Slovakia Spectator
Thu, 25 Dec 2025 09:16:58 +01003 free things to do in Bratislava in the next seven days
Ring in the New Year with live music in the city centre, or keep the festive mood going with a Christmas concert by Le Payaco.
Wed, 24 Dec 2025 17:57:00 +0100Top 10 events in Bratislava for foreigners
See in the New Year in the Old Town, run across Bratislava’s bridges, and take a ride on the Christmas tram.
Wed, 24 Dec 2025 07:30:23 +0100Before it was tradition, the Christmas tree was a luxury — and a fire risk
From aristocratic salons to rural homes, the Christmas tree spread slowly across Europe, evolving alongside technology, taste and safety.
Tue, 23 Dec 2025 23:59:00 +0100News digest: Roof collapse in eastern Slovakia kills three a day before Christmas
Most Slovak shops will once again close for the Christmas holidays.
Tue, 23 Dec 2025 23:02:18 +0100End of the €1 bargain? EU targets cheap Chinese imports
New €3 fee on small parcels could hit millions of online shoppers across Europe.
Tue, 23 Dec 2025 22:11:44 +0100Are you lonely this Christmas?
Christmas can be especially hard if you live abroad.
Tue, 23 Dec 2025 18:05:12 +0100Bulgaria to adopt euro in 2026, lev exchange available in Slovakia
The Bulgarian lev will be replaced by the euro on 1 January, with Slovak central bank branches offering free banknote exchanges for a limited period.
Tue, 23 Dec 2025 17:36:57 +0100Despite fiscal tightening, Slovakia faces another weak year in 2026
The central bank expects growth to remain below 1 percent next year, as continued consolidation weighs on households while public debt and budget pressures persist.
Tue, 23 Dec 2025 13:59:31 +0100When the cuckoo finishes, the folk musicians begin in rural Slovakia
In central Slovakia, the country’s largest cuckoo clock now marks the hour with folk musicians, blending superstition, music and craft.
Tue, 23 Dec 2025 09:17:15 +0100Slovak Word of the Year 2025
Shame has value, even when those who evoke it pretend to ignore it.
Mon, 22 Dec 2025 23:59:00 +0100News digest: Slovakia’s “most optimistic man” prepares to leave
PM Fico’s delayed gift, drama on the Slovak–Austrian border, and Piešťany pulling out of an international hockey tournament over a bizarre legal dispute.
Mon, 22 Dec 2025 22:06:42 +0100Slovak president faces backlash during Serbia visit as minority critics are shut out
Peter Pellegrini’s joint visit to Vojvodina with Serbia’s Aleksandar Vučić has angered Slovaks who accuse Bratislava of ignoring repression and dissent.
Mon, 22 Dec 2025 20:02:20 +0100Slovakia’s hidden gorge: a dramatic canyon carved by time
In the Slovak Karst National Park, the Zádiel Valley offers towering limestone cliffs, birds of prey and accessible walking trails.
Mon, 22 Dec 2025 14:00:00 +0100Bratislava’s silent spires: the city that forgot how to tell its sacred stories
While Prague sells its mystique, Bratislava’s churches hold untold stories of faith, conflict and solidarity uncovered by photographer Andrej Ďuríček.
Mon, 22 Dec 2025 11:32:53 +0100Slovakia finally opens a tunnel it has been building since the 1990s
After missed deadlines, fired contractors, waterlogged rock and costs running into the hundreds of millions, the Višňové tunnel is finally open.
Sat, 20 Dec 2025 07:00:00 +0100Award-winning neuroscientist: Public prize means a lot and that many people notice our work
Zuzana Gdovinová significantly contributed to the formation of the country’s register of patients with stroke.
Fri, 19 Dec 2025 21:16:56 +0100News digest: Fico rebels over EU support for Ukraine's war effort, ignores Russia's role
Leaked photo of Lajčák with Epstein, five Palestinian students evacuated to Slovakia, and Slovak exports to the United States struggle under tariffs.
Fri, 19 Dec 2025 14:48:47 +0100Photo: Then foreign minister Miroslav Lajčák met Jeffrey Epstein at Slovak embassy
PM Fico defends his adviser and mocks female opposition MPs, while Lajčák insists his contacts with Epstein were professional.
Fri, 19 Dec 2025 11:13:00 +0100The oldest street in Bratislava
A Christmas card from 1912 is addressed to far off Sweden.
Fri, 19 Dec 2025 10:56:45 +0100“Last one, turn on the lights” lights up Nová Tržnica’s façade
The illuminated sign will light up Bratislava’s Centre Pompidou until the end of January.