History

Middle Ages

The oldest settlement in Slovakia was in the period from 250 thousand years ago.

Slavs belong to the oldest inhabitants of Europe. On Slovakia’s territory Slavs became the dominant ethnic in the 5th century.

In the 6th and 7th century Slavs suffered from invasions of Avars.

After a successful Slavic insurrection against the Avar Khaganate in 623, Samo, who was Frankish buyer, united Slavs in the Samo’s Empire. After his death in the year 658, the empire collapsed.

At the beginning of the 9th century, the Slavic stem principality on the territory of today’s Moravia started to unite. From Frankish sources we know about two Slavic princedoms: Moravian princedom ruled by Mojmír and principality of Nitra ruled by Pribina. Great Moravia arose around year 830 when Moimir unified the Slavic tribes settled north of the Danube and extended the Moravian supremacy over them.

Mojmír’s successor prince Rastislav understood the need for an exemption from the church dependence to the Frankish priests and bishops, and so he turned to the Byzantine emperor with a request to send priests, who spreaded Christianity in Great Moravia and education of the Slavic languages.

Constantine and Methodius came in the year 863 to the Great Moravia Empire. Constantine compiled from a small Greek alphabet Slavic calligraphy – Glagolitic alphabet. Together with Methodius they translated the Old Church Slavonic worship books, and part of the Bible. Upon arrival they were teaching young priests, who replaced the foreign priests. Great Moravia received a separate control with Archbishop Methodius, in the head of the Church, to get rid of dependence on the East Franks kingdom. Effects of Constantine and Methodius in Great Moravia had a major cultural and political importance. Spreading Christianity and education in the language they all understood. Slavic language exalted to the level of cultural languages, such as Latin and Greek that time.

After Rastislav, his nephew Svätopluk started to govern in Great Moravia. Since the year 871 he became relatively independent monarch of Great Moravian Empire. Under Svätopluk’s government Great Moravia reached the largest territorial expansion. But after his death, a gradual decline occurred in the country. Empire was divided between Svätopluk’s sons: Mojmír II. and Svätopluk II. Main ruler should have been Mojmír II. but conflicts begun between the two sons. Great Moravia was weakening at the same time because of the invasions of nomadic tribes – Hungarians. Mojmír II. was not able to maintain the integrity and independence of the empire. Around the year 907, the Great Moravian Empire collapsed.

At the beginning of the 10th century, the Slavic population got under the influence of the formulating Hungarian state. Migrant and offensive Hungarians gradually had to switch to domesticated way of life and began to devote the organization of their state under the leadership of the Árpád dynasty. Process of inclusion the present territory of Slovakia in the Hungarian State is not examined for lack of sources. Stefan I. became the significant organizer of the Hungarian state and the first king (1000 – 1038). He created centralized, organized and uniformly administered state.

Important event, that struck the development of Hungarian state, was the invasion of Tatars/Mongols in 1241. Tatars completely looted south-western Slovakia. After Tatars left the country, the famine completed the misery. Only well-fortified castles resisted the Tatars invasion.

After this experience, king Béla IV. started to build a network of Gothic castles throughout the country. The last monarch of the Arpad dynasty Ondrej III. suddenly died (assuming that he was poisoned) in 1301 and his death started up the anarchy in the country.

In the 13th century the power of large aristocratic families is increased. Matúš Čák was one of the most powerful magnates on the territory of Slovakia. He was the real ruler of the present territory of Slovakia and acted as an independent governor. Matúš Čák, whose seat was Trenčín Castle, was called “The master of river Váh and Tatra Mountains”.

In 14th century there was again a period of anarchy and fights about the throne, it continued till year 1491, when king Vladislav Jagellonský closed the agreement with the Habsburgs, under which if Jagiellonian´s or Habsburg’s clan die off in male tail, the throne in all the countries will accrue to the second clan.

In 1516 Ľudovít II., Vladislav’s son became a king. That time the country was threatened by the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. Young king Ľudovít decided to confront the Turkish danger. The war against the Turks ended the disastrous slaughter in the battle of Mohacs on 29th of August 1526. Young king Ľudovít was killed in the battle. The defeat of Turks had far-reaching consequences for the whole historical development in Central Europe. Here the long-term Turkish occupation of the Hungarian State has started. At the same time, it was the beginning of the creation of the Habsburg Empire in Central Europe.

Modern Period

According to the contract concluded between Vladislav and Maximilian Habsburg, Ferdinand von Habsburg became the Hungarian king, but he had to share his power with the Duke Ján Zapoľský. Also Turks involved the dispute. The result was splitting the Hungary into three parts. Slovakia (excluding the eastern part) has become an essential part of the Habsburg Hungary.

16th and 17th centuries were the bloodiest centuries in the whole history of Slovakia. Many areas of Slovakia were literally devastated. There was constant threat of the Turkish invasion, because the Slovak ethnic group was in the close vicinity of the Turks. It was repeated until the defeat of the Turks at Vienna in 1683.

Habsburgs aspired to absolutist government, which encountered resistance in the Hungarian aristocracy. In 1618,when the anti-Habsburg uprising erupted in Prague, Hungarian nobles rose up too. In 1678 young aristocrat Imrich Thököly organized malcontents. In a very short time he managed to occupy the whole of Eastern and Central Slovakia. Turkish sultan promised the crown of Hungary to Thököly if he conforms to him. Thököly stroked in. In the war in 1683, Turks were defeated, first in Vienna and then in Hungary.

The bloodiest settlement with insurgents happened in Prešov, the main actor was General Antonio Caraffa. Twenty-four rebels were executed. They cut off their hands first, then the heads and after they had put their body parts on the hooks and hung them around the roads to castle as warning.

The 18th century is called enlightened century. New Emperor Karol VI. wanted to prevent the power struggle for the crown. In 1713 he issued the pragmatic sanction. It allowed that also female descendent could step into throne if the dynasty dies off in male tail. Pragmatic sanction opened a path to the throne for the daughter of Karol VI.

In the year 1740 Mária Terézia (Maria Theresa) became an empress. With an assistance of advisers she has launched a reform of the entire country with a view to centralize the state, but also to modernize and bring it to forward to western European monarchies. Many of the reforms were according to enlightenment ideas that were disseminated in Europe from France. Top of her reform efforts was a scheme for the organization in education known as the Education Ratio (in 1777).

After Maria Theresa’s death, her son Jozef II. took over the throne. He was a well-informed and educated man, who on the instruction of his mother studied in the spirit of the enlightenment. His most important reforms were the patent of Tolerance in 1781 and the abolition of serfdom in the year 1785. Tolerance patent alleged civil equality for all members of the Christian faith.

Events that were handled in Europe and Hungary in the 19th century influenced the Slovak national movement. At the center of attention were the language, literature and history. In 1846, Ľudovít Štúr issued Slovak grammar. Adoption of literary Slovakian language was not only lingual, but also an important political declaration.

In Austria, the revolution began in March 1848. Hungarian parliament passed a law on the independence of Hungary (associated with Austria only in monarch person). Slovak national requirements have resulted in the recognition of independence of the Slovak nation. Lord has fulfilled some of the Slovak language requirements. However, the revolution ended in the battle at Világos in August 1849.

Agreement between Austria nad Hungary in 1866, brought a strong Magyarization policy, which resulted in closing down three Slovak grammar schools in the years 1874 – 1875 by government and culminated on 6th of April in 1875, when the Slovak cultural institution was repealed. Emigration overseas (to U.S. and Canada) has become a mass phenomenon in the northern areas of Slovakia at the end of the century.

World War I & Era between the Great Wars

The outbreak of World War I in 1914 played a significant role in the Slovak history. The idea of Czechoslovakia state appeared very early among the Slovaks and was related to the progress of the war. Beyond the domestic rebellion the foreign Czechoslovakia’s revolt led by Tomáš G. Masaryk and Slovak Milan Rastislav Štefánik also evolved. Their task was to organize foreign military legions.

In October, Czechoslovakia’s government was formed. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk became the first president of the Czechoslovakia. On 28th of October in 1918 the state of Czechoslovakia was declared. Peace Agreements in Paris finally established the Czechoslovakia as a new state on the map of Europe. On 29th of February 1920 the Constitution of Czechoslovakia was approved.

The relatively peaceful conduct of the first decade of Czechoslovakia had severe shocks in the second decade. The international security of Czechoslovakia was built on the postwar international treaties and relied on the guarantee of Great Britain and France. Germany and Russia, however, were increasingly starting to enter the international scene. The greatest threat to Czechoslovakia was the accession of Hitler to power and his increasing aggression. He did not dissemble that he wants to liquidate the Czechoslovakia. With the assistance of the political leaders of the German minority, conducted by Conrad Heinlein, they continuously increased the pressure against Czechoslovakia.

The plan of breaking up the Czechoslovakia had a name the Green case – Fall Grün. Hitler’s pretext for action against Czechoslovakia was the protection of the German population. On 15th of September in 1938 Hitler met with British Prime Minister Chamberlain, who said at the meeting that he has no fundamental objection to the resignation of Czech border to Germany. German requirements were solved on conference in Munich, where on 29th of September in 1938 representatives of Germany, Italy, Great Britain and France – Hitler, Mussolini, Chamberlain and Daladier were meeting.

Here, without the participation of Czechoslovakia, they decided that the Czechoslovak Republic has to give border regions of Bohemia and Moravia to Germany. The agreement of states from Munich, however, intervened also Slovakia – Vienna Arbitration on 2nd of November in 1938 cut off the southern parts of Slovakia from Czechoslovakia and annexed them to Hungary.

World War II

The population was not satisfied with the government. Dissatisfaction was gradually growing to revolt. The government with the help of an extensive organized police apparatus monitored the suspects.

At that time, the revolt was particularly pronounced in foreign countries. Many Slovaks came into active combat on the side of anti-Hitler bloc. Edvard Beneš, who immigrated after Munich to London, tried to organize foreign resistance, as at the time of World War I. At the same time he wooed for recognition of this government by the States of anti Hitler bloc.

After Winston Churchill became the British prime minister he signed the official recognition of the Beneš foreign government, which in the summer of 1941 was confirmed by the Soviet Union. The end of war was close. On 6th of October in 1944 the Red Army as well as her Czechoslovak Army Corps entered the Slovak territory. On 4th of April in 1945 German troops were displaced from Bratislava and most of the Slovak territory was reclaimed from Germans.

President Edvard Beneš came to Košice on 3rd of April. On 5th of April new government appointed by Beneš, proclaimed the program known as Košice’s government program.

Communism Era

In 1946, the communists won the first postwar elections. After communists grasped the power, they sought to establish a totalitarian, uncontrollable power very quickly. Dissatisfaction with the dictatorship of communists was increasing among the population since the fifties.

In 1968, the changes in the highest state functions started. First Slovak – Alexander Dubček was elected at the forefront of the government. Together with the so-called reformed communists he began to implement fundamental political and social changes that were enthusiastically supported by a simple majority of the population. They hoped that period of “socialism with a human face” would begin.

Events resulted in the Prague Spring 1968. The censorship was abolished, the public meetings continued, the religious freedom partly occurred. One of the achievements of the Prague Spring was the idea of creating a Czech-Slovak Federation. The Constitutional Law of Federation was finally adopted by the parliament on 27th of October in 1968.

Sympathies of the population and abroad, however, did not convince the leaders of the USSR led by Leonid Brezhnev and many other representatives of the Communist Party. Therefore they decided to stop this process by using violence. On the night of 20th to 21st of August in 1968 the army of five Warsaw Pact countries (People’s Republic of Bulgaria, People’s Republic of Hungary, People’s Republic of Poland, Socialist Republic of Romania, and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) entered Czechoslovakia. An attempt to reform the socialism in democratic way was brutally suppressed.

Fall of Communism

The year of changes was 1988. On 25th of March Catholic Church organized a peaceful demonstration with candles in Bratislava. The Communist government dispelled the peaceful demonstration with the use of force.

On 16th of November in 1989 students from Bratislava on the eve of International Students Day organized a demonstration. It was not as wild as that on the following day (17th of November) in Prague. 27th of November was another great day for Czechoslovakia. Two hours long general strike across the country was accompanied by massive demonstrations, in which people called for the end of the one-party, free elections, the resignation of Husák from the post of President and for democracy.

The collapse of the communist totalitarian regime in Czechoslovakia came into the awareness of global and domestic public as soft or velvet revolution. This attribute was for the peaceful and bloodless course. President Husák appointed a new government and then resigned. At the end of 1989, Dubček was elected as a chief of the National Assembly and Václav Havel as president. And it has been only a step to the first free elections after years of totalitarianism – in June 1990.

Democratic Slovakia

Elections in 1992 indirectly decided about the separation of the Czechoslovak Federation. In July 1992 Slovak National Council adopted a declaration on the sovereignty of the Slovak Republic and in September they approved the Constitution of the Slovak Republic.

On 1st of January 1993 the Slovak Republic came into the world family of independent states. In contrast to the Czech Republic, which kept the most institutions of the former federation, Slovakia had to build most of the institutions from the beginning. The government and the entire country had indeed very serious economic problems.

Gradually, however, they managed to stop the uneven development. On 29th of March 2004 Slovakia become a member of the North Atlantic Pact and on 1st of May 2004 a member of the European Union. At present time, the Slovak Republic started the path of economic reforms and progressive changes, which resulted in improving the growth of living standards.