Zakladna skola Stred 44/1 Povazska Bystrica Slovakia

Zakladna skola Stred 44/1 Povazska Bystrica
Slovakia
Children ´s Tourist
Guide
2OO5/2OO6
The official name of our country is "Slovenska republika" The Slovak Republic. In short it is called "Slovensko" in Slovak
language, Slovakia in English, Slowakei in German, Slovacchia in
Italian and Eslovaquia in Spanish.
Slovakia is well known as a country lying "in the heart of
Europe" due to its location in the middle of European continent.
It borders to Poland in the north, Ukraine in the east, Hungary
and Austria in the south and The Czech Republic in the west.
With an area of 49,036 square kilometers and its population
of about 5 and a half million inhabitants Slovakia ranks among
the smallest countries in the world. Though it is small, our
country is also very beautiful thanks to its wonderful nature as
well as friendly and hospitable people.
We love it there
The West of Slovakia
The Middle of Slovakia
The Middle of Slovakia
The East of Slovakia
The East of Slovakia
On our flag we have three stripes of different colours – white one
on the top, blue one in the middle and red one on the bottom. In the
middle of the flag there is our national emblem
.
The official emblem of our state is a white double cross on
the top of three blue hills with the red backround.
The anthem of Slovakia is a song called „Nad Tatrou sa
blyska“ – A Lightening Over the Tatra.
Originally it was a folk song. The lyric was written by Janko Matuska
in 19th century.
A look into Slovakian past
The history of Slovakia is very long and rich. Many archeological
excavations document the pre-history settlement of Slovakian
territory. The oldest piece of art from this territory is very famous
- a small statue made of mamooth´s tusk called "the Venus". It was
found in a cave near the "Moravany pri Piestanoch" village.
The Venus of Moravany
The first objects in this territory were built by the Celts, later
the Romans came to the river Danube. Slovakian ancestors, the
Slavs moved here in the 5th century. They were shepherds and
farmers who built their villages near the rivers and in lowlands. The
first fortifications for princes, soldiers and craftmen also grew up
near the villages.
The Slovak shepherds
In 833 AD the very first state of Slavs was founded. It was
called The Great Moravian Empire. It arose out of the United
Moravian and Nitran Kingdom. The first prince Mojmir and later his
son Rastislav reigned there. In 863 two brothers Constantin and
Methodius came to Great Moravia from Solun in Greece.
Constantin and Methodius
They made and brought here the oldest handwriting of the Slavs
in history - the hlaholic alphabet. They also spread the ideas of
Christianity by priests there. The most famous prince of Great
Moravia was Svatopluk. The empire expired after his death in 907.
Svatopluk
Later in the end of the first millenium the Slovakian territory
became a part of Hungarian Monarchy for almost thousand years. In
the medieval age Slovakia was well known for its mines full of gold,
silver and copper. Some important trade crossroads also led across
our country.
coins of Kremnica
In 1918 after the World War I. Slovakia and Czechia unified to
build up a common state - the Czechoslovakia with the capital city of
Prague. Tomas Garygue Masaryk became the first president. During
the World War II. Slovakia and The Czech Republic were separated.
Both were influenced and commanded by facist leaders. People
suffered a lot and tried to fight against facizm. In 1945 after the
war Czechoslovak unity renewed. The Velvet Revolution in 1989
changed the political system and brought Slovakian people the
feeling of freedom and democracy. On 1st January 1993 The Slovak
and Czech Republic became two independent countries.
The Czechoslovakia
The Czech Republic
The Slovak Republic
Natural Features
Slovakia is a country of beautiful natural features, many rivers,
mountains and charming small villages. We have nine national parks in
Slovakia. The oldest and the best known is TANAP lapped by the hills
and peaks of the High Tatras, our highest mountain situated in the
north of our country. The highest point is there on the top of the
Gerlach Peak ( 2655 m of height). Except of the huge peaks tourists
can admire marvellous mountain lakes called „plesá“ (the tarns). In
summer you can climb the hills and in winter you can go skiing there.
There are also other mountains in our country but they are not so
popular as Tatras. In the west there are The Big and The Small
Fatra, White Carpatian Mountains and Small Carpathian Mountains.
A moutainous part of south-eastern Slovakia is called The Slovak
Paradise. In the south of Slovakia there are lowlands called The
Zahorska Plane, The Danubian Plane and The Eastern Slovakian Plane.
There are a lot of nice caves in Slovakia. The Dobsinska Ice Cave
is the largest ice cave in Europe.
The Dobsinska Ice Cave
The Danube, the widest river in Europa flows also through
Slovakian capital city Bratislava. But our longest river is called The
Vah which is 392 km long. There are a lot of lakes and dams in
Slovakia but they are not very large. The largest dam is Zemplinska
Sirava in the eastern Slovakia which is also called The Slovak Sea.
Zemplinska Sirava /The Slovak Sea/
About people
Most of the population is of Slovak origin and Slovak language is
the only official language spoken in our country. The descandants of
Hungarians, Germans, Czechs, Ukrainians and Polish people live in our
country, too. Slovak people are very friendly, hard-working and proud
of their country and its traditions as well. They are also very
religious. Most of them are roman catholic.
Slovak garbs
About towns
In the past Slovakia was an agricultural country. People lived
mostly in villages. Tourists can still visit some of the old and wellpreserved villages where they can see how people lived in the past
(e.g. Vlkolinec, Cicmany, Vychylovka, Pribilina and many more).
Nowadays especially young people move house to the towns with
better facilities for working or entertainment.
Cicmany
The largest city is our capital Bratislava. It lies in the southwestern part of Slovakia. It has population of just about 500 000
people. It ´s a town with a very rich history and you can find a lot of
historical buildings there. That ´s why it is often called "The Beauty
on the Danube." Bratislava is the seat of our president and Slovak
government.
The Castle of Bratislava
The oldest towns are Nitra, the former centre of Great Moravia,
and Trnava, that is also called "The Slovak Rome" because there are
a lot of catholic churches there. Other large towns are Trencin,
Zilina, Banska Bystrica, Presov and Kosice.
The oldest town Nitra
About customs and traditions
Slovakia is a country of many customs and traditions. People like
traditional music and dancing nowadays performed by folklore
ensambles. In a village called Vychodna an annual international
folklore festival takes place.
The most typical folk musical instruments are a sheperd ´s fife,
different pipes and bagpipes.
Our national food is "halusky".
The dough is made of potatoes, eggs, flour and water usually
consumed with "bryndza"- a special sheep cheese. Different sorts of
cheese are typical, e.g. "ostiepok" or "parenica".
Our national hero is Janosik. He lived in Terchova in 17th century.
The legend says he
was a fair and well-principed thief ("a
highwayman") who took up the rich and gave to the poor. There are a
lot of folk songs and fairy tales about him.
Slovak folk
The most important holidays are Christmas and Easter. At
Christmas people decorate Christmas trees and they give a lot of
presents to each other. They cook traditional meals and it is also the
time of family meetings.
At Easter boys´groups visit their girlfriends and sprinkle them
with water or even throw them into a bath or a brook. They believe
that after these girls will keep health and pretty all the year round.
Girls decorate Easter eggs and give them to their boyfriends.
Attractions and rarities
Places
Our country is not very big but there is so much to see.
There are 228 castles in Slovakia, the oldest one is „Devin“. With its
area of 41 426 square kilometres The Castle of Spis is the largest
medieval castle in central Europe.
The Castle of Spis
„Červený kameň“ – The Red Stone Castle has the largest
underground space and the oldest drugstore in Europe.
Trencin
Beckov
Banska Bystrica
Besenova
Krasna Horka
The Castle of Kezmarok
Banska Stiavnica
Bojnice
Budatin
In this valley you can find a rock which is said to be an exact
gegraphical middlepoint of European continent. Nowadays one of the
geographical middlepoints of Europe are the mines of Kremnica
The only port in Slovakia is situated in Komarno on the river
Danube.
There are many spa-places in our country. The best known spa
town is Piestany in western part of Slovakia.
Some historical places are protected by UNESCO, e.g. Bardejov
and Banska Stiavnica.
High Tatras – The Slavkov peak
The Castle of Orava
Pieniny is the oldest European national park which is situated in
the territory of two states – Slovakia and Poland. Except of natural
beatuties (e.g. The Three Crowns Rocks) visitors can admire
historical buildings and art as well as specific folklore and
architecture. Tourist can take an exciting raft trip on the river
„Dunajec“ which is the northern border of the national park.
People
Ludovit Stur
writer, journalist, politician
The leader of our national movement in the first half of 19th century
He enacted Slovak literary language in 1843
He wrote the first grammar rules of Slovak language
Ludovit Stur
Milan
Rastislav
Stefanik
–
famous politician, scientist
interested in astronomy, who joined the French airforce as a pilot in
World War I. As a politician he was fighting for independence of
Czechoslovakia. He wanted Slovak people to throw off the yoke of
Hungarian national oppression. He cooperated with T. G. Masaryk who
became the first president of Czechoslovakia later. Stefanik died on
4th May 1919 in a plane crash. People say legends about his death
because the circumstances of his fatal accident have never been
revealed.
Milan Rastislav Stefanik
Andy Warhol
The most famous pop – art painter , his parents were born in a small
village in eastern Slovakia- Mikova
Surely you´ve already seen his paintings.....
Flower-pot
Hockey players – Ice hockey is No 1 sport in our country. This
exciting game attracts many sports fans in Slovakia. Our hockey
team won the World´s Championship in Gotteborg in 2002.
Adriana Sklenarikova – Slovakia is a country full of beautiful
girls. Adriana is one of the best –known supermodels in the world.
This project has been worked out thanks to these children:
Lucia Blahutova
Age:13 class: 7B
Michal Chrabacka
Age:13 class: 8 A
Barbora Beniatkova
Age:13 class: 8B
Andrea Kocurkova
Age:12 class: 6 B
Veronika Jezova
Age:11 class: 6A
Miroslava Miskechova
Age:13 class: 8 B
Martin Hrabos
Age:14 class: 8 A
Michal Surovy
Age:13 class: 8 B
Renata Bundzikova
Age:11 class: 6 A
Martin Kukucka
Age:14 class: 8 A
Barbora Bosanska
Age:13 class: 7 B
Michaela Papsova
Age:12 class: 7 A
Andrea Ferencova
Age:12 class: 6 C
Martin Sumec
Age:14 class: 8 B
Maria Kurcinikova
Age:14 class: 8 A
Martin Bacmanak
Age:11 class: 6 B
Romana Skorikova
Age:13 class: 7 B
Zuzana Mazakova
Age:11 class: 6 B
Dusan Strecha
Age:14 class: 8 B
Pavol Jurcik
Age:13 class: 8 A
Zuzana Fuskova
Age:12 class: 6 B
Jakub Makay
Age:13 class: 8 B
Martina Michutova
Age:14 class: 8 A
Tana Liskova
Age:13 class: 8 A