Slovakia History

Ever since the Slavs were invaded by the Magyars, over one thousand years ago, Slovakia had struggled to be recognized as a nation state. After World War I the country united with the Czechs. However, the Slovak Republic was definitely the “junior partner” throughout the 20th century until the country achieved independence in 1993. It should be said that Bratislava was largely Hungarian, German and Jewish, rather than Slavic. Being called Pressburg or Pozsony, it was only renamed Bratislava – after the last leader of the Moravian Empire – after World War I. As for the central Slovakia, in many towns mining and coin minting have played an important role, especially with skilled German miners ‘imported’ in the 13th century. So, nowadays, Slovakia is only opening up to world wide tourism.