Every Day Is Special: July 5 - Saints Cyril and Methodius Day in Czechia and Slovakia

July 5 - Saints Cyril and Methodius Day in Czechia and Slovakia

Posted on July 5, 2018

The Czech Republic & Slovakia -

Two nations that were once joined.

Saints Cyril & Methodius -

Two brothers, now saints in the Catholic Church, celebrated as co-patron saints of these two countries. (They are also considered Patrons of Europe.)

Born in Greece, the brothers are credited with having invented the first alphabet used to write down the Old Church Slavonic language. They are a big enough deal that today is a public holiday in both Czechia and Slovakia.

What are the differences between the Czech Republic and Slovakia?

According to some, the Czech Republic has more confidence, in a way, because it was its own nation most of its history - although sometimes under other names (Bohemia, the Great Moravian Empire). Prague is a super-famous, cosmopolitan city, and tourists regularly flock to Czechia.

In contrast, Slovakia was a bit more under the thumb of other nations and empires and has been independent only since 1993. Its capital, Bratislava, is a lot less visited and known, as is the nation as a whole. Even though it has the fantastic Tatra Mountains.

Above, Bratislava.
Below, next three, Tatra Mountains.

Also, I read that Czechia is more like Germany, and Slovakia is more like the other Slavic nations. This is partly location - partly history - partly language and culture.

But of course there are also a ton of similarities between the two nations.

Here are a few tourist spots from each:

Adrspach-Teplice Rock Town in the Czech Republic