Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

298 CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE

Slovak Lands became part of the

kingdom of Hungary. The turning

point in Slovakia’s history came with

the Battle of Mohács (1526), when

the invading Ottoman Army crushed

the forces of King Louis II Jagiełło,

then ruler of Hungary and the Czech

lands. Slovakia came under Habsburg

rule and due to its position between

Christian Europe and the Muslim

Ottoman Empire, it was repeatedly

ravaged by raids and military cam-

paigns. Homegrown trou bles also

surfaced, thanks to the Reformation

and resistance to the Habsburgs’

centralist policies. The enlightenment

reforms of the 18th century resulted in

the codi fication of the Slovak language

and the stirrings of nationalism. By

1848, revolutions had broken out all

over Europe, including the Habsburg

Empire. The leader of the Slovak

Nationalist Movement, L’udovit Štur,

demanded self-determination for

Slovakia in vain. After suppressing the

revolution, Emperor Franz Joseph II

restored absolute monarchy. The

situation worsened after the creation of

the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1867,

when Slovakia was placed in the

Hungarian-ruled half of the monarchy.

Slovak politicians forged links with

Czech activists and, in 1918, the

Czechoslovak Republic was declared.

Czech politicians rejected Slovakia’s

bid for autonomy, however, steadfastly

promulgating the concept of a single

country. When Hitler took the

Sudetenland in 1938, the Slovaks

declared independence, but the

country became little more than a Nazi

puppet state. The demo cratic state of

Czechoslovakia was reborn in 1945,

only to fall under the control of the

Communist Party three years later.

Not until the Velvet Revolution of 1989

was the Communist government finally

overthrown. On 1 January 1993, the

sovereign Slovak Republic was

proclaimed, and its position within

the international community was

confirmed when, in 2004, Slovakia

joined NATO and the European Union.

LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Slovakian is the official language of

Slovakia, although there is a sizeable

Hungarian minority in the south. There

is a full calendar of cultural events and

folk festivals are one of the country’s

main attractions. Slovakia is also rich

in religious traditions: Catholic feasts

are celebrated throughout the country

while Orthodox rituals are mainly

observed in the east.

Hungarians entering former Czech territory

KEY DATES IN SLOVAKIAN HISTORY

5th–6th centuries Slav tribes colonize

Danube Lowlands

833 Foundation of the Great Moravian Empire

1000 St Stephen crowned king of Hungary

1241–42 Mongol invasion

1536 Bratislava (Pressburg) becomes capital of

the kingdom of Hungary

1683 Ottoman Turks defeated at the Battle

of Vienna

1840s L’udovit Štur becomes leader of the

Slovak Nationalist Movement

1867 Creation of Austro-Hungary Monarchy

1918 Czechs and Slovaks proclaim the creation

of Czechoslovakia

1938 Parliament proclaims the Slovak Republic

1944 Slovak National Uprising

1948 Communists take control of Czechoslovakia

1993 Creation of the Slovak Republic

2004 Slovakia joins NATO and becomes an

EU member

2007 Slovakia signs the Schengen Agreement