The Heart of Europe

Basic information about Slovakia

Population:	5.379.455 (data from year 2001)
Area:	49.035 sq km
Borders:	with Hungary - 679 km with Poland - 597,5 km with the Czech Republic - 265 km with Austria - 127,2 km with the Ukraine - 98 km

Language:	official language is Slovak

Religion:	Roman - Catholic - 60,4% Evangelists - 6,2% Greek - Catholic - 3,4% Calvinist - 1,6% Orthodox - 0,7%

Time zone:	Central European Time (+1 hour from GMT)

Climate:	Mild climatic area, 4 year seasons
Average temperature:	10 °C.
The coldest month:	January - temperatures to -15C.
The warmest month:	July with temperatures about 32C.
	Some mountains are covered with snow 130 days/year

Visa: Visa is not necessary for most European countries as well as for Brazil, the South African Republic, Thailand, Singapur, the U.S.A. and Canada.

Currency: Slovak crown (Sk) = 100 halers (h). Wide-spread credit cards (American Express, Diners Club, Visa and Master Card/Euro card) and debet cards (Maestro and Visa Electron) are possible to use for cash withdrawals in ATMs of all biggest banks (VÚB, Tatrabanka, Slovenská Sporiteľňa...) and for reimbursing your payments in the majority of the Slovak hotels, restaurants, shops and petrol stations. Credit cards are also possible to use for cash withdrawals from your banks. For more information contact your bank please.

Voltage:	230V/50Hz

Membership in international organizations: UNO, UNESCO, OECD, OBSE, CERN, WHO, INTERPOL etc. In 2004 - a member of the EU.

BRATISLAVA - the capital of Slovakia

Bratislava is not only the largest city in Slovakia, it is also the capital of Slovakia. Furthermore, Bratislava is the seat of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, the Government of the Slovak Republic, national ministries and the other central bodies of the state administration of the Slovak Republic.

Bratislava is situated:

150 km west from the geographical center of Europe
on the borders with three countries: Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic
at the crossroad of the most important traffic systems in the north-south and the east - west course with connection to important historical metropolises - Budapest (200 km), Vienna (65 km) and Prague (321 km.)
on both banks of the River Danube at the foot of the Little Carpathian Mountains on the the total area of 367.6 sq km

Statistics:

Population:	428 672 (data from year 2001)
Density of Population:	1220 inhabitants /sq km - 8.4% from Slovakia
City Area:	367,5 sq km
Unemployment:	3,82%
Average temp.:	10,8 °C
The tallest building:	Slovak National Bank (111m)

A major industrial center, Bratislava is known for car industry and the manufacture of furniture, chemicals, tobacco products, musical instruments, goods from wool, and leather products. Points of interest include an 11th-century Gothic cathedral that was restored in the second half of the 19th century; a 13th-century Franciscan church; the town hall, a 13th-century edifice; the Comenius University of Bratislava (1919); the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava (1938); and the Slovak Academy of Sciences (1953).

The Austrian border is almost within sight of the city and Hungary is just 16km away. Many beautiful monuments survive in the old town to tell of its past.

The old city and the castle are the best parts of Bratislava. The old city is packed with museums (such as the Municipal Museum which comes complete with torture chambers and the Museum of Wine Production) and palaces (Principal Palace and the Mirbach Palace). The castle, built above the Danube, was a frontier post of the Roman Empire from the 1st to the 5th century. Since the 9th century it has been rebuilt several times, most recently between 1953 and 1962. Climb up for the great views and to check out the very interesting Museum of Folk Music within. The Slovak National Museum and the Slovak National Gallery on the river are also worth a visit.

Franz Lizst visited Bratislava 15 times, and the opera productions of the Slovak National Theatre rival anything in Europe. Bratislava isn't as swamped by Western tourism as are Budapest and Prague.

Are you hungry? Never mind... There are a lot of luxurious restaurants, fast-foods and of course, you can also find here a large net of McDonald's. Interested in shopping? Go on! For visitors in Bratislava there are a lot of hypermarkets like the Polus City Center, Aupark, Tesco, Hypernova, Kaufland and many others...