Slovakia: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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'''Slovakia''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=en-us-Slovakia.ogg|s|l|oʊ|ˈ|v|æ|k|i|ə|,_|s|l|ə|-|,_|-|ˈ|v|ɑː|-}};<ref>{{citation|last=Wells|first=John C.|year=2008|title=Longman Pronunciation Dictionary|edition=3rd|publisher=Longman|isbn=978-1-4058-8118-0}}</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Roach|first=Peter|year=2011|title=Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary|edition=18th|place=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-15253-2}}</ref> {{lang-sk|Slovensko}} {{IPA-sk|ˈsloʋensko||Sk-Slovensko.ogg}}), officially the '''Slovak Republic''' ({{lang-sk|Slovenská republika|links=no}}, {{Audio|Sk-Slovenská republika.ogg|listen}}),<ref>{{IPA-sk|ˈsloʋenskaː ˈrepublika|IPA}}</ref> is a [[landlocked country]] in [[Central Europe]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/foreign-ministry/foreign-policy/europe/neighbourhood-policy/central-europe.html|title=Austrian Foreign Ministry|accessdate=3 June 2013}}{{dead link|date=February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unhcr-centraleurope.org/en/about-us/unhcr-in-central-europe.html |title=UNHCR regional classification|publisher=UNHCR|accessdate=3 June 2013}}</ref> It is bordered by the [[Czech Republic]] ([[Czechia]]) and [[Austria]] to the west, [[Poland]] to the north, [[Ukraine]] to the east and [[Hungary]] to the south. Slovakia's territory spans about {{convert|49000|km2|sqmi}} and is mostly mountainous. The population is over 5 million and comprises mostly [[Slovaks|ethnic Slovaks]]. The capital and largest city is [[Bratislava]]. The [[official language]] is [[Slovak language|Slovak]], a member of the [[Slavic languages|Slavic language family]].

The [[Slavs]] arrived in the territory of present-day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries. In the 7th century, they played a significant role in the creation of [[Samo]]'s Empire and in the 9th century established the [[Principality of Nitra]]. In the 10th century, the territory was integrated into the [[Kingdom of Hungary]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Russian & Slavic myth and legend|last=Dixon-Kennedy|first=Mike|year=1998|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-130-4|page=375|url=https://books.google.com/?id=eD5AkdM83iIC&pg=PA57 |accessdate=23 April 2009}}</ref> which itself became part of the [[Habsburg Empire]] and the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]]. After [[World War I]] and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Slovaks and Czechs established [[Czechoslovakia]]. A separate [[Slovak Republic (1939–45)|Slovak Republic (1939–1945)]] existed in [[World War&nbsp;II]] as a [[client state]] of [[Nazi Germany]]. In 1945, Czechoslovakia was reestablished [[Czechoslovakia: 1969-1987|under communist rule]] as a Soviet satellite. Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the peaceful [[dissolution of Czechoslovakia]].