History of Slovakia

A vibrant Middle Ages in Slovakia (especially from the 14th century) saw the construction and ongoing refurbishment of many outstanding castles and several notable cathedrals. Throughout this period, the Slovak lands were under the Kingdom of Hungary, eventually included in the Habsburg Empire of Austria-Hungary.

The 20th century saw several changes in how Slovakia was ruled, for both better and for worse, with a communist regime taking control of Czechoslovakia in 1948. Although the visitor still finds influences of this totalitarian period (which ended in a nonviolent revolution in 1989), Slovakia’s identity today is above all that of a thriving new market economy.