The development of the Slovak culture reflects the influence of broader trends of Central Europe but possesses special characteristics due to the geographical and historical processes (pre-Moravian culture, Middle Ages and Modern Ages). One of the essential features of the Central European culture are the different historical influences. First of all, the influence of the Bizance Empire at the beginning of the national Slovak history, then the influence of Rome and mainly Germany, beginning from the 10th century.

The victory of the occidental influences is evident after all in the language (Latin was an official language of the feudal state) and in the culture (Roman, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Classic style). The national Slovak culture developed together with other national cultures (German, Hungarian, Czech) absorbing a part of their values and stimulations and supplying with its own.

Museums and Galleries: Wine-lovers will enjoy the Wine Museum in Bratislava. The Saris Museum in the area of Thermal spa of Bardejov contains one of the best collections of the traditional housings gathered together in East Europe. The Slovak Uprising Museum in Banska Bystrica is a typical ¨political¨ museum established by the communists which survived documenting the crossing period in the history of this country. The Museum of the National Park of Tatra in Tatranská Lomnica provides the great opportunity (after visiting the Park) to explore what you have seen in the expositions.
In the town Medzilaborce you can visit the Museum of Andy Warhol inaugurated in 1991, which keeps the original surname of the family of the famous American painter.

Andy Warhol Museum	Sarisské Museum

The following map shows all the museums that exist in Slovakia. Click here for more information: www.muzeum.sk

Cultural events: Bratislava Lyre, in May or June, offers rock concerts. In June or July there are many folk events in all of Slovakia, which culminate in The Folk Festival in Východná, 32 kms west of Poprad – Tatra. There are also the Days of Jazz celebrated in September.

Music: Traditional music instruments include the ¨fujara¨ (2m long flute), ¨gajdy¨ (a bagpipe) and ¨kontovka¨ (strident flute of the sheep shepherd). Traditional Slovakian songs helped preserve the Slovak language during the millennium of Hungarian control. In the eastern part of Slovakia popular traditions continue to form a part of the daily life. There are topics like love, lamentation and celebration in the songs and the vigorous dances recede from the uncertainty of life.

Radio stations: There are a lot of web pages where you can find wide information about Slovak radio stations. You can enter some of the web pages by clicking on the logo in order to hear them on-line (properly software is necessary).

www.slovakradio.sk

Interesting Social Data

Etnic groups: Slovac 85.6 %, Hungarian 10.5 %, Gipsy 1.7 %, other (mainly Pole) 2.2 %

Religions: Catolic 60.4 %, Lutheran 6.2 %, Greek Ortodox 3.4%, y Calvinist 1.6 %

Official Lenguage: Slovak. Hungarian is spoken by a minority in the south of the country.

Slovak cultural events in Aragón and La Rioja

ELENA LETNANOVA

Dozentin, Ph.Dr. Elena Letnanova, born in Bratislava, Slovakia, in the family of the first director of Slovak Philharmonic, composer, and organ virtuoso Ing. Julius Letnan.

She began to study at the Slovak Technical University (Faculty of Architecture) for 2 years, but graduated from VSMU (Faculty of Music) in Bratislava with suma cum laude.

She lectured at the Department of Musicology at Comenius University in Bratislava for ten years until 1984. was a chairman of Piano Department at the University of Dayton, in Dayton, Ohio until 1992, Fairfax Conservatory of Music, Virginia 1994, USA, Medicine Faculty of Comenius University (Institute of Foreign Languages), Academia Istropolitana, STU (Faculty of Architecture), VSMU (Music Faculty), and currently at Slovak Technic University-Faculty of Engineering (Intro courses in History of Technique
and History of Sociology).

She was artistic director of International Festival "Days of Flemish Music 2000" in Bratislava and Milhaud Festival '92 in Dayton, Ohio.

She has performed at the International festivals in Rome, San Francisco, Prague, London, Munich, Zagreb, Bordeaux, Zurich, New York, Washington, Dallas, Oxford.. and some other cities in USA, Canada, Israel, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Croatia and Slovakia. She visited Zaragoza in March 2003.

She has recorded a lot of records and has published about 60 articles on music and literature.

FOLKLORIC FESTIVAL IN JACA - HAPPINESS DANCES

The first week of August, 2005, Jaca welcomed the 43th edition of the Folklorical Festival of the Pyrenees, the most intercultural and folkloric event that can be enjoyed in Spain.

This it is the first year in the whole history of this important festival that a Slovak representative participates: the folkloric group TURIEC from a North region of our country.

Thanks to the mayor of Jaca, D.Enrique Villarroya Saldaña, to our Honorary Consulate of Slovakia in Zaragoza and to the group of the Slovak folklore (specially its leader Mr. Jánošík), we have developed the idea we wanted to carry out months ago.

We invite you to enjoy with us these photos of this great spectacle where Slovak artists showed their best music, dances, tradition and color, and brought much happiness to Jaca.