The creation of a dual monarchy, Austria-Hungary, enabled the Hungarian government to initiate a policy of suppressing the teaching of languages other than the Hungarian language in state schools. The official use of other languages than Hungarian was also discouraged. During this time, a nationalist movement arose among Slovakians. A part of this movement joined forces with a part of the Czech nationalist movement. During World War I, this movement convinced the future victorious powers to recognise a new state of Czechoslovakia after the war.
The territory of today's Slovakia was a part of Czechoslovakia from 1918 to 1938 and again from 1945 until 1989. Czechoslovakia was one of the states which came into existence after the breakup of Austria-Hungary at end of World War I in 1918. Czechoslovakia split up in 1939, when Slovakia, under Hitler's influence and pressure, declared independence and became an independent state. The state existed during World War II. It was a one-party totalitarian state which was a puppet ally of Nazi Germany. Under the regime, the state fought in the war on the side of Nazi Germany and deported about 70,000 of its Jewish citizens to Nazi extermination camps as part of the Holocaust.
The territory of Czechoslovakia was liberated by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II in 1945. After the liberation, Czechoslovakia was reunified and briefly existed as a democratic country. The Communist Party successfully performed a state coup in 1948 and ruled Czechoslovakia as a totalitarian one-party state which was a satellite of the Soviet Union. In 1989, the one-party rule of the Communist Party was overthrown during the Velvet Revolution, which was a series of large and peaceful demonstrations by the citizens in the streets.
Czechoslovakia again became a democratic country. However, it split up into two independent countries (Slovakia and Czech Republic) on January 1, 1993 in what became known as the Velvet Divorce. Slovakia has been a member of the European Union since May 1, 2004.
Slovakia is landlocked. It is noted primarily for its mountainous nature, with the Carpathian Mountains being in the north and various lowlands mostly in the south. The highest mountain range are the Tatra mountains with the highest peak, the Gerlachov Peak (Slovak: "Gerlachovský štít"; 2,654 m). Major Slovak rivers besides the Danube are the Váh and Hron.
At low altitudes, Slovakia's climate is humid continental ("Dfb" in the Koeppen climate classification, with warm summers and cloudy, cold and humid winters. At high altitudes it is subarctic and alpine.
About 5.5 million people live in Slovakia. Most people are Slovak (86%), but in southern regions of Slovakia live Hungarians (10%), with some municipalities even being with the Hungarian majority (for example, Komárno or Dunajská Streda), Ruthenian or Ukrainian are spoken in the northeast. A minority Roma population speak versions of the Romany language and are scattered mainly in the east.
The Slovak constitution guarantees a freedom of religion. The majority of Slovaks are Roman Catholics (69%), the next are the atheists (13%). Other religions include Lutheranism, Greek Orthodox and Calvinism. There are about 5,000 Muslims in Slovakia and 2,000 Jews.
There are currently 8 regions of Slovakia:
These are further divided into many districts. There are currently 79 districts of Slovakia.
Slovenia
Slovenia is a country in Southern Europe. The capital and largest city of Slovenia is Ljubljana. Its major language is Slovenian. Its current population is about 2.0 million. Slovenia's leading exports are manufactured goods and aluminium. It is a parliamentary republic It is a member of the European Union and NATO. The economy of Slovenia is small, open, and export-oriented.
A very long time ago, Illyrian and Celtics tribes lived in Slovenia. In the 1st century BC, Slovenia was ruled by the Romans. In the sixth century AD, Slavs lived there. Slovenia was ruled by Austria from 1335 until 1918. In 1918 it became a part of Yugoslavia. During World War II, Italy, Hungary and Germany took parts of the country but in 1945 it became part of Yugoslavia again.
In June 1991, following a 10-day war, Slovenia became an independent country.
Currently it is considered the most advanced country from what is called "Ex-Yugoslavia." It is also a member of the European Union.
Oldham Cricket Club
Oldham Cricket Club are a cricket team which currently plays in the Central Lancashire League.
The ground that the club plays at is called "The Pollards".
Denarius
The denarius was a small silver coin used by the Roman Empire and Roman Republic. The denarius weighed about 3 to 4.5 grams. It was the main coin of Ancient Rome. It became the most common coin produced for circulation but was slowly debased in weight and silver content. The coin was then sometimes made of copper and painted silver in color. During the Empire the front side usually had a picture of the emperor on it.
The denarius was introduced in 211 BC, and was last made in 275 AD. By then it was made of bronze.
Jackknife
A jackknife is a type of knife. It has a blade that folds into the handle. It is also a dive where the body is bent and then straightened before entering the water and when a person backs up in their vehicle with a trailer attached and it accidentally folds.
Luffa
A luffa (also spelled loofah or loofa) is a long thin dried inner part of the fruit of a tropical plant related to the cucumber . It is often used as a sponge for washing the body. Before it gets ripe, it is also a good vegetable. It also comes from dried corn on the cob stems.
Kimono
Kimono are traditional Japanese style clothes. "Kimono" meant "something you wear" originally. About a century ago, most people in Japan wore the kimono every day. Now, people wear other clothing in Japan most of the time. However, they still wear the kimono for special occasions, such as formal ceremonies, but also for fun and fashion.
A kimono is a robe shaped like a "T". Normal kimonos reach to the ankles, and have long sleeves. The sleeves of some kimono for women also reach to the ankles, but most kimono sleeves reach to the hips.
Japanese people have been wearing garments that looked like the kimono for hundreds of years. It was during the Heian period that many Japanese people started using the kimono and wore some clothing that were like a kimono.
Originally, it was the Chinese visitors that wore the kimono. Later, the Japanese decided to use the kimono too. These clothes had long, triangle-shaped sleeves and were wrapped over the body. They were worn with a jacket and a skirt or trousers on top.
A few centuries later in the Heian period, these clothes changed to look more like a modern kimono. The garment looked more like a rectangle, and the sleeves were square instead of triangle-shaped.
Common people wore a piece of clothing called a "kosode", which means "short sleeve". This garment looked like a modern kimono, with a wider body and smaller sleeves. The overlap at the front of the robe was longer, the collar was wider, and the robe was shorter as well.
Noble people also wore the "kosode", but they wore several layers on top of it. Noble women wore clothing called "jūni hitoe", which means "twelve layers", though the number of layered robes varied. These robes were wider, longer and had larger sleeves than the "kosode" that the common people wore, and could weigh up to 20kg in total. Noblemen wore round-necked jackets with wide, long sleeves and "hakama" trousers. They would wear this with a small cap, which was usually black in colour.