3353 SLOVAKIA (Prešov) - Bardejov Town Conservation Reserve (UNESCO WHS)

Located in north-eastern Slovakia, on a floodplain terrace of the river Topľa near the Polish border, Bardejov is a small but exceptionally complete and well-preserved example of a fortified medieval town, which typifies the urbanisation in this region. Due to its proximity to the major trade route that stretches across the Carpathian Mountains, from Hungary into Poland, Bardejov was able to develop into an important medieval town. Among other remarkable features, it also contains a small Jewish quarter around a fine 18th-century synagogue.

3168 SLOVAKIA (Bratislava) - Čumil the Peeper

Čumil is an Bratislavian emerging sewer worker, who got his head out of a manhole and... And nothing. Nobody knows what he's doing. Is he resting? Is he heading down to clean up your mess? Or is he peeping up women’s skirts? Because he is made from bronze, he has a lot of patience and can wait without any trouble until we will find the answer. Actually he waits since 1997, when was installed to spice up the look of the area, which was traditionally marked with drab Communist-era architecture and decoration.

0136, 3090 SLOVAKIA - The map and the flag of the country

3090 The flag of Slovakia, with its map and coat of arms
(from the series Flags of the World)

Posted on 03.03.2012, 18.06.2017
Slovakia is a landlocked country in Central Europe, bordered by the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Ukraine and Hungary. Its population is over 5 million and comprises mostly ethnic Slovaks. The capital and largest city is Bratislava, which occupies both banks of the River Danube and the left bank of the River Morava. The Slovak landscape is noted primarily for its mountainous nature, with the Carpathian Mountains extending across most of the northern half of the country. The largest lowland is the fertile Danubian Lowland in the southwest, followed by the Eastern Slovak Lowland in the southeast.

0136 The flag of Slovakia

Even though the Slavic tribes have settled in the territory of present-day Slovakia in the 5th century, a state only of the Slovaks there only from 1993, after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia (if we don't take into consideration the puppet state dependent of Nazi Germany, that existed from 1939 to 1945). In the rest of history, various parts of today's Slovakia belonged to Samo's Empire, Principality of Nitra, Great Moravia, Kingdom of Hungary, the Austro-Hungarian Empire or Habsburg Empire, and Czechoslovakia.

ALBANIA / AUSTRIA / BELGIUM / BULGARIA / CROATIA / GERMANY / ITALY / ROMANIA / SLOVAKIA / SLOVENIA / SPAIN / UKRAINE - Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe (UNESCO WHS)

This transboundary property stretches over 12 European countries. Since the end of the last Ice Age, European Beech spread from a few isolated refuge areas in the Alps, Carpathians, Dinarides, Mediterranean and Pyrenees over a short period of a few thousand years in a process that is still ongoing. The successful expansion across a whole continent is related to the tree's adaptability and tolerance of different climatic, geographical and physical conditions.

0577 SLOVAKIA (Banská Bystrica) - Historic Town of Banská Štiavnica and the Technical Monuments in its Vicinity (UNESCO WHS)

Located in the middle of an immense caldera created by the collapse of an ancient volcano, Banská Štiavnica was a mining settlement since the time of the Celts (3rd century BC), being occupied afterwards by Romans, and then by the early Slavs, in 1156 the site being called terra banensium (the land of miners). Starting with 13th century skilled German settlers were joined the Slavic population, adopting for settlement the name Schemnitz.

0041, 0443 SLOVAKIA (Prešov) - Levoča, Spišský Hrad and the Associated Cultural Monuments (UNESCO WHS)

0443 Roman Catholic Church of St. James in Levoča

Located in the historical region of Spiš, Levoča was an military training ground during the Great Moravia period (9th century), but its development was linked with the German colonisation, which increased considerably in the mid-13th century following the Mongol devastations of 1241. In fact colonization with Saxons took place at that time in all border areas of the Kingdom of Hungary, there are many similarities between Levoča and some cities from Transylvania as Braşov (Kronstadt), Sibiu (Hermannstadt), Sighişoara (Schässburg) or other settlements placed along the strategic road of Ţara Bârsei (Burzenland).

0041 Old Town Hall in Levoča

Levoča was the main centre of the Saxon presence, and the fact that it was placed on a major inter-regional route between Poland, Silesia, Moravia, and Hungary, as well as its status of Free City helped it to develop and prosper. The Roman Catholic Church of St. James was built in the 14th century and is very well preserved, despite the ten alters of the 15th and 16th centuries. It houses a wonderful collection of polychrome works in the Late Gothic style, including a magnificently carved and painted wooden altar, the largest in Europe (18.62 m in height), created by Master Paul of Levoča around 1520.