October 30 – Anniversary of the Declaration of the Slovak Nation

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:









































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