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The culture of Slovakia is influenced by its Catholic culture, its various folk traditions, and its location in Central Europe. Slovakian culture shares certain similarities with the cultural traditions of its neighbouring countries: Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Austria and Czech Republic.
Folk tradition has rooted strongly in Slovakia and is reflected in literature, music, dance and architecture. The prime example is a Slovak national anthem, "Nad Tatrou sa blýska", which is based on a melody from "Kopala studienku" folk song.
Manifestation of Slovak folklore culture is the "Východná" Folklore Festival. It is the oldest and largest nationwide festival with international participation, [1] which takes place in Východná annually. Slovakia is usually represented by many groups but mainly by SĽUK (Slovenský ľudový umelecký kolektív—Slovak folk art collective). SĽUK is the largest Slovak folk art group, trying to preserve the folklore tradition.
An example of wooden folk architecture in Slovakia can be seen in the well preserved village of Vlkolínec which has been the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. [2] The Prešov Region preserves the world's most remarkable folk wooden churches. Most of them are protected by Slovak law as cultural heritage, but some of them are on the UNESCO list too, in Bodružal, Hervartov, Ladomirová and Ruská Bystrá.
The best known Slovak hero, found in many folk mythologies, is Juraj Jánošík (1688–1713) (the Slovak equivalent of Robin Hood). The legend says he was taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Jánošík's life was depicted in a list of literature works and many movies throughout the 20th century. One of the most popular is a film Jánošík directed by Martin Frič in 1935. [3]
Visual art in Slovakia is represented through painting, drawing, printmaking, illustration, arts and crafts, sculpture, photography or conceptual art. The Slovak National Gallery founded in 1948, is the biggest network of galleries in Slovakia. Two displays in Bratislava are situated in Esterházy Palace (Esterházyho palác) and the Water Barracks (Vodné kasárne), adjacent one to another. They are located on the Danube riverfront in the Old Town. [4] [5]
The Bratislava City Gallery, founded in 1961 is the second biggest Slovak gallery of its kind. It stores about 35,000 pieces of Slovak and international art and offers permanent displays in Pálffy Palace and Mirbach Palace, located in the Old Town. Danubiana Art Museum, one of the youngest art museums in Europe, is situated near Čunovo waterworks (part of Gabčíkovo Waterworks). Other major galleries include: Andy Warhol Museum of Modern Art (Warhol's parents were from Miková), East Slovak Gallery, Ernest Zmeták Art Gallery, Zvolen Castle.
The buildings were constructed from various building materials with characteristic architecture. In the more mountainous parts of Slovakia it was often wood. The roofs were covered with wooden shingles and ornate gables. For the construction of simpler dwellings was also used clay with straw. Such buildings were typical especially for the southern parts of Slovakia, Záhorie and Považie. Earthen buildings were built by "charging" technology, when the induced clay was compressed, charged perpendicularly between the slab formwork, creating both the peripheral and transverse walls of the house. [6]
The typical architecture of individual regions is preserved by the folk architecture conservation reserves. The most famous are Velké Leváre, Brhlovce, Sebechleby, Čičmany, Špania Dolina, Vlkolínec, Podbiel and Ždiar. There are currently 10 open-air museums in Slovakia. [7] They are located in various parts of the country: Museum of the Slovak Village in Martin on Turci, Vychylovka in Kysuce, Zuberec in Orava, Pribylina in Liptov, Svidník in Saris, Humenne in Zemplin, Nitra in the Danube region, etc. [8]
There are also many castles, chateaus, churches, manor houses and other cultural monuments in Slovakia. According to some sources, Slovakia has the highest concentration of castles per capita. A more durable stone was used in their construction. Interesting are also urban monument reserves, which are in most of historical cities: Bratislava, Banska Stiavnica, Kosice, Bardejov, Levoca, Banska Bystrica and others. An integral part of Slovak architecture are wooden churches, which have been built on the local territory since the second half of the 15th century. At present, there are around 40 wooden churches in Slovakia. Not all of them are accessible and some of them are part of open-air museums. [9]
For a list of notable Slovak writers and poets, see List of Slovak authors.
Christian topics include: poem Proglas as a foreword to the four Gospels, partial translations of the Bible into Old Church Slavonic, Zakon sudnyj ljudem.
Medieval literature, in the period from the 11th to the 15th centuries, was written in Latin, Czech and Slovakised Czech. Lyric (prayers, songs and formulas) was still controlled by the Church, while epic was concentrated on legends. Authors from this period include Johannes de Thurocz, author of the Chronica Hungarorum and Maurus, both of them Hungarians. [10] The worldly literature also emerged and chronicles were written in this period.
There were two leading persons who codified the Slovak language. The first was Anton Bernolák whose concept was based on the western Slovak dialect in 1787. It was the codification of the first ever literary language of Slovaks. The second was Ľudovít Štúr, whose formation of the Slovak language took principles from the central Slovak dialect in 1843.
Slovakia is also known for its polyhistors, of whom include Pavol Jozef Šafárik, Matej Bel, Ján Kollár, and its political revolutionaries and reformists, such Milan Rastislav Štefánik and Alexander Dubček.
Traditional Slovak cuisine is based mainly on pork, poultry (chicken is the most widely eaten, followed by duck, goose, and turkey), flour, potatoes, cabbage, and milk products. It is relatively closely related to Hungarian, Czech and Austrian cuisine. On the east it is also influenced by Ukrainian cuisine. In comparison with other European countries, "game meat" is more accessible in Slovakia due to vast resources of forest and because hunting is relatively popular. [11] Boar, rabbit, and venison are generally available throughout the year. Lamb and goat are eaten but are not widely popular.
The traditional Slovak meals are bryndzové halušky, bryndzové pirohy and other meals with potato dough and bryndza. Bryndza is a salty cheese made of a sheep milk, characterised by a strong taste and aroma. Bryndzové halušky must be on the menu of every traditional Slovak restaurant.
A typical soup is a sauerkraut soup ("kapustnica"). A blood sausage called "krvavnica", made from any and all parts of a butchered pig is also a specific Slovak meal.
Wine is enjoyed throughout Slovakia. Slovak wine comes predominantly from the southern areas along the Danube and its tributaries; the northern half of the country is too cold and mountainous to grow grapevines. Traditionally, white wine was more popular than red or rosé (except in some regions), and sweet wine more popular than dry, but in recent years tastes seem to be changing. [12] Beer (mainly of the pilsener style, though dark lagers are also consumed) is also popular.
Sporting activities are practised widely in Slovakia, many of them on a professional level. Ice hockey and football have traditionally been regarded as the most popular sports in Slovakia, though tennis, handball, basketball, volleyball, whitewater slalom, cycling, and athletics are also popular.
One of the most popular team sports in Slovakia is ice hockey. Slovakia became a member of the IIHF on 2 February 1993 [13] and since then has won 4 medals in Ice Hockey World Championships, consisting of 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze. The most recent success was a silver medal at the 2012 IIHF World Championship in Helsinki. The Slovak national hockey team made five appearances in the Olympic games, finishing 4th in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The country has 8,280 registered players and is ranked 7th in the IIHF World Ranking at present. Prior to 2012, the Slovak team HC Slovan Bratislava participated in the Kontinental Hockey League, considered the strongest hockey league in Europe, and the second-best in the world. [14]
Slovakia hosted the 2011 IIHF World Championship, where Finland won the gold medal and 2019 IIHF World Championship, where Finland also won the gold medal. Both competitions took place in Bratislava and Košice.
Association football is the most popular sport in Slovakia, with over 400,000 registered players. Since 1993, the Slovak national football team has qualified for the FIFA World Cup once, in 2010. They progressed to the last 16, where they were defeated by the Netherlands. The most notable result was the 3–2 victory over Italy. In 2016, the Slovak national football team qualified for the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament, under head coach Ján Kozák. This helped the team reach their best ever position of 14th in the FIFA World Rankings.
In club competitions, only three teams have qualified for the UEFA Champions League Group Stage, namely MFK Košice in 1997–98, FC Artmedia Bratislava in 2005–06 season, and MŠK Žilina in 2010–11. FC Artmedia Bratislava has been the most successful team, finishing 3rd at the group stage of the UEFA Cup, therefore qualifying for the knockout stage. They remain the only Slovak club that has won a match at the group stage.
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's mostly mountainous territory spans about 49,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi), hosting a population exceeding 5.4 million. The capital and largest city is Bratislava, while the second largest city is Košice.
Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest city in Slovakia, after the capital Bratislava.
Žilina is a city in north-western Slovakia, around 200 kilometres (120 mi) from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of Slovakia with a population of approximately 80,000, an important industrial center, the largest city on the Váh river, and the seat of a kraj and of an okres. It belongs to the Upper Váh region of tourism.
Juraj Jánošík was a Slovak highwayman. Jánošík has been the main character of many Slovak novels, poems, and films. According to the legend, he robbed nobles and gave the loot to the poor, a deed often attributed to the famous Robin Hood. The legend is known in neighboring Poland and the Czech Republic as well as Slovakia. The actual robber had little to do with the modern legend, whose content partly reflects the ubiquitous folk myths of a hero taking from the rich and giving to the poor. However, the legend was also shaped in important ways by the activists and writers in the 19th century when Jánošík became the key highwayman character in stories that spread in the north counties of the Kingdom of Hungary and among the local Gorals inhabitants of the Podhale region north of the Tatras. The image of Jánošík as a symbol of resistance to oppression was reinforced when poems about him became part of the Slovak and Czech middle and high school literature curriculum, and then again with the numerous films that propagated his modern legend in the 20th century. During the anti-Nazi Slovak National Uprising, one of the partisan groups bore his name.
Liptovský Mikuláš is a town in northern Slovakia, on the Váh River, about 285 kilometers (177 mi) from Bratislava. It lies in the Liptov region, in Liptov Basin near the Low Tatra and Tatra mountains. The town, known as Liptovský Svätý Mikuláš before communist times, is also renowned as a town of guilds and culture.
Slovak cuisine varies slightly from region to region across Slovakia. It was influenced by the traditional cuisine of its neighbours and it influenced them as well. The origins of traditional Slovak cuisine can be traced to times when the majority of the population lived self-sufficiently in villages, with very limited food imports and exports and with no modern means of food preservation or processing.
Vlkolínec is a village under the administration of the town of Ružomberok in Slovakia. Historically, however, it was a separate village. The first written mention of the village came from 1376 and after 1882 it became part of Ružomberok. Its name is probably derived from the Slovak word "vlk", i.e. wolf.
Hockey Club Košice is a Slovak professional ice hockey club based in Košice that competes in the Slovak Extraliga, the top tier of Slovak ice hockey. It is the most successful hockey club in Slovakia and the former Czechoslovakia, having won the Tipos Extraliga nine times, the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League twice, the 1st. Slovak National Hockey League once, the IIHF Continental Cup once, the Tatra Cup ten times, and the Rona Cup four times. The club is nicknamed "Oceliari", which means "Steelers" in English.
Ján Kozák is a Slovak football coach and former player. Recently, he was the manager of Slovak 1st tier team FC Košice.
Tourism in Slovakia offers natural landscapes, mountains, caves, medieval castles and towns, folk architecture, spas and ski resorts.
Hockey Club Slovan Bratislava is a professional ice hockey club based in Bratislava, Slovakia. In 2012, it left the Slovak Extraliga and joined the international Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In 2019, it returned to the Tipos Extraliga. The club has won nine Slovak championships, one Czechoslovak championship (1979) and one IIHF Continental Cup (2004), making it the second most successful hockey club in Slovak history after their biggest rival HC Košice. The team plays its home games at Ondrej Nepela Arena, also known as Slovnaft Arena. The team is nicknamed Belasí, which means the "sky blues" in English.
The Ondrej Nepela Arena is an indoor arena in Bratislava, Slovakia. It is primarily used for ice hockey and it is the home arena of the HC Slovan Bratislava.
Bratislava is the capital city and the cultural and economic centre of Slovakia. It is home to several museums and galleries, including the Slovak National Museum and the Slovak National Gallery.
Liptov is a historical and geographical region in central Slovakia with around 140,000 inhabitants. The area is also known by the German name Liptau, the Hungarian Liptó, the Latin name Liptovium and the Polish Liptów.
Sport in Slovakia is influenced by its climate and geography; popular summer sports include football, tennis, volleyball, swimming, cycling and hiking, popular winter sports include skiing and snowboarding. The most watched sports in Slovakia are football, ice hockey and tennis. Internationally, the most successful sport in Slovakia is ice hockey where currently, as of 2022, the country is ranked as the eighth best team in the world by the IIHF World Ranking.
RONA a.s. is a Slovak drinking glass manufacturer, established in Lednické Rovne, Slovakia, in 1892. The name RONA comes from the former naming of the village ‘‘Lednicz Rone’’. The company manufactures unleaded drinking glasses, known as crystal glass. 96% of production is exported and is available in more than 80 countries worldwide. The yearly production of the company exceeds 60 million pieces (2016). Product segments include households, the gastronomy business, aerospace, and ship catering.
Košice Staré Mesto is a borough of Košice, Slovakia. It encompasses the historical centre of the city, consisting of the medieval and early modern core of Košice, with many preserved historical buildings of several architectural styles, and a small number of more modern architecture. The borough also includes the immediate environs of the historical centre.
Juraj Okoličány was a Slovak ice hockey referee and ice hockey administrator. He officiated from 1962 to 1986, including games in the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League, IIHF World Junior Championships, and Ice Hockey World Championships. He served as an executive with the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation from 1990 to 2003, where he developed officials, translated rules into Slovak, and directed the organizing committee when Slovakia hosted international events. He was also the manager of the Slovakia men's national ice hockey team from 1993 to 1998. He served as a committee member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) from 1993 to 2008, and was a supervisor of officials at World Championships and Winter Olympic Games. His contributions to the IIHF and international ice hockey were recognized in 2008 when he received the Paul Loicq Award.
The architecture of Slovakia has a long, rich and diverse history. Besides Roman ruins, Slovakia hosts several Romanesque and Gothic castles and churches, most notably Spiš Castle, which were built at the time of the Kingdom of Hungary. Renaissance architecture was of particular relevance in town hall squares, such as in Bardejov and Levoča. Affluent architecture in the following centuries made use of Baroque, Rococo and historicist styles, while vernacular architecture in the countryside developed a specific style of wooden houses and wooden churches. In the 20th century, Slovakia knew Art Nouveau and modernist architecture, including socialist modernism, and finally contemporary architecture.
In some countries, the commercial sale of game meat is an important economic activity, including the export of game meat. ... value in the Netherlands, and as the value of export, domestic consumption, and industrial processing in Slovakia.
2. * SLOVAK CULTURE PROFILE Archived 2020-08-06 at the Wayback Machine 