internet:
Most houses and apartments are not equipped with high speed internet connections. Dial-up Internet access is available via fixed-line telephone, but quality of line can be frustrating. DSL service is increasing in availability, espe cially in Bratislava. Slovak Telecom i s the biggest internet provider.

www.slovaktelecom.sk/EN/
Some other internet providers: AT&T Global Network Services Slovakia, s.r.o. www.att.com/emea Dial Telecom, a.s., www.dial.sk Intercomp Services, s.r.o.,
www.ics.sk Nextra, s.r.o.,
www.nextra.sk Slovanet, a.s.,
www.slovanet.sk UPC Slovensko, s.r.o.,
www.upc.sk

Postal service:
Offers generally reliable services. Post offices are closed on Saturdays and Sundays. It might be preferable to utilise a courier service to mail important material and items

Courier services:
The following providers are based in Bratislava:
www.ups.com
www.dhl.com
www.fedex.com
www.tnt.com
www.globalexpress.com

Learning Slovak language for foreigners:
www.berlitz.sk  (language school)