ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

History of Slovakia

Okay, kiddo! Let's talk about the history of Slovakia.

Well, a long long time ago, the land where Slovakia is now had lots of different tribes living on it, with different languages and traditions. Then, around 400 AD, some tribes of people called the Slavs moved into the area. They were farmers and also good at making things, like pottery.

Fast forward to the 800s, and a prince named Mojmir ruled over a place called the Great Moravian Empire, which included parts of Slovakia. A few hundred years later, in the 1200s, another group of people called the Magyars took over the area and ruled for a while, until the 1800s.

During the Middle Ages, various kingdoms and empires fought over the land, like the Austrian Empire and the Hungarian Empire. Slovakia became part of Hungary, and the people there started to identify as "Slovaks" instead of just "Slavs".

Then in 1918, Slovakia joined with other areas to form a new country called Czechoslovakia. This lasted until World War II, when Germany took over the country. After the war, Slovakia became a separate country again, but was still part of a bigger country called Czechoslovakia.

Finally, in 1993, after many decades of struggling for independence, Slovakia became its own independent country again. Since then, the people of Slovakia have been working to build a strong and prosperous nation of their own!