Posted August 29, 2013
On this date in 1944, an organized group of Slovaks tried to overthrow the government, which was collaborating with Nazi Germany. As you might guess, the Nazis beat back this brave attack. However, resistance forces kept up guerilla tactics against the Nazis until January of 1945, when Soviet forces finally took Slovakia back from the Nazis.
Slovakia has been part of many empires and kingdoms and nations. For example, it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire before WWII, and part of the Communist nation of Czechoslovakia after WWII. It became independent in 1993 when Czechoslovakia peacefully broke apart into the Czech Republic and (you guessed it) Slovakia.
Slovakia is a beautiful, mountainous country. Many of the National Parks, waterfalls, lakes and scenic valleys can be found in the Tatras Mountains. 
I've been checking out caves in the U.S. recently, and I was excited to see that there are hundreds of caves and caverns in Slovakia (with 15 of them open to the public!). |
| I have been to caves with stalactites and stalagmites, like the brownish-hued cave above. I've been to lava-tube caves, salt-mine caves, and beautiful artificial grotto caves... But I've never been to an ice cave, like this blue-hued cave above. I think I would like to, someday! |
(By the way, if you've noticed that some caves are “caverns,” and some are just “caves,” it turns out that the two words do mean the same thing, but the word “cavern” implies that the cave is a really large size, or that there is an entire series of underground galleries linked together. In other words, the word “cavern” tends to be used for the caves that are considered to be grand.)
Did you know...?
- Slovakia is about the size of New Hampshire and Vermont, put together.
- Slovakia is landlocked. That means it doesn't have access to an ocean or a sea without traveling through some other nation.
- The most popular sport in the nation is ice hockey. Slovakians were thrilled in 2002 when their team won the Gold Medal in the World Championships.
- The capital city (also the largest city) is Bratislava, which is practically on the border between Slovakia and Austria and between Slovakia and Hungary.
Don't get Slovakia mixed up with the independent nation Slovenia, which used to be part of Yugoslavia and which touches the Adriatic Sea. Also, don't mix Slovakia up with the Croatian region Slavonia. All of these names come from their Ancient Slavic ancestors.Also on this date:
Here are my Pinterest pages on August holidays, historical anniversaries in August, and August birthdays.
And here are my Pinterest pages on September holidays, historical anniversaries in September, and September birthdays.
