Just to give you a brief background on the Slovak Republic, Slovakia is a country located in central Europe and people who live in this country are referred to as Slavs. Its economy is advanced and high-income with one of the fastest growing economies in the European Union. But, enough about these geographic and economic facts, let’s delve into the 10 interesting Slovakia facts that will surely awe you.
Fascinating Facts about Slovakia
1 Slovakia boasts the first cave in Europe to be installed with electric lighting, in 1882. It is found in Slovensky raj and it is known as the Dobinska ice cave.
2 The largest castle in this country measures 41,000 square meters. It is known as the Spisskyhrad.
3 This country also has over 6,000 caves, and the most spectacular are Slovak Karst, Slovak Paradise, and Low Tatras.
4 The oldest mint company in the world was founded in this country during 1328. It is called The State Mint in Kremnica, and it is still operating to this day.
6 A Slovak named Stefan Banic patented the first parachute in 1913.
5 Slovakia is one of the two countries created when Czechoslovakia split in two in January 1, 1993. The other country is the Czech Republic.
7 90% of the Slovak population have finished secondary education.
8 The world’s second oldest marathon was held here and it is still being held every first Sunday of October.
9 It is the only country with its capital city bordered by two different countries.
10 This country has approximately 425 chateaux and 180 castles. And the most well-known castles are the Bojnice, Orava, and Bratislava Castle.
11 One very interesting study conducted on Slovaks is the 2009 Y-chromosomal study which concluded that Slovaks have the highest percentage of Romani (Gypsy) genes in all of Europe’s non-gypsy population.
Video: 5 Things You Don’t Say to a Slovak
In this film, Petra Botekova explains the 5 Things You Don’t Say to a Slovak! If you want to make sure not to offend your Slovak fellow, or you are curious what are some of the Don’ts in Slovakia, then check out these 5 things you don’t say to a Slovak (or you do say them if you want to piss them off).
Hi I’m Jay. I grew up in Seattle, Washington and live in Los Angeles, California. I have travelled to 23 countries so far and planning to go explore more countries soon! My Favorite trips so far have been to Israel, Japan, Rome, Iceland and Australia. I started this site to share my love of travel with everyone and build a community of like-minded, free thinking, free exploring people.
