Blog.Amazing-Slovakia.com

Saint Elisabeth Cathedral, Kosice, Slovakia

An important exposition of late Gothic art from Slovakia is being held at this moment in Paris in the Musée national du Moyen Age (in the Quartier Latin). The exposition will last till 10th January 2011 and is unique in Europe, as it is the first time Slovakia is presenting its Gothic art outside its borders. France is the cradle of Gothic art, so it is not surprising that this exposition is held there. More than 300.000 visitors are expected and for sure this will finally make Slovakia’s history and rich culture widely known.

The Gothic style has come to the present-day territory of Slovakia only in the 15th century, and especially in the east of the country there are many towns that have been built in these late middle ages and where up to the present much has been preserved. This is where the so-called Gothic route lies, which leads past towns, villages, churches, castles and fortifications. In the second town of Slovakia, Kosice, not far from the border with the Ukraine, we find one of the largest Gothic cathedrals of Central-Europa.

One says that modern Europe ends there where the Gothic style has reached. It is therefore maybe not surprising that the eastern border of Slovakia has become the outer border of the EU as well. Slovakia was always part of modern Europe.

A visit to above-mentioned exposition is a wonderful introduction to your visit of Slovakia.

Slovaks

At the Fair of Handy-crafts, Bratislava

Travelling through the heart of Europe, you will notice a lot of similarities in people, their habits, architecture, handicraft, towns and villages.

For centuries this was geographically the territory of the Habsburg monarchy, until it fell apart in 1918 into Poland, Czecho-Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Romania, Slovenia and Croatia. The people of these countries have always exchanged places, experiences, products, and in some cases even their languages.

And so up till today you will find for example Slovaks living in Hungary, in the Czech Republic, in Serbia or in Romania. You would walk through Vienna and encounter Slovak names on houses and shops.

Ask a Slovak about his ancestors, and you will find out that everyone has at least a Polish grandmother, German grandfather, that originally one of their parents came from Hungary or Ukraine, or a combination of it all.

This we could call goulash, and goulash is not surprisingly the best-known dish in all the mentioned countries and is prepared with only little variety.

Short Look at History

The Cathedral of St. Emeram, Nitra

Many of the countries in Central-Europe are relatively new, but their people are not. Slovakia is one of the youngest countries, but the Slovaks have been here from around half of the 5th century, after the Celts and Romans left.

The early Slovaks were farmers, and farmers need land for work and food, not for power, and so they were quite easily overpowered by other nations, especially by the Magyars, a tribe always rapidly on the move from the Far East over the steppes.

An almost one thousand years of being part of the Hungarian kingdom and later the Habsburg Dynasty began, a history for Slovaks of serfdom.

The Great-Moravian Empire

St. Cyril and St. Methodius, Nitra

Nowadays one could look back at the past and explain how Slovaks came to be the Slovaks of today and how this country came about.

As a nation, one needs an identity. For the Slovaks this is the Great-Moravian Empire in the 9th and 10th century AD.

The center of culture and power was in Nitra, 100 kilometers east of Bratislava. Here it was that Slovaks accepted Christianity through their king Rastislav, who was visited and converted by missionaries Cyril and Methodius.

How did Slovaks survive since, after the fall of this empire until the end of World War One? One would say by keeping a low profile, by being inconspicuous, working hard for their day-to-day life; Slovaks have never been fighters, have never been self-destructive.

Still, it was no wonder that in the 19th century Slovaks were taking part in the waves of emancipation that swept through Europe. No wonder, because they were always here though not many knew about them.

Know the Culture

The Museum of Liptov Village, Pribylina, Central Slovakia

Travel around the country-side, visit Europe’s oldest and most original villages with colorful houses of wood or clay, Čičmany, Vlkolínec and Špania Dolina.

Travel and visit the folklore festivals and yearly harvest feasts, the vintage and wine tasting, travel through this majestic and unspoiled mountainous country.

Visit local restaurants and pubs, meet Slovaks, observe them, make friends. And you would understand how they survived through the ages and know their perseverance and peacefulness.

You are in the country of the truest Slavs of all Slavs in Central-Europe, with heart and soul, survivors, friends.

Discover Slovakia

Kremnica, Central Slovakia

Visiting Slovakia today you will encounter the greatness of Slovakia’s territorial history, enormous castles and citadels that were strategically built on the rough rocky mountain-tops throughout Slovakia, as a defense system against the Turks.

You will discover rich palaces with broad English or French parks where Hungarian noblemen lived.

The country is full of historical churches, like the Cathedral of St. Emeram in Nitra, the St Martin’s Cathedral in Bratislava where Hungarian rulers were crowned or the Gothic church in Levoča with the highest wooden altar in the world (18.6 m high), made by the greatest mediaeval artist of Slovakia, Master Pavol from Levoča, and many more.