1.
Slovakia
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Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Slovakias territory spans about 49,000 square kilometres and is mostly mountainous. The population is over 5 million and comprises mostly ethnic Slovaks, the capital and largest city is Bratislava. The Slavs arrived in the territory of present-day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries, in the 7th century, they played a significant role in the creation of Samos Empire and in the 9th century established the Principality of Nitra. In the 10th century, the territory was integrated into the Kingdom of Hungary, which became part of the Habsburg Empire. After World War I and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a separate Slovak Republic existed in World War II as a client state of Nazi Germany. In 1945, Czechoslovakia was reëstablished under Communist rule as a Soviet satellite, in 1989 the Velvet Revolution ended authoritarian Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The country maintains a combination of economy with universal health care. The country joined the European Union in 2004 and the Eurozone on 1 January 2009, Slovakia is also a member of the Schengen Area, NATO, the United Nations, the OECD, the WTO, CERN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group. The Slovak economy is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and its legal tender, the Euro, is the worlds 2nd most traded currency. Although regional income inequality is high, 90% of citizens own their homes, in 2016, Slovak citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 165 countries and territories, ranking the Slovak passport 11th in the world. Slovakia is the world’s biggest per-capita car producer with a total of 1,040,000 cars manufactured in the country in 2016 alone, the car industry represents 43 percent of Slovakia’s industrial output, and a quarter of its exports. Radiocarbon datingputs the oldest surviving archaeological artefacts from Slovakia – found near Nové Mesto nad Váhom – at 270,000 BC and these ancient tools, made by the Clactonian technique, bear witness to the ancient habitation of Slovakia. Other stone tools from the Middle Paleolithic era come from the Prévôt cave near Bojnice, the most important discovery from that era is a Neanderthal cranium, discovered near Gánovce, a village in northern Slovakia. The most well-known finds include the oldest female statue made of mammoth-bone, the statue was found in the 1940s in Moravany nad Váhom near Piešťany. Numerous necklaces made of shells from Cypraca thermophile gastropods of the Tertiary period have come from the sites of Zákovská, Podkovice, Hubina and these findings provide the most ancient evidence of commercial exchanges carried out between the Mediterranean and Central Europe. The Bronze Age in the territory of modern-day Slovakia went through three stages of development, stretching from 2000 to 800 BC
2.
Bratislava Region
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The Bratislava Region is one of the administrative regions of Slovakia. The region was first established in 1923 and its present borders exist from 1996 and it is the smallest of the eight regions of Slovakia as well as the most urbanized. The region is located in the part of Slovakia and has an area of 2,053 km². Major rivers in the region are the Morava River, the Danube and the Little Danube, there are three protected landscape areas in the region, the Little Carpathians, Záhorie and Dunajské luhy. The region borders Trnava Region in the north and east, Győr-Moson-Sopron county in Hungary in the south, Burgenland in Austria in the south-west, the first known permanent settlement of the area of todays Bratislava was the Linear Pottery Culture, around 5000 BC in the Neolithic era. Around 200 BC, the Celtic Boii tribe established an oppidum on the site of todays Bratislava Castle, the Romans established their camp Gerulata on the right bank of the Danube in the 1st century and remained there until the 4th century. The area was part of the Principality of Nitra and later, in the 9th century, from the 10th century onwards, it became part of the Principality of Hungary and almost the whole area was part of Pozsony county. After the break-up of Austria-Hungary in 1918, region was defined in 1923. Bratislava Regio was abolished in 1928 and replaced by a new unit called the Slovak Land. During the WWII Slovak Republic, Bratislava county was restored, albeit with somewhat modified borders, after the restoration of Czechoslovakia, the pre-breakup status was restored. From 1949–1960 a unit named Bratislava Region existed, but it was replaced in 1960 by the Western Slovak Region, after abolition of the regions in 1990, the current system was introduced in 1996. Since the administrative regions became autonomous in 2002, it has been governed by the Bratislava Self-Governing Region, although it is the smallest region of Slovakia by area, it does not have the lowest population. The largest city is Bratislava and the second largest is Pezinok, the region has a high level of urbanization. According to the 2001 census, there were 599,015 inhabitants in the region, with most of them being Slovaks, with minorities of Hungarians, the economy of the Bratislava Region accounts for about a quarter of the Slovak GDP. Bratislava has one of the highest GDP per capita at PPP of among whole E. U and it is marked by a strong tertiary sector, while the primary sector has a share of only around 1% and the secondary sector around 20%. Important branches include chemical, automobile, machine, electrotechnical and food industries, the Bratislava Region consists of 8 districts, Malacky, Pezinok, Senec and 5 districts of Bratislava. There are 73 municipalities in the region, of which 7 are towns, the Encyclopaedia of Slovakia and the Slovaks. Bratislava, Slovakia, Encyclopaedic Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, bratislavský samosprávny kraj Official website Bratislava Region Tourism
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Bratislava 1
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Bratislava I is a district in the city of Bratislava. It is identical with its borough, Bratislavas Old Town. With an area of 10 square kilometers, it is the smallest district of Slovakia and it is completely surrounded by other Bratislava districts, Bratislava II, Bratislava III, Bratislava IV and Bratislava V. For administrative purposes, according to VZN No, 6/2001, the Old Town of Bratislava has total area of 124 meters squared. The boundary then continues around the edge of the Bratislava hlavná stanica and at the crossing of Jaskov Rad Street. Všeobecne záväzné nariadenie hlavného mesta Slovenskej republiky Bratislavy č, júna 2001 ktorým sa podrobne vymedzujú územia mestských častí hlavného mesta Slovenskej republiky Bratislavy
4.
Danube
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The Danube is Europes second-longest river, after the Volga River, and also the longest river in the European Union region. It is located in Central and Eastern Europe, the Danube was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire, and today flows through 10 countries, more than any other river in the world. Its drainage basin extends into nine more countries, the Latin name Dānuvius is one of a number of Old European river names derived from a Proto-Indo-European *dānu. Other river names from the root include the Dunajec, Dzvina/Daugava, Don, Donets, Dnieper, Dniestr. In Rigvedic Sanskrit, dānu means fluid, drop, in Avestan, in the Rigveda, Dānu once appears as the mother of Vrtra. Known to the ancient Greeks as the Istros a borrowing from a Daco-Thracian name meaning strong, in Latin, the Danube was variously known as Danubius, Danuvius or as Ister. The Dacian/Thracian name was Donaris for the upper Danube and Istros for the lower Danube, the Thraco-Phrygian name was Matoas, the bringer of luck. The Latin name is masculine, as are all its Slavic names, the German Donau is feminine, as it has been re-interpreted as containing the suffix -ouwe wetland. Classified as a waterway, it originates in the town of Donaueschingen, in the Black Forest of Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Brigach. The Danube then flows southeast for about 2,800 km, passing through four capital cities before emptying into the Black Sea via the Danube Delta in Romania and its drainage basin extends into nine more. The highest point of the basin is the summit of Piz Bernina at the Italy–Switzerland border. The land drained by the Danube extends into other countries. Many Danubian tributaries are important rivers in their own right, navigable by barges, from its source to its outlet into the Black Sea, its main tributaries are, The Danube flows through many cities, including four national capitals, more than any other river in the world. Danube remains a mountain river until Passau, with average bottom gradient 0. 0012%. Middle Section, From Devín Gate to Iron Gate, at the border of Serbia and Romania, the riverbed widens and the average bottom gradient becomes only 0. 00006%. Lower Section, From Iron Gate to Sulina, with average gradient as little as 0. 00003%, about 60 of its tributaries are also navigable. In 1994 the Danube was declared one of ten Pan-European transport corridors, routes in Central, the amount of goods transported on the Danube increased to about 100 million tons in 1987. In 1999, transport on the river was difficult by the NATO bombing of three bridges in Serbia during the Kosovo War
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Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
6.
Vehicle registration plates of Slovakia
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There are three design varieties that are in valid use. Between 1 April 1997 and 30 April 2004, the contained the Coat of Arms of Slovakia in the top left corner. The two district identifiers were separated from the serials by a dash, on 1 May 2004, Slovakia joined the European Union. In order to harmonise the visual look of the plates with the rest of the EU, the Slovak Coat of Arms was replaced by the so-called euroband, the country code SK was inserted into the euroband. The number 0 and letter O have been differentiated as well, the Slovak Coat of Arms has returned to the plates replacing the dash while keeping the EU part intact. Regular plates are the most commonly used of all the types and they contain seven characters starting with the district code followed by a series of 3 numbers and 2 letters. The number series used are between 001 and 999, the letter series are between AA-XZ and ZA-ZZ. 999AZ is followed by 001BA through 999BB etc, only Bratislava has reached 999ZZ as of February 2011. Where limited space warrants it, two-line plates can be used on a vehicle, a block of combinations is set aside from the regular plate range as required. Trailer plates follow the format of the regular plates XX-NNNLL except in case the first serial letter is always Y. The registrations would thus start 001YA, continuing through 999YA and 001YB to 999YZ, any build of trailer whether a mobile home or cargo trailer can use these plates. As of February 2011, Bratislava is nearing the end of its YZ series, two-line plates also exist with a block of combinations set aside for them in each district. Motorcycle plates follow the same coding and use the series as the regular plates. For example, DS-125AC can be both a regular plate and a motorcycle plate, the only difference is their size. Motorcycles use two different sizes both of which are smaller than the regular size, personalized plates are optional in Slovakia for an extra fee. The format must include the two letter code and 5 other characters in either XX-LLLLL, XX-LLLLN or LLLNN format. Unlike in any type of plates, the use of Q and W is possible. Plates are not allowed to any political, religious or offensive message
7.
Bratislava
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Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia, and with a population of about 450,000, the countrys largest city. The greater metropolitan area is home to more than 650,000 people, Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia, occupying both banks of the River Danube and the left bank of the River Morava. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the national capital that borders two sovereign states. The history of the city has strongly influenced by people of different nations and religions, namely by Austrians, Croats, Czechs, Germans, Hungarians, Jews, Serbs. The city served as the site and legislative center of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1536 to 1783. Bratislava is the political, cultural and economic centre of Slovakia and it is the seat of the Slovak president, the parliament and the Slovak Executive. It is home to several universities, museums, theatres, galleries, many of Slovakias large businesses and financial institutions also have headquarters there. The capital of Slovakia is the eighth best city for freelancers to live in, mostly because of fast internet, in 2017, Bratislava was ranked as the third richest region of the European Union by GDP per capita. GDP at purchasing power parity is about three times higher than in other Slovak regions, the city received its contemporary name in 1919. Beforehand it was known in English by its German name, Pressburg, as it was long dominated by Austrians. This is the term which the German, the pre-1919 Slovak, the citys Hungarian name, Pozsony, was given after the castles first castellan, Poson. The origin of the name is unclear, it come from the Czech Pos or the German Poscho. Hungarian speakers still use the Hungarian name, Pozsony, the medieval settlement Brezalauspurc is sometimes attributed to Bratislava, however the actual location of Brezalauspurc is under scholarly debate. The citys modern name is credited to Pavel Jozef Šafáriks misinterpretation of Braslav as Bratislav when analyzing medieval sources, thus coming up with the term Břetislaw, during the revolution of 1918–1919, the name Wilsonov or Wilsonstadt was proposed by American Slovaks, as he supported national self-determination. The name Bratislava, which was used only by some Slovak patriots. The name Pressburg was also used in English-language publications until 1919, in older documents, confusion can be caused by the Latin forms Bratislavia, Wratislavia etc. which refer to Wrocław, Poland – not to Bratislava. The first known permanent settlement of the area began with the Linear Pottery Culture, about 200 BC, the Celtic Boii tribe founded the first significant settlement, a fortified town known as an oppidum. They also established a mint, producing silver coins known as biatecs, the area fell under Roman influence from the 1st to the 4th century AD and was made part of the Danubian Limes, a border defence system
8.
Bratislava Castle
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Bratislava Castle is the main castle of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The massive rectangular building with four corner towers stands on a rocky hill of the Little Carpathians directly above the Danube river in the middle of Bratislava. Because of its size and location, it has been a dominant feature of the city for centuries, the location provides excellent views of Bratislava, Austria and, in clear weather, parts of Hungary. Many legends are connected with the history of the castle, the castle site includes the following, The castle building includes four towers and a courtyard with a 80 m deep water well. The largest and tallest tower is the Crown Tower on the southwest corner, the 47 m tower dates from the 13th century and for approximately 200 years beginning in the mid-1500s housed the crown jewels of Hungary. The exterior walls and inside corridors contain fragments of old Gothic, the walled-up entrance gate from the 16th century is still visible to the east of the main entrance. Behind the entrance, is a corridor leading to a large Baroque staircase which, in turn. The third floor houses the exhibition on the History of Slovakia, the first floor in the south wing of the building houses the rooms of Slovak parliament — the National Council of the Slovak Republic - including furnishings from the 16th century. The northern wing of the building- the former Baroque chapel, houses the Music Hall in which concerts are held, the courtyard includes the entrance to the Knights Hall. The Yard of Honor is the space directly before the entrance dates from the late 18th century. Inside the Sigismund Gate and below the Court of Honor, is the Leopold Yard with bastions, to the east of the castle building the constellation of the Great Moravian basilica, the Church of St Savior and other Early medieval objects is indicated on the ground. The true archaeological findings are directly below this indicated constellation, adjacent to the Nicholas Gate, a Gothic gateway from the 15th century in the northeast quadrant, is the Lugiland Bastion. This is a long three-floor building from the 17th century which houses the National Council of the Slovak Republic. An English park is located to the south of the stable, the northern border of the site is formed by a long Baroque building from the 18th century, which today houses the Slovak National Museum and the castle administration. The people of the Boleráz culture were the first known culture to have constructed settlements on the castle hill and their castle was a fortified settlement and a kind of acropolis for settlements in todays Old Town of Bratislava. Further major findings from the hill are from the Hallstatt Period. At that time the people of the Kalenderberg Culture constructed a building plunged into the rock of the castle hill, again, the castle served as an acropolis for settlements found in the western part of the Old Town. During the La Tène Period, the hill became a very important center of the Celts
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