Slovakia, general information
| Note that some of the information (gas prices!) can be outdated since we made this page after visiting the country for the last time! | |
| Official name | Slovenska Republika (= Slovakian republic) |
| Area | 48,845 square km. (1.2 x the Netherlands) |
| Number of inhabitants | 5.4 million (July 2004) |
| Population density | 110 people per square kilometer |
| Capital | Bratislava |
| Monetary unit | Slovakia Koruna (SK, or SKK international), divided into 100 Halier. 1 SKK is about € 0.033 (Jan 2009); 1 € = about SKK 30. (1 € = $ 1.24; 1 Dollar = € 0.7; Rate in Jan. 2009) |
| Fuel prices | Gas: € 0.90 to € 0.97; Diesel: € 0.82; LPG: € 0.72 |
| License plate of cars | SK |
| Telephone country prefix | 421 |
| Internet country code | .sk |
| Time difference | GMT+1; the same as in Holland |
| Road network | There are not many highways, but most two-lane roads are in very good conditions. Maximum speed: 60 in built-up areas, 90 outside and 130 km. on the highways. |
| Prices in general | The prices of food and most non-food are substantially lower than in Holland. For two meals with starters and drinks we paid less than 400 SKK, less than € 10. But prices are rising. |
| The best in Slovenska Republika (= Slovakian republic) | The nature of Slovakia (The Hig and Low Tatra) is beautiful and we liked the quietness (not much tourists, lots of nature). |
Slovakia is a republic in Central-Europe and borders in the north on Poland (444 kilometers), in the east on the Ukraine (90 km), in the south on Hungary (515 km), in the southwest on Austria (127 km) and in the west on the Czech Republic(215 km).
The Austrian capital Vienna is only 60 kilometera from tha Slovakian capital Bratislava. Slovakia has no coastline.
More information at insidecountryinfo.com.
The Austrian capital Vienna is only 60 kilometera from tha Slovakian capital Bratislava. Slovakia has no coastline.
More information at insidecountryinfo.com.
Over 86% of the people is Slovak. An important minority (11%) are the Hungarians, who mainly live in the south. The relation between the two people has been very bad, but has improved by the acknowledgment of Hungarian as a minority language and the possibility of bilingual education. The Hungarians are represented in parlement by the Hungarian Coaltion Party (SMK).
Look at insidecountryinfo.com to find out more about this.
Look at insidecountryinfo.com to find out more about this.
The official language is Slovak, which belongs to the West-Slavian language group, together with Czech and Polish.
About 5.4 milion people speak Slovak inside Slovakia and another half million people use it outside Slovakia, especially in the United States, Canada and Australia, and some Slovakian minorities in Hungary and the Czech Republic.
The Slovakian language has long been neglected by the Hungarians and Czechs as an official language. The Hungarian language is now accepted as a minority language.
About 5.4 milion people speak Slovak inside Slovakia and another half million people use it outside Slovakia, especially in the United States, Canada and Australia, and some Slovakian minorities in Hungary and the Czech Republic.
The Slovakian language has long been neglected by the Hungarians and Czechs as an official language. The Hungarian language is now accepted as a minority language.
Since 1993 Slovakia is an independant country and therefore has her own history, although it is connected with several other countries.
We have decided not to write a detailed history anymore, since we would have to cite other sources that are often on the internet as well. Instead a few links with more information about Slovakian history:
We have decided not to write a detailed history anymore, since we would have to cite other sources that are often on the internet as well. Instead a few links with more information about Slovakian history:
The climate has a strong continental character with warm summers and cold winters. In the mountains it is mostly a bit colder.
More information can be found at slovakia.org (scroll down to the middle of the page).
More information can be found at slovakia.org (scroll down to the middle of the page).
The animal world and the fauna has (obviously) a Central-European character. There are many national parks and nature reserves.
More information about national parks at slovakia.org.
Bratislava
Kosice
Poprad
Trnava
More information about national parks at slovakia.org.
© Teije and Elisabeth 2000 - 2013
Travel through Europe and Africa
with Elisabeth and Teije