Every snowflake consists of six parts of crystals; each of them represents a secret, while the seventh secret is the snowflake itself. The number 7 is a symbol of good fortune. It can remind people of the seven wonders of the world. Slovakia, a tourism country, has its own seven secrets. Throughout the whole year, she shows her great charm to people from all around the world: long history, natural virgin lands, comfortable tour center, abundant cultural and entertainment resources and the most important secret – hospitable native people.

(1) Bratislava

Architecture here gives people a simple and unadorned impression at the first sight. However, if you tour around the whole city, you will be impressed by the avenues full of houses with classical style. Those simple and undecorated squares have a simple and lovely style. This city is really a lovely place. The civilization here traces back to the ancient time. 2000 years ago, there existed primitive towns built by Celts. Then Romans built their military camps here, while Slaves began to settle here in the six century AD. In 1291 AD, the city was regarded as a freedom city, which is the most significant event happened here. Thereafter, the center of this city served as the coronation place for sovereigns of Kingdom of Hungary. More than 300 blocks of buildings here witnessed many historical events. All together there were 11 Kings and 8 Queens crowned here. Near the square in city center, there is a coronation road which recorded the glory of this city. It is paved with 178 crown-decorated copper plates on the ground.

(2) St. Martin’s Cathedral

St. Martin’s Cathedral was crowned as a holy church in 1452 AD. The highest part of its chancel is as high as 18.5 meters. The clock tower is 85 meters high. The amazing thing is that there is a gold-plated table of two square meters on the clock tower. On this table, there is a gilt duplicate of the crown of Hungary King, which weighs about 300 kilometers. During the first World War, the five bells were melted to build cannons. The only survived bell weighs about 2 tons. In a word, you can find a lot of amazing things here.

Bratislava Castle is a also wonder during those periods. In the past, it was a relatively small castle owned by a Slav duke. Then it became a administrative place of the capital of the kingdom and finally became a residence of the imperial minister. Till 1811, there happened a catastrophic fire which made Bratislava castle turn into a pile of ruins.

Reconstruction and decoration are made 150 years after that disaster. The present castle contains the reception hall of Councils of Slovak Republic. The castle is characterized by four tower halls. This architectural style dates back to the period between 1635 and 1649. The castle stands 85 meters higher than Danube River. You can overview the whole city from each observatory.

The Palacio Arzobispal is really a treasure among those classical architectures in Bratislava. After the war of Slavkov, France which was under the reign of Napoleon sighed Pressburg Peace Treaty with Austria in the Mirror hall of Palacio Arzobispal. Now, there is a reception hall of Bratislava mayor, in which you can see six pieces of 17th century tapestry. On the front door, there is a cardinal hat which is 1.8 meters in diameter, but weighs about 150 kilograms.

(3) World Cultural Heritage

Slovakia owns many cultural heritage which are likely to make other Central European countries admire. This benefitS from the profound human civilization here. I would like to introduce Maria Theresa who is a great lady regarded as mother of Austria. She was crowned in the St. Martin’s Cathedral in Bratislava. During the years between 1563 to 1830, there were a total of 11 Hungarian kings and 9 Queen crowned in St. Martin’s Cathedral and Franciscan churches including Maria Theresa. Today, it has become a historical site which attracts many tourists.

Banska Stiavnica

Apart from the technical resources of mining, Stiavnica owns abundant water resources and other resources. It has been called “silver city” because there were a number of silver mines. You can easily find that this city is quite wealthy if you see those 215 national historical cites. Here there are two late Gothic cathedrals every 500 meters. It became the third largest city of the Kingdom of Hungary in 18th century. A unique water system was built from 16th century to 18th century. This system contains 60 man-made water bodies which make the horizontal drains and water channels become a integrity. Under the ground of this city there are several levels of water channels with the deepest place as deep as 900 meters. There are many kinds of architectures and places of interests on the ground where tourists can do mining by themselves.

(4) Caves

Caves in Slovakia are unique in the world because there are few countries in the world can have so many Karst caves, which attract nearly 650,000 tourists every year from around the world. Over several decades, dozens of caves have been inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO, among which there is a complex Slovenia cave constructed by more than 400 caves. Besides, there exists the world highest crystalline rock settled around mineral spring. It is as high as 32.6 meters and has been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Domica cave, which situates near Ple ivec – a small town of Slovakia, is one of the biggest discovered caves in Slovakia. It winds 5 kilometers under the ground and stretches into the border of Hungary, being a part of Hungary Aggtelek National Park. 35000 years ago, there were people lived in Domica cave. It was opened to the public since 1932. It took shape because of the erosion of the underground rive and Domicky. When water in the underground river is rich enough, you can take a boat to enjoy the beautiful scenery of those caves.

(5) Castles

As recorded in history, there were about 300 castles in Slovakia, but now there are only 168 castles left here, among which 109 castles belong to historical sites under the protection the government. These castles are not only witnesses of the long history, but also used for many beneficial cultural activities, such as cultural festival, competition, martial arts demonstration, fairs, musical concerts and romantic weddings.

Trencin Castle

Trencin castle is one of the biggest castle groups in Slovakia and it is located in the highest place of Trencin city and the whole Vah River district. It is built on the basis of the primitive castle of Great Moravia. The outer shape of Trencin castle originates from the local nobility in 13th century. In 1790 AD, Trencin city suffered a big fire which spread to the whole castle and ruined the castle. Although the ground floor was renovated, the reconstruction of the whole castle had not started until the 50s of last century.

Red Stone Castle

Red Stone castle is the most perfectly-preserved fortress architecture of Renaissance style in Slovakia. Its huge basement and the architectural style are unique in the whole Europe. This castle is the most frequently-visited castle in Slovakia. It is also recognized as one of the most beautiful castles in Slovakia.

(6) Spring

Slovakia was once famous for its mineral water and hot spring. Every year, more and more foreign tourists come to Slovakia for spa service for the sake of health and beauty.

The Most Ancient Spring Kurhaus

The most ancient spring Kurhaus of Slovakia is located in Bardejov. The preserved written records show that early in the year of 1217, people in Bardejov used spring to do therapy.

The Most Famous Slovakia Spring City

Piestany, a spa resort located along the bank of Vah River, is the most famous spring city in Slovakia. It is a place covered with big trees, small gardens, straight and broad sandy road, and orderly exquisite architectures. The temperature of the spring here is between 67 degrees and 69 degrees. There are about 1500 milligrams of mineral substance, which have good medical effects.

Tatra Mountains National Park

Although Tatra mountain is not renowned in the world, it is a unique scenery in Europe because it contains so much natural beauty in a relatively small area. Tatra Mountains National Park is jointly built by Slovakia and Poland. Most part of the park is within the boundary of Slovakia, while the other part is within Poland. Surrounded by a lot of trees, those beautiful lakes are the best places for lovers to come to swim in a quiet night. The scenery along the lakes can not be called to be peerless, but they are loved by those travellers who appreciate natural scenery.

(7) Wooden Houses

Like all the countries in Europe, tourists can see many churches in Slovakia. As the most northern province of the Roman Empire and the central area of Hungary for hundreds of years, those ancient castles in Slovakia convey mysterious stories. Those cultural relics which survive in the invasion of Napoleon forces are really amazing. But the most impressive things here are wooden churches and wooden villages. The wooden village is located in Cicmany, where all the houses are made of woods. On the walls of these houses, there painted white pictures which look like primitive totems. These architectures seem to be a kind of special plant which grow from the underground and live harmoniously with the nature.

Compared with neighbours like Hungary, Poland and Czech who want to regain the past glory, Slovakia gives me an impression of a place without spiritual burden. He is carefree and delightful as if a common people without power. But he still leads a happy life. This kind of less splendid life is admired by those ambitious people. He is like a charmingly naive mole who is often bullied by other animals. But he never feels nervous. He is just to solve these problems by his wisdom and leads a happy life with his own shovel.