Posted
on October 30, 2015
When
I was growing up, I was asked to memorize names and locations of
countries. I am pretty sure the teachers talked as if those countries
had existed for centuries and centuries, and would still exist for
centuries and centuries more.
At
least, I certainly got the impression that the nation list I was
memorizing had existed as long as humans had existed, and that it
would continue to be accurate so long as humans lived, as well.
Of
course, I couldn't have been more wrong!
One
of the Eastern European nations I memorized was Czechoslovakia. But
that nation only existed within a single century: the 20th
Century. To be specific, Czechoslovakia existed from October, 1918 to
December, 1992
It
was on this date in 1918 that the Slovaks officially joined
Czechoslovakia.
Here
are some other names that represent what the Slovak people were a
part of, through different eras of history: Samo's Empire, the
Principality of Nitra, the Kingdom of Hungary and then the
Austro-Hungarian Empire...
And of course, Czechoslovakia, and now Slovakia.
Slovakia
has as a nation is high-income; it has one of the fastest economic growth
rates in the E.U. (European Union).
Cool
castles and chateaux and caves!
- Slovakia has more castles and chateaux, per capita, than any other nation in the world!
So,
what does that mean? I presume you know that castles are buildings
(or groups of buildings) that are fortified with thick walls,
battlements, towers, and often a moat.
Many
chateaux are castles, too – chateau is the French word for
castle! But some chateaux are manor houses or palaces that do
not have fortifications.
And
per capita means “per person.”
For
a nation of only five million people to have 180 castles and 425
chateaux is pretty surprising!
- Slovakia also has a shockingly high number of caves: about 6,000!
Also
on this date:
Plan
ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
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