Publisher's Synopsis
Slovakia History. Early History, The People's Origin, Culture and Environment. Slovakia was settled by the Slavs between the 5th and 6th century. They then become part of Samoa's empire then later Great Moravia. After the fall of the Slavic empires, Slovaks had a succession of foreign rules by the Kingdom of Hungary and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They then joined the federation of Czechoslovakia. During the Second World War the Slovaks experienced a short lived independence but it was cut short by Nazi Germany. After the war they return to Czechoslovakia. After parting ways with the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic was born in January 1, 1993. Slovakia is a country with a population of a little more than five million people and is situated in Central Europe surrounded by bigger and more numerous neighboring states. Yet for a small population their contribution to the world has been significant, particularly in the fields of science. Father Joseph Murgas is a Roman Catholic priest, architect, botanist and inventor. His contribution in wireless telegraphy helped in the development of mobile communications and wireless transmission. Stefan Banic invented the military parachute and was the first one who used his own invention. Ivan Bella, a former cosmonaut was the first Slovak who went to outer space when he joined a mission to go to the Russian space station Mir.
