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Slovakia
Yes, this is my beautiful homeland.
The Slovak Republic is situated in Central Europe, sharing frontiers with Austria,
Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine and Hungary. Mountains, lowlands, canyons, lakes, cave
formations, forests and meadows provide many examples of Slovakia’s year-round natural
beauty. It is a small country, but its terrain varies impressively from lowlands to mountain
ranges.
Famous Slovaks
→ Art and Culture
Brunovský, Albín (1935 – 1997) → painter, graphic designer, and illustrator
He was one of the most important modern Slovak painters. He employed imaginative,
fantastic themes in his creative work. He was an adherent of fantastical realism (the second
surrealistic wave), based upon perfect drawing and a philosophical/ethical message. Works:
Czechoslovak banknotes, paintings on wood at the National Council of the Slovak Republic,
and paintings at the UN building in New York.
Cikker, Ján (1911 – 1989) → composer and pedagogue
He continued in the tradition of late romanticism, often employing Slovak folk music. In the
1960s, he turned to modernisation and a rational style of composition. He encouraged the
development of a Slovak national sentiment and its music, and his art traversed the borders of
Slovakia. He became a UNESCO Music Prize Laureate in 1979. Works: The operas Juro
Jánošík (1950 – 1953), Beg Bajazid (1957), and Mr. Scrooge (1963), as well as symphonic
compositions and the arrangement of songs for folk groups.
Fleischmann, Arthur (1896 – 1990) → sculptor
He worked in South Africa, Paris, London, Bali, Australia, and Spain. He was an adherent of
kinetism and op-art in sculpture. He created fountains, statues, and the ‘Crystal Crown’ for
Queen Elizabeth II. He also worked with George Lucas on the Star Wars sci-fi trilogy. (→
The Arthur Fleischmann Museum, Biela ulica 6, Bratislava).
Grúberová, Edita (1946) → opera singer
She is a leading world artist and an acclaimed soprano in the coloratura style. She graduated
from the Bratislava School of Opera. She now sings at the Vienna State Opera in Austria. She
primarily plays characters in Italian operas (by Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini and Verdi). She has
also sung at the Metropolitan in the USA.
Popp, Lucia (1939 – 1993) → opera singer
She was a world-famous opera and concerto soprano. She graduated from the Bratislava
School of Opera, emigrated from Czechoslovakia in 1963, and worked primarily in Austria
and Germany. An event entitled Hommage á Lucia Popp is held in Bratislava every year in
her honour.
Sokol, Koloman (1902 – 2003) → painter and graphic designer
He was one of the most famous Slovak artists in the world, and the founder of modern Slovak
graphic art. His paintings involve the intersection of real experience, dreams, fantasy,
personal knowledge, desires and belief. He worked in Prague, Mexico, the USA, and
Bratislava. He lived in the USA from 1948, and received many state awards. (→ The
Koloman Sokol Centre, Pongráczovská kúria, Liptovský Mikuláš).
Warhol, Andy (1928 – 1987) → painter, graphic designer, and filmmaker
He was born into a Slovak Ruthenian family that had immigrated to the USA. Warhol was the
founder of pop-art and also its most important representative; he was involved in drawing,
painting, graphic design, and film. He painted everyday objects and film stars, while his films
were about time, boredom, and repetition. (→ The Warhol Family Museum of Modern Art,
Medzilaborce).
→ Science and Technology
Banič, Štefan (1870 – 1941) → inventor
He lived in the USA from 1907 – 1921. He constructed a prototype parachute in 1913, which
was patented at the United States Patent Office. He was also involved in the improvement of
mining production and bridge construction. The parachute has, of course, become a vital part
of modern aviation.
Bel, Matej (1684 – 1749) → polyhistor
He was a polyhistor, a pedagogue, a scientific researcher, and an evangelical priest. He was
one of the greatest scientific figures of the 18th century, and was referred to as the Magnum
decus Hungariae – the Great Ornament of Hungary. He made an important contribution to
pietism, was a pioneer in the field of collective research into the Hungarian nation, and carried
out comprehensive scientific, historical and geographical research. He was the co-author of a
unique account of agriculture in the Hungarian Empire – the works Hungaria antiquae et
novae prodromus (1723), Adparatus ad historiam Hungariae (1735 – 1736) and Notitia
Hungariae novae historico-geographica. The University of Banská Bystrica bears his name.
Murgaš, Jozef (1864 – 1929) → priest and electrical engineer
He lived in the USA, where he worked as a priest. He was also involved in electrical
engineering, and registered 12 patents in the field of wireless telegraphy. He established
different frequencies for the dots and dashes in Morse code, thus accelerating the transmission
of messages. He is often referred to as the “Slovak Edison”.
Stodola, Aurel (1859 – 1942) → engineer, professor, and inventor
He graduated in the field of mechanical engineering and worked as a professor at the Federal
Polytechnic in Zurich, Switzerland. He achieved his greatest successes in the area of steam
turbines; his calculations and constructions formed a basis for this particular field of
mechanical engineering. He received the highest engineering awards – the Grashof Medal and
the James
→ Politics
Benyowsky, Matúš Móric (1746 – 1786) → nobleman and King of Madagascar
Baron Benyowsky began his career in the Seven Years War. He fled to Poland in 1768, where
he fought against the Russian Tsar, was captured and was sent into exile in Kamchatka. He
managed to escape by boat in 1770. He sailed across the North Pacific and arrived in France
in 1772. King Louis XV appointed him the Governor of Madagascar and he was elected the
country’s King in 1776. He fought in the American War of Independence in 1779 and 1781,
and was a friend of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. Works: Memoirs and Travels
(1783).
Dubček, Alexander (1921 –1992) → politician
The leading figure in the Prague Spring (1968 – 1969). In the 1960s, he endeavoured towards
reforming the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and establishing ‘socialism with a human
face’. He faded into the background after the invasion of Warsaw Pact forces in August 1968.
During the period of ‘normalisation’ in the 1970s, he was expelled from the party and became
a subject of persecution. As a symbol of efforts towards reform, he returned to politics in
1989; he became the Speaker of the Federal Parliament and the leader of the Slovak Social
Democratic Party.
Hodža, Milan (1878 – 1944) → politician, diplomat, and statesman
He was involved in the Agrarian Movement, and was a co-founder of the most powerful party
in the Czechoslovak Republic (1918 – 1939) – the Czechoslovak Agrarian Party. He was a
Member of Parliament, a minister for the unification of laws, agriculture, education, and
national edification, and finally the Prime Minister. He immigrated to France in 1939, and
then to the USA in 1941. He was active in the foreign resistance movement during the World
War II. He created the idea of a federal state in Central Europe, stretching from the Baltic to
the Aegean, from Germany to Russia.
Štefánik, Milan Rastislav (1880 – 1919) → politician, soldier, and astronomer
During his studies in Prague, he became acquainted with Tomáš G. Masaryk and Eduard
Beneš, with whom he established an anti-Austrian resistance movement abroad for the
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creation of an independent Czecho-Slovak state. He worked in France as an astronomer,
became a French Air Force officer during the World War I and was one of the founders of the
Czechoslovak Republic. He died in a tragic air accident.
