About Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked country in the heart of Europe with its capital Bratislava. Slovak is fully enclosed by 5 neighbours: on the west by the Czech Republic and Austria, on the north by Poland, on the east by Ukraine and by Hungary on the south. The republic was established on the 1 January 1993 after Czechoslovakia split into two countries – Czech Republic and Slovakia. Even though the territory is only 49,036 square kilometres, this small country in its surface area has great attractions to offer.
There are the greatest treasures of a cultural and natural heritage filed with the UNESCO list. There are beautiful mountains High Tatras, the unique underground caverns and diverse nature changing during four seasons. Also, healing powers of thermal springs are favourite for relaxation in Slovak spas. Besides, a great Slovak cuisine and excellent Slovak beer or wines should be tasted while visiting such a beautiful country.
Population
Slovakia has a population of 5.4 million. Bratislava with 430,000 inhabitants is the largest city same as capital. The second biggest city is Košice.
Ethnicity is mainly Slovak (86 %). There is a large Hungarian minority (10 %) in the South of Slovakia and the third group are Czechs (1 %). Roman, Ukrainian, Russian, German, Polish and others have less than 4 % altogether.
Language
The official language is Slovak. However, English is widely understood.
Religion
There are about 87 % believers and most of them (69 % of the population) belong to Roman Catholic Church. Other religions are Lutherans (6.9 %), Greek Catholics (4.1 %), Protestant Reformers (2.0 %) and Orthodox Church (0.9 %).
Time
Slovakia is in the Central European Time Zone. Central European Standard Time (CET) is 1 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+1).
Currency
Since 1st of January 2009, the official currency in Slovakia is Euro (currency code EUR).
Electricity
In Slovakia the power sockets are of type E. The standard voltage is 230 V and the standard frequency is 50 Hz.
Telephone services
When calling to Slovakia, use international prefix (+421 or 00421) + area code (Bratislava area code is 2) + local number.
Tap water
Tap water is good and perfectly safe across the country, although in some small towns, the chlorine can be quite strong.
General Visa Information
Visas
Generally not needed for stays of up to 90 days.
By applying for Slovak Visa, a foreigner applies for so-called Schengen Visa which allows him/her to travel inside of the Schengen Area without any restrictions. Schengen Visa holders do not need additional special visa for Slovakia.
Further Information
- Slovakia is part of the Schengen Area – territory of 23 countries of the European Union + 2 associated countries of the European Economic Area, which agreed on the abolition of border controls between themselves and on common visa regulations.
- Citizens of EU countries can freely enter Slovakia and are entitled to apply for visas to stay indefinitely.
- Citizens of the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Japan and many other countries can stay in Slovakia for up to 90 days without a visa. Other nationalities should check current visa requirements with the Slovak embassy in their home country. There’s more information on the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic (www.mzv.sk) website.
- Slovakia is a member of the EU’s common border and customs area, the Schengen Zone, which imposes its own 90-day visa-free travel limit on visitors from outside the EU. In practice, this means your time in Slovakia counts against your stay within the entire Schengen Zone – plan your travel accordingly.
More information at www.slovakia.travel.
Photo gallery
see www.slovakia.com
