Slovakia - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture
168
Slovakia - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture
168eBook
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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781857335675 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Kuperard |
| Publication date: | 09/01/2011 |
| Series: | Culture Smart! , #35 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 168 |
| File size: | 8 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Slovakia
By Brendan F.R. Edwards
Bravo Ltd
Copyright © 2011 KuperardAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-85733-567-5
CHAPTER 1
LAND & PEOPLE
"... tried and tested, but never broken over long centuries of adversity; humble and simple people, clever, bound to their land and traditions, as expressed in their poetry, their music, and the colors of a rich folklore; a people as hard and tenacious as their Tatra Mountains, as serene and optimistic as the green expanse of their valleys and forests; a people, above all, deeply attached to the values of their European civilization: honesty, hard work, family and religious faith, as witnessed by so many popular shrines and stupendous churches."
Archbishop Giovanni Cappa, Vatican ambassador to Slovakia, January 1993
GEOGRAPHICAL SNAPSHOT
Slovaks refer to their country as "the heart of Europe." Many outsiders, however, particularly Westerners, still refer to it as part of "Eastern Europe," due to its forty years behind the Iron Curtain. Today's visitors are advised to adjust their language and thinking when it comes to such terms and assumptions. Bratislava, the captal, is a mere forty miles (64 km) from Vienna, which is certainly considered to be in Western Europe. This makes these two cities the closest capitals in Europe, if we exclude the Vatican City and Rome, and the second-closest in the world, after Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Brazzaville (Republic of Congo). Thus, the preferred term is "Central Europe," which is geographically correct and also less weighted with the old political and cultural assumptions.
Bordered by the Czech Republic to the northwest, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, and Austria to the southwest, Slovakia has some remarkable geographical features. Although small in area (18,932 sq. miles, or 49,035 sq. km), it offers mountains, forests, natural spas, three hundred ancient castles and ruins, six hundred caves, national parks, meadows, plains, fields, chasms, canyons, gorges, plateaus, and waterfalls. The country's longest river, the Váh (269 miles, or 433 km), joins the Danube at Komárno. Few other countries in the world offer such a varied landscape in such a small area.
The greatest tourist sites are the mountain ranges, the two most renowned being the High Tatras (Vysoké Tatry) in the north, along the Polish border, and the Low Tatras (Nízke Tatry) in central and eastern Slovakia. Gerlachovský Štít, in the High Tatras, at 8,707 feet (2,655 m), is the highest peak. Two smaller ranges also form the Tatras: the Malá Fatra (Small Fatra) and the Vel'ká Fatra (Big Fatra). Slovak Paradise (Slovenský Raj), an area of remarkable natural beauty and rare flora and fauna, is also popular with outdoor enthusiasts.
CLIMATE AND WEATHER
A landlocked country, Slovakia has a climate that lies between temperate and continental zones, with relatively hot summers and cold, cloudy, humid winters. More specifically, the country can be divided into three basic climatic zones: the lowlands, the basin, and the mountains.
The highest temperature recorded to date in Slovakia occurred at Hurbanovo, in the lowlands region, on July 20, 2007 (104.5°F or 40.3°C). The lowest temperature to date occurred on February 11, 1929, at Vígl'aš-Pstruša in the mountain region (-41.8° F or -41°C). Winter varies slightly in length in the different regions of the country, running from mid-December to mid-February in the lowlands; from late November to mid-March in the basin; and from early November to late May in the mountain region.
The average yearly rainfall ranges from 20.47 inches (520 mm) in the lowlands to 78.74 inches (2,000 mm) in the mountain region.
About 40.8 percent of Slovakia's territory is covered by forests, located largely in the mountainous areas, whereas 50 percent is covered by agricultural land. During the twentieth century many species-rich meadows and pastures were converted into intensively managed grasslands, which reduced species diversity. Vineyards, gardens, and orchards cover small areas distributed throughout the country; these are important for the preservation of genetic diversity and cultivated plant species. There is a small rain forest close to Sliac and Banská Bystrica.
Endangered habitats are mainly the country's aquatic and wetland ecosystems, as a result of drainage, dams, agricultural runoff, and industrial pollution. As of 2001, 22.1 percent of Slovakia's total land area was protected, and eight mammal species, four birds, and eleven plant species were endangered.
Current environmental issues as far as potential hazards are concerned include air pollution from metallurgical plants, especially in eastern Slovakia, which poses some human health risks, and acid rain. The country sources 35.3 percent of its electricity production from fossil fuels, 47.6 percent from nuclear power, and 17.1 percent from hydropower.
THE REGIONS
Slovakia is divided into eight regions: Bratislava, Trnava, Trencín, Nitra, Banská Bystrica, Zilina, Košice, and Prešov.
Bratislava and West Slovakia
This region, which includes the major cities of Bratislava, Trnava, Trencín, and Nitra, is by far the most densely populated and economically strong in the country. It also includes a small area known as Záhorie ("Behind the mountains" — referring to the Little Carpathians, which separate it from the rest of the country) that boasts its own Slovak dialect, similar to Moravian. Bratislava, the state capital, is naturally the de facto capital of West Slovakia.
West Slovakia — and in particular Bratislava — is noticeably more expensive than other parts of the country. Even by the standards of nearby Vienna, Bratislava will put a dent in your budget. Rents, living expenses, and day-to-day costs in the capital are a source of considerable distress to many Slovaks who work there but cannot afford to live there, instead commuting from nearby towns and cities, such as Trnava. Most locals now tend to avoid even shopping in downtown Bratislava, because the prices tend to be inflated for tourists. They go instead to the large, North American–style shopping centers like Aupark, Shopping Palace, and Eurovea, or the similar but much smaller shopping centers in Trnava, Nitra, and Trencín.
Banská Bystrica and Middle Slovakia
Middle Slovakia, home in part to Slovakia's most popular recreational site — the Tatra Mountains — is perhaps the most naturally scenic part of the country. Major cities here include Zilina, Martin, and the de facto capital of the region, Banská Bystrica. With extensive forests and a hilly terrain, Middle Slovakia is the least densely settled region in the country. Home to several natural mineral water spas, national parks, and protected areas — including the High and Low Tatras and Slovenský Raj (Slovak Paradise) — much of Middle Slovakia is under some form of environmental protection.
Košice and East Slovakia
East Slovakia, consisting of the official political regions of Prešov and Košice, is commonly considered to be the most economically depressed region in the country — but it is also one of the most beautiful. The city of Košice is the second-largest in Slovakia, and acts as the industrial anchor of the east.
Rich in manmade lakes — including the Zemplínska Šírava resort, the Vel'ká Domaša reservoir, and the Starina reservoir in the Bukovské vrchy (hills) — the northern half of East Slovakia is the most physically spectacular area, but also the poorest.
The southern half is home to the Slovenské Rudohorie Mountains, well known for their ore deposits. There are several popular tourist destinations here, including the ruins of Spiš Castle (one of the biggest in central Europe), the Gombasecká cave complex, and the town of Bardejov, which has one of the best-preserved medieval town squares in Europe. Košice itself, until 1993, rivaled Bratislava in terms of culture, and in 2013 will be the European capital of culture.
LANGUAGE AND IDENTITY
Slovak national consciousness in its present form first truly came about in the late eighteenth century. Although Slovak speakers had existed in the previous decades and centuries, a widespread national awakening was influenced and supported by the debates that emerged in this period around the codification of the Slovak language. Thus, the literature of Slovakia is closely tied to the Slovak sense of national history. Even before these debates, Slovak intellectuals and clerics had been publishing works in Slovakized Czech or a western Slovak vernacular.
A reform in 1786 by the Habsburg monarch Joseph II (Holy Roman Emperor, 1765–90) obliged government officials to explain legislation in the languages of the various peoples of his realm, and this also gave impetus and substance to a Slovak national consciousness. One of Europe's most enlightened despots, Joseph II encouraged education in the vernacular — which in turn encouraged literacy in various Slovak dialects — and issued the Tolerance Patent, legalizing Protestant religions.
These developments, as well as the subsequent influence of the French Revolution (which weakened monarchies worldwide and led to a general spread of nationalism), increased the feeling of being culturally limited under Hungarian rule. The time was ripe for what is now referred to as the Slovak National Awakening.
Codification of the language was a challenge not in terms of the exercise itself, but in the choice of Slovak dialect from which a literary language would be created. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries there were two competing language areas — central Slovak and western Slovak. Given the importance of Bratislava as a political center, and of Trnava as a cultural and economic center, the first attempt at codifying the language was made on the basis of western Slovak dialects spoken in and around these two cities. The western Slovak dialect was codified by Anton Bernolák (1762–1813), a Catholic priest, between 1784 and 1790. His codified Slovak did not catch on, however, as it did not have enough support from the intelligentsia outside western Slovakia, from the citizenry who spoke other local dialects, or from the Protestant clergy who used biblical Czech.
Following the failure of early-nineteenth-century efforts to reform Slovakized Czech to better reflect Slovak interests, many Slovaks came to realize that the Czechs were neglecting Slovak concerns. Worse, Magyar nationalism was intensifying, pressuring Slovaks to adopt the Hungarian language and Hungarian names. A common literary language, acceptable and accessible to western, central, and eastern Slovaks, and Catholics and Protestants alike, was necessary to unite all Slovaks.
The linguistic/intellectual leader of this generation was L'udovít Štúr (1815–56), a Lutheran priest, politician, writer, and thinker. As a historian of the culture of various Slav peoples, Štúr concluded that Slovaks were entitled to their own national culture and language, and that Slovak was not merely a dialect of older Czech, as some had argued. In 1846 he published a treatise defending the need for a Slovak literary language, and a year later he set out the principles for a new Slovak grammar. Štúr switched from western Slovak to the central Slovak dialect because this dialect enjoyed a considerable prestige as the main vehicle of popular oral culture, and, perhaps more importantly, it was understandable to Slovaks in both east and west. A compromise between Štúr's central literary Slovak and Bernolák's western Slovak version was finally reached in 1851. The new language quickly produced a literary output of considerable quality, thus anchoring it definitively, and leading to a flowering of Slovak literature.
A BRIEF HISTORY
Misunderstood, Misinterpreted, and Unknown
Slovak history, like the history of any people, is subject to debate. It is certain, however, that foreign visitors who know nothing of Slovak cultural history — or at least the general history of the Central European region — will be found wanting. The history of migrations and the kingdoms of Central Europe have uniquely shaped modern Slovakia, which has variously been ruled by Hungarians, Austrians, Russians, Czechs, and Germans — and some would now extend this to EU legislation and foreign tourism.
Slovakia's declaration of independence in 1993 was not so much the birth of a new state as the reemergence of a preexisting nation — but a nation about which the outside world knew very little. Slovak history, from a Western historical perspective at least, has been variously described as misunderstood, misinterpreted, and unknown.
At the time when the Slovaks joined the Czechs in their common state in 1918, Slovak history and national aspirations were basically unknown in the West, as there were very few accessible written histories of Slovakia until well into the twentieth century. The Slovaks' sense of themselves until this time had come mainly through song and poetry, and rarely through writing of a scholarly nature. The misunderstanding and misinterpretation of Slovak history was chiefly due to the political and cultural situation that Slovakia found itself in during forty years of communism and to the seemingly deliberate Czech policy simply to label Slovaks as Czechs. This policy was first apparent in the writings and political activities of Czechoslovakia's first president, Tomáš G. Masaryk (1850–1937). At best, twentieth-century writing on Slovakia appeared as hardly more than a postscript to Czech history, or one which for the most part denied the prior existence of a separate Slovak nation and history.
Nonetheless, the seventy-four years between the creation and dissolution of Czechoslovakia were a short period in the history of both peoples, and the Slovaks for one have a past that goes back centuries. The word "Slovakia," as a geographical and political term, appeared for the first time only in 1849, in a petition to the Habsburg Empire. But for the Slovaks, the land north of the Danube and in the Tatras has always been home, even if the geographical and political boundaries of their nation have not always been clear. The Slovak people have always struggled to survive the challenges they have faced as a result of living at the crossroads of Central Europe, and have continually sought to determine their own destiny and make a contribution to European civilization. The Slovak Republic that appeared on the map as of January 1, 1993, covers the territory Slovaks have always inhabited, even if they previously had no formal state to call their own.
The Beginnings of Slovak History
Aside from archaeological remains and artifacts dating from much earlier periods, evidence indicates that the Slavic tribes had widely colonized the area of today's Slovakia by the end of the fifth century AD.
The history of the Slovak people, and thus Slovakia, properly begins with the creation of the Great Moravian Empire in the early ninth century. This state was composed of three Slavic principalities, two of which concern the Slovaks: Morava, which encompassed territory in western Slovakia and modern-day Moravia in the Czech Republic, and Nitra, covering an area in western and central Slovakia, separated by the White Carpathian mountain range. Although it existed for less than three-quarters of a century (833–906), in Slovak oral tradition Great Moravia's existence is the most important event in its short history. In other words, Slovaksremember that they had a state in the ninth century.
Most significantly during the Great Moravian period, two Greek religious scholars and priests, Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius, who had earlier created a basic alphabet for the Slavic language, came to the territory in 863 and brought with them Christianity and literacy. The Cyrillo-Methodian legacy — mainly writing and religion — were important developments, which, alongside geography, helped to secure the historical legacy of Great Moravia as (in part) a Slovak state.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Slovakia by Brendan F.R. Edwards. Copyright © 2011 Kuperard. Excerpted by permission of Bravo Ltd.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Cover,Title Page,
Copyright,
About the Author,
Map of Slovakia,
Introduction,
Key Facts,
Chapter 1: LAND AND PEOPLE,
Chapter 2: VALUES AND ATTITUDES,
Chapter 3: CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS,
Chapter 4: MAKING FRIENDS,
Chapter 5: THE SLOVAKS AT HOME,
Chapter 6: TIME OUT,
Chapter 7: TRAVEL, HEALTH, AND SAFETY,
Chapter 8: BUSINESS BRIEFING,
Chapter 9: COMMUNICATING,
Conclusion,
Further Reading,
Acknowledgments,