The Charming Center of Europe
By Robert Haru Fisher
Slovakia achieved international attention when President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Bratislava's ornate castle in February of 2005, hoping to iron out their differences over pressing problems of the moment. Since its creation in 1993 when the old Czechoslovakia was peacefully divided into the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic, the Slovak nation has not been in the US news a lot, the citizens being busy recreating their country and bringing it into the European Union (in 2004), among other activities.
The Slovak Republic lies in Central Europe, and, in fact, contains the center of Europe itself, at the Church of St. John in Kremnicka Bane, local authorities say, though there are advocates of Lithuania and the Ukraine for the center honor, too. Among Slovak superlatives are the largest medieval castle in Central Europe (Spis Castle), the biggest wooden Gothic altar in the world (St. James's Church in Levoca), Europe's oldest ice cave (Dobsinska ladova jaskyna), and the continent's largest river island, Zitny ostrov in southern Slovakia. The population is just over five million, 86% of them Slovaks, the balance being minorities, the largest of which is Hungarian (10%)...(more)
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AT-A-GLANCE:
| • Capital: |
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• Bratislava |
| • Population: |
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• 5,395,000 |
| • Largest City: |
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• Bratislava (population
452,288) |
| • Neighboring
Countries: |
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• Slovakia borders
with Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Austria and Czech Republic and
therefore creates ideal opportunities for combining visits to
several neighboring countries in Central Europe. Slovakia is only
428 kilometers long from the east to the west and it is possible
to cover this distance in one day. |
| • Size: |
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• 21,831
square miles |
| • Currency: |
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• Slovak Crown (Sk) - Slovenska koruna = 100 halier.
Notes are in denominations of Sk 5000, 1000, 500, 100, 50 & 20.
Coins are in denominations of Sk 10, 5, 2, 1 and halier 50.
Exchange rate: National Bank of Slovakia -
www.nbs.sk
Foreign currency (including traveler's cheques) can be exchanged at exchange offices, main hotels, all banks, road border crossings, as well as travel agencies.
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| • Upcoming
Events: |
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• Bojnice Castle: May 2006
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF GHOSTS AND SPIRITS - Do you believe in ghosts? Do you think that there could be something in the castle to surprise you? Annual International Festival of Ghosts and Spirits will reveal a side of the castle you have not seen before.
Vychodna: July 2006
FOLKLORNY FESTIVAL VYCHODNA – the most famous Slovak folklore festival.
Orava Castle: August 2006
DRACULA - unconventional night tour with vampires.
Bojnice Castle: September 2006
KNIGHTS DAYS - autumn is the ideal setting for knights' legends. The Knights' Days give you the opportunity to see live scenes and participate in various activities.
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| • Fun Fact: |
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The Best of Slovakia
- The largest medieval castle in the central Europe - the Spis Castle
- The biggest Gothic altar in the world - the main altar by master Paul in the St. James's Church in Levoca (18, 62 m high)
- A late Gothic wing altar with the biggest collection of 48 window paintings on its wings in Europe - the main altar of St. Elisabeth in the St. Elisabeth's Cathedral in Kosice
- Geographical centre of Europe – the church of Saint John (near village Kremnicke Bane)
- The oldest cave in Europe – Dobsinska Ice Cave
- The first mining school in the world - the Mining school in Banska Stiavnica (1735)
- The largest river island in Europe - Zitny ostrov
- Oldest wooden church – Hervartov, 16th century
- Oldest art memory – statue of Venus (mammoth), age 22 800 years
- 6 Objects included in the UNESCO list of the world cultural and natural heritage:
Curiosities of Bratislava
Busts
Busts representing human natures, their physiognomic acts, grimaces and moods were created by excellent sculptor Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736-1783). The biggest series of portraits is in Vienna, some of them can be also found in Bratislava‘s collections of the Slovak National Gallery, nevertheless, prevailingly just in casts.
The pyramid of Bratislava
In 1969 – 1984, the building of Slovak Radio was constructed according to original design by Ing. arch. S. Durkovic, Ing. arch. B. Kisling and Ing. arch. S. Svetko. Core of the building is a pylon of reinforced concrete, around which a steel structure is winding, creating a shape of pyramid upside down. Structural height of the building is 61 meters.
The highest and highest placed statue
The statue of Victory on the memorial Slavin by Alexander Trizuljak stands on a 28 m high pylon, measuring 11 m (together with the pedestal 12.6 m), while the height of the whole monument from the basic plateau is 52 meters. Chest of the soldier is 1.80 m wide, his submachine gun is 2.50 m long and the stretch of his hands is about 5 m. The statue is of bronze, weighing 14.5 tonnes. It was ceremonially unveiled on 4 April 1960.
Unique hat
It is towering over the top of tympanum of the Primacial palace above a coat of arms made of stone. Iron cardinal hat of diameter 180 cm weighs 150 kg.
Unique chandelier
Lighting ball of anticorrosive sheet metal of diameter 2 m, in which there are 2,532 light bulbs was made according to a design by V. Cigler. The chandelier may shine as an integral ball or it may create lighting figures according to a program selected in advance. Theoretically, there may be attained 22 million variants of lighting figures.
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| • Tourist Office
(U.S.A.): |
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• Slovak Commercial & Tourist Office
10 E 40th St., Suite 3606
New York, NY 10016
Phone: (212) 679-7044
Fax: (212) 679-7045
Email: SlovakOffice@nyc.rr.com
www.cometoslovakia.com
www.slovakiatourism.sk
Representation of the Slovak Ministry of the
Economy: www.economy.gov.sk,
www.sario.sk
Representation of the Slovak Tourist Board
in the USA,
www.slovakiatourism.sk
Embassy of the Slovak Republic in
Washington, D.C.
www.slovakembassy-us.org
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