History of Slovakia

• Early history
• I.
• - Thracians, Celtic tribes (from South)
• - Roman epoch 6th A.D. (right bank of Danube, Southwest)
174 A.D. Marcus Aurelius ( valleys of Hron, Váh, Nitra) ,
Trenčín castle – inscriptions
- Slavs 6th A.D., Huns – occupied Panonia, Avars 568 A.D –
middle Danube region
- Samo Empire- 623 A.D. – principality of Nitra – first known
political formation of the Slavs, in 631 beted Frank army of
Dagobert
II. Slavic principalities
-Prince Vratislav – arrival of second historic Slavic population in
the Middle Danube
-Principality of Nitra – 30 castles
-Principality of Great Moravia – 11 castles
-Christianization of Slavs in the Middle Danube -7th century
- 833 A.D. Prince Mojmír from the Principality of Moravia
attacked the Principality of Nitra conquering it and created a
united Slavic State – Empire united Slavs of Nitra and Moravia.
– new name –Great Moravia
-Prince Pribina became the lord of the slavs occupying
Transdanubian Pannonia. He founded the Principality of
Balaton, had castles and churches built and obtained remarkable
results in his efforts of Christianization in that region. After his
death in 861 it was his son Koceľ who ruled the principality of
Balaton until 876 and continued his father´s work.
• Louis II the German invaded principality of Mojmír,
stripping Mojmír I. of his crown and entrusting the royalty to
his son Rastislav. Prince Rastislav I. – efficient, wise lord,
resisted several military attacks by the Franks and conquered
Duke Carolman and established in 857 a peace treaty with him
• II. Cyril and Methodius
• Rastislav I. recognized the importance of Christianization of the
Slavs and asked the Pope in Rome in 861, to send a Bishop to his
kingdom. In 862 he asked the Byzantine Emperor Michael III to
send him a bishop and religious teachers.
• The emperor agreed and sent Rastislav two apostles Cyril and
Methodius – brothers from Thessaloniki.
• They created the first Slavic alphabet –Glagolitic and translated
several religious works into the Slavic language, founded the first
academy in Slovakia, further developed writing in the Slavic
language to which other religious texts were translated and in which
several literary works were written –Proglas
• The work of Cyril and Methodius includes:
The first Slavic alphabet, First translations into Slavic langua-
ge, First translations in the language of Danubian Slavs, Esta-
blishment of the Slavic language as the first liturgical language
• First Slav bishop – Cyril (Constantine) 868
• First legate of the Holy See for Slavic countries – Methodius
• First archidiocese in the Slavic countries – Bishop Methodius
• Svätopluk succeeded Rastislav I to the throne of the
principality when he was taken prisoner by the Franks and lost
his sight. Svätopluk defeated the armies of King Louis several
times and kept his independence. In 1880 pope John VIII
crowned Svätopluk a king and gave his kingdom the
protection of the Holy See.
• Death of king Svätopluk – disintegration of the Empire –
struggle for the throne between king Mojmír II and his
brother Svätopluk II – both later killed and Hungarians
pillaged the Southern regions of Slovakia – disappearance of
independent Slavic State
 III. The Middle Ages

• Finno-Ugrian tribes of the Magyars after the break-up of Slavic

Empire occupied the plains between the Tisa river and the Danube –
imposed their authority on Slavic tribes.
• King Otto I- Great completely destroyed Hungarian military troops,
stop of pillaging and destroying
• The territory of the present-day Slovakia was integrated until the
end of 11th century into developing multinational Hungarian State,
until 1106, Slovakia kept a special status in the principality – Tertia
pars Regni –Nitra – capital
• 997 – head of the old Magyars, Géza died and the question of his
succession came up, the war broke out between his son
Vajk( St.Stephen) and the pagan Koppany. Vajk organized christian
warriors and conquered pagan insurgents – ascended throne 1000 as
Stephen I.
• Human and material losses linked to fierce struggles were
multiplied by bloody invasions of Tatars 1241 -1243 – mass
exterminations of population, famines – calling for German
colonists – helped to develop Slovakia – until Turkish exoansion-
the richest , most developed area of Hungary
• The Ottoman Empire – territorial centre of the former state
• Present day Hungary- set up a Turkish province
• The third part of a kingdom, Slovakia resisted Turkish occupation
and became in 1526 part of Habsburg Monarchy.
• Bratislava 1526 -1784 – the capital and Coronation City of the
Hungarian Kingdom ( 19 Habsburg sovereigns crowned)
• During the Turkish invasion Slovakia became for almost two
centuries the principal battleground of Turkish wars. Country and its
people paid by the blood, goods, natural riches – gold, silver....
• After ousting of Turks from Central Europe in 1786 Buda became
the capital of Hungary
• During difficult periods in spite of human and material losses,
without having their own state Slovak people kept their vitality,
language and culture
 The National Movement

• During 18th century a Slovak National movement – aim – fostering the

sense of national identity among Slovak people.
• A key component – codification of a Slovak literary language by Anton
Bernolak in 1787 and the reform of the language by Ľudovít Stúr in 1843,
Hungarian control remained strict
• Congress of Oppressed Peoples held in Budapest 1895, in the struggle
Slovaks received help from Czechs, 1896, concept of Czecho-Slovak
Mutuality was established in Prague – strengthen cooperation
• The Slovak political camp, at the beginning of the century, split into
different fractions, the leaders of the Slovak National Party based in
Martin expected the international situation change in the Slovak´s favour,
hoped for support of Russia
• Catholic fraction lead by Andrej Hlinka - undertakings among Slovak
public established Slovak People´s Party
• Liberal inteligentsia –journal Hlas – importance to Czecho-Slovak
cooperation, Social Democratic Party 1905
• Apponyi Act –after minister of education Count Albert
Aponyi – climax of Hungarization process – reign of terror,
stronger resistance towards Hungarian rule.
 The World War I. and a New State

The most important Slovak at that time was Milan Rastislav Stefánik, a
French citizen of Slovak origin who as a French general and leading
representative of the Czecho- slovak National Council based in Paris
made a decisive contribution to the success of the Czecho-Slovak
cause. Political representatives at home gave their support to the
activities of Masaryk and Stefánik.
Prague National Committee proclaimed an independent Republic of
Czechoslovakia on 28th October and two days later the Slovak
National Council at Martin acceded to the Prague proclamation.
The Czechoslovak Republic was established in Prague 2nd November
1918
The new republic included the Czech lands of Bohemia and Moravia,
small part of Silesia and Slovakia
• The Slovak economy was more agrarian and less developed
that its Czech counterpart, the majority of Slovaks were
practising Catholics while the Czech leadership believed in
limiting the power of the church, Slovaks less experience with
governing the state.
• 1930´s – world economic crisis, affected more Slovaks than
Czechs – political and economic domination of Czechs -
increasing dissatisfaction with federation – growing support of
extreme nationalist movement – Andrej Hlinka, Jozef Tiso –
leaders of fight for equality and greater autonomy of Slovaks
• Slovakia received an autonomous position within the CSR
from October 1938, after Vienna Pact of 2nd November 1938
suffered significant territorial losses.
 The World War II and the Slovak National Uprising

• The rise of Nazism in Germany in the 1930s and aggessive policies

of Adolf Hitler led to the demise of the Czechoslovak Republic. In
1938 the leaders of Great Britain, France and Italy were trying to
avoid another war with Germany and were willing to negotiate with
Hitler, result of their appeasement policy led to Munich Pact -
forced the government of Czechoslovakia to cede the Sudetenland.
On March 14th 1939 , the wartime Slovak State was established
and Jozef Tiso was chosen as head of government in the role of a
president. Tiso allowed German troops to occupy Slovakia in
August 1939, and the country entered World War II. As Germany´s
ally. Government´s policy – closely aligned with Germany´s ruling
Nazi Party, between 1942and 1944 about 70 000 Slovak Jews and
undiserables were sent to concentration camps.
• In December 1943 Eduard Beneš – president of the Czechoslovak
government in Exile in London renewed a treaty of alliance with the
Soviet leader Stalin. They formed an underground Slovak National
Council which pledged to stage an uprising against the regime.
• Many fractions fought in the uprising – rebels of the Slovak Army,
Slovak partisans, communist partisans and international forces. A
number of Slovak officers led by Lieutenant Colonel Jan Golian
made contact with the exile government in London – plan – to take
over the Slovak State at a time when Soviet armies reached Krakow
in southern Poland, Dukla Pass would then be opened to afford the
Soviet military easy access to the South towards Hungary. Partisan
units in the mountains increased by Soviet partisans parachuted,
centre of uprising Banska Bystrica.
• As German forces approached Banska Bystrica the leadership of the
Military Center evacuated from the City and retreated to the Low
Tatras to the North. Members of the Slovak National Council were
flown off to safety behhind Soviet lines just before German tanks
reached the airfield at Tri Duby. Escape route was closed and on the
morning october 27, SS regiment Schill entered BB without firing a
shot
• On November 4th leading generals Viest and Golian were
captured. The were dispatched to Berlin and executed,
members of American and British military missions were sent
to Muthausen.
• Einsatzgruppen executed many Slovaks suspected of aiding
rebels and destroyed 93 villages for suspicion of collaboration.
• The largest executions occurred in Kremnička (747) and
Nemecká(900)
• When the war ended in 1945, the Republic of Czechoslovakia
was ressurected , Tiso was executed for treason and
collaboration with the Nazis and other high party officials
were punished.
• Between 1945 and 1948, Communists and representatives of
other political parties ruled the country in a coalition
government and a free press existed
 The Communist regime

• In February 1948 the Comunists provoked a political crisis and took

over the government in Prague. The state took control of the country
´s factories and many businesses, private property was nationalized
and and farmers were forced to join collective farms in which all
land and equipment were jointly owned.
• The government prohibited opposition to the Comunist Party and
made efforts to decrease the influence of churches.
• The Comunist Party became the only effective party in
Czechoslovakia.
• In the 1960´s party leaders and intellectuals in Slovakia and Czech
lands created movement to reform the Comunist system. A new
movement ´Socialism with a human face´was led by Alexander
Dubček. He was a communist from Slovakia who became the head
of Czechoslovakia´s Communist Party.
• The USSR feared that the reforms would threaten its influence
in Czechoslovakia and on August 21st of that year, the Soviet
military, assisted by troops from other Comunist countries of
Eastern europe invaded Czechoslovakia. As a result nearly all
the reforms were eliminated. Dubček was replaced by Gustav
Husák in April 1969 and expelled from the party. Husák re-
established a tight party control and censorship of press, in
January a new socialist federal republic was established,
granting the Czech and Slovak Republics autonomy over local
affairs
• During the 1970s and 1980s, dissent took different forms in
two republics . Czech lands – Charter 77 – powerful
intellectual dissident movement – Havel, Patočka, Vaculík...
• Slovakia – religious pilgrimages, celebrations, candle
demonstration – Mikloško, Ćarnogurský
 Slovakia after Communism

• In1989 revolt against the Communist governments swept through

many eastern European countries, includin east Germany, Poland,
Romania and Czechoslovakia.
• In November Slovaks joined with Czechs in mass protests against
the Communist government in the ´Velvet Revolution´ Less than
one month later, the government resigned and non Communists took
control of the country. A new movement called Public Against
Violence was formed in Slovakia, bringing together political
disidents , intellectuals and Catholics to lead transition to an open
democratic society.
• In June 1990 the Federation´s first free elections since 1946 were
held and were won by PAV in Slovakia and Václav Havel´s Civic
Forum in the Czech lands. Havel was chosen as president of
Czechoslovakia and Marian Čalfa, a Slovak became the Prime
Minister.
• Within Slovakia, the new non- Communist government was
led first by Vladimír Mečiar, then a member of PAV in 1991-
Ján Čarnogurský, leader of Christian Democratic Movement.
• Main tasks – reestablishment of an economy based on free
enterprise, mass privatization – shifting of state-owned
companies into private hands and took steps to encourage
foreign investment.
• Transition to a market economy resulted in a greater
unemployment and economic hardship especially in Slovakia.
Some Czechs and Slovaks held opposing views about the
appropriate pace and nature of economic reforms.They also
disagreed about how power should be divided between the
federal and republic-level governments. These differences
complicated the reform process and prevented the adoption of
a new federal constitution.
 The break-up of Czechoslovakia

• The results of the elections of June 1992 reflected the growing split
between the two lands. The liberal Movement for a Democratic
Slovakia (HZDS), led by Slovak Vladimír Mečiar, and the
conservative Civic Democratic Party (ODS), led by Czech Václav
Klaus won the two largest representations in parliament, each leader
became the Prime minister of his own republic. Disagreement
between the republics intensufied and in July 1992 Slovakia
declared itself a sovereign state, meaning that its laws took
precedence over those of federal government.
• In November the federal parliament voted to dissolve the country
officially on december 31, despite polls indicating that the majority
of citizens opposed the split.
• In January 1993 Czechoslovakia was replaced by two independent
states: The Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic.
 Important events in the modern history

• Slovakia entered OECD 22.1.2001

• Slovakia entered NATO 26. march 2004 , after negotiations –
Prague summit 2002
• Slovakia joined European Union – may 2004
• Slovakia entered Shengen 21.12 2007
• Slovakia accepted euro , entering eurozone 1.1. 2009