12 October 2015

#996 Bratislava, Slovakia


Slovakia (SlovakSlovensko), officially the Slovak Republic (SlovakSlovenská republika), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. Slovakia's territory spans about 49,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi) and is mostly mountainous. The population is over 5 million and comprised mostly of ethnic Slovaks. The capital and largest city is Bratislava. The official language is Slovak, a member of the Slavic language family.

About some facts written on the postcard:

Martina Hingis (born 30 September 1980) is a Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as world No. 1. She has won five Grand Slam singles titles (three at the Australian Open, one at Wimbledon, and one at the US Open), eleven Grand Slam women's doubles titles, winning a calendar-year doubles Grand Slam in 1998, and four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles; for a combined total of twenty major titles.

Hingis was born in KošiceCzechoslovakia (now in Slovakia) as Martina Hingisová Molitor, to accomplished tennis players Melanie Molitorová and Karol Hingis.

Štefan Banič (23 November 1870 – 2 January 1941) was a Slovak inventor who devised a military parachute, the first parachute ever deployed in actual use.

Having witnessed a plane crash in 1912, Banič constructed a prototype of a parachute in 1913 and tested it in Washington, D.C. before U.S. Patent Office and military representatives, jumping first from a 15-storey building and subsequently from an airplane in 1914. Banič donated his patent, No. 1,108,484 to the U.S. Army.

Juraj Jánošík (first name also Juro or JurkoPolishJerzy JanosikHungarianJánosik György; baptised January 25, 1688, died March 17, 1713) was a famous Slovak highwayman. Jánošík has been the main character of many Slovak and Polish legends, novelspoems and films. He is a semi-legendary character in East-Central Europe.

Marián Hossa (born January 12, 1979) is a Slovak professional ice hockey right winger currently playing for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Gerlachovský štít (translated into English as Gerlach Peak) is the highest peak in the High Tatras, in Slovakia, and in the whole 1,500 km (930 mi) long Carpathian mountain chain, as well as in northern and central Europe (Visegrád Group).

Usually listed at 2,655 metres AMSL (8,711 ft), its exact elevation is actually 0.6 metres (2.0 feet) lower. The pyramidal shape of the massif is marked by a huge cirque. Despite its relatively low elevation, the about 2,000 m vertical rise from the valley floor makes Gerlachovský štít soar. Mistaken for an average mountain in the rugged High Tatras range in the more distant past, it has since played a symbolic role in the eyes of the rulers and populations of several Central European nations, to the point that between the 19th and mid-20th century, it had four different names with six name reversals. It managed to be the highest mountain of the Kingdom of Hungary, and of the countries of Czechoslovakia and Slovakia within the span of only about two decades of the 20th century.


Ewa just keeps making mistakes. On that card you see there's written Greetings from... Turkey instead of Slovakia. I understand that she wants to publish new cards as fast as she can, but I think she should proofread cards (twice as needed) before printing them. Complaining about that kind of mistakes on oh-so-popular-cards isn't what she wants, I'm sure.

Thank you, Lubomir !

Sent on: October 5, 2015
Received on: October 12, 2015

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