Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary… Perhaps, recently these countries can be considered one of the most popular. Tourists from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus with great pleasure go on vacation there. And this is far from accidental. These states willingly open visas for our citizens, requesting a very modest package of documents, and a lot of attractions, as a rule, appeal to everyone, even the most capricious travelers.
By the way, in the old days, in a purely practical sense, for example, the border between the Czech Republic and Slovakia has always been considered one of the easiest, there were almost never traffic jams, and the staff was distinguished by amazing courtesy and a high level of professionalism. In Hungary, on the other hand, there has always been a responsive attitude towards little travelers, special attention was paid to married couples, sometimes they were even let through without much screening and queue.
What has changednow? Will those who traveled to this place 10 or even 15 years ago be disappointed?
Let's try to figure it out.
Slovakia - Czech Republic. General information about state cordons
First of all, we note that the line separating the two modern countries has a length of 796 km.
The border in its modern form, in which you can see it now, has existed not so long ago, since the early 90s.
If you delve into history, you can remember that this date marked the collapse of Czechoslovakia into two independent states. Until 1993, i.e. before the split of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, this mark on the political map of the world was part of the Polish-Czechoslovak border.
Border crossings
According to the data received for 2007, the border at that time was already divided into 117 so-called border crossings, 107 of which were road sections and included points for receiving tourists and freight transport, and another 10 were railway.
Since the Czech Republic and Poland signed the Schengen Agreement, from December 21, 2007, absolutely all border crossings had to be abolished and now you can cross the so-called border "Slovakia - Czech Republic" anywhere. There are no problems, let alone troubles. Although, as practice shows, for cars with Russian, Ukrainian or Belarusian numbers, it is in this place that employees of the local road police most often check documentsservices.
Location of a geopolitical object
Such rather large states, by European standards, of course, as the Czech Republic and Slovakia, are perfectly visible on the map. Even an ordinary student of the 7th or 8th grade can easily find them.
But listing local voivodeships is far from possible for every adult, especially since the names are considered quite difficult to remember and pronounce.
So, such voivodeships as Lower Silesian, Opole and Silesian border on the Czech Republic. In turn, Poland has common borders with Hradec Kralove, Liberec, Moravian-Silesian, Olomouc and Pardubice regions.
Educational History
For the first time, the border "Slovakia - Czech Republic" appeared after the Polish tribes united with the subordination of Moravia to the princes of the Czech Republic. This event took place in the distant 9th century. A sanction issued at the beginning of the 18th century, according to which all Czech lands were included in Austria-Hungary, abolished this cordon.
However, in 1918, when the independence of Poland and Czechoslovakia was fully restored, the border reappeared and existed until 1939, after which, in connection with the proclamation of Slovakia as an independent country, a border was created between Poland and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, which existed until before the outbreak of World War II. She disappeared because the Soviet-German agreement was signed on the borders established in the occupied territory. Poland.
In 1958, a cordon was again created between countries and an exchange of territories was carried out as part of the correction of borders. In particular, Poland gave Czechoslovakia 1205.9 hectares, and Czechoslovakia Poland - 837.46 hectares. This fact led both countries to the so-called "border debt", which amounted to 368 hectares. This debt has been regulated by the Czech-Polish Border Commission since 1992.
Three years ago, the Czech radio broadcast a message that the Czech Ministry of Internal Affairs wants to give Poland 365 hectares of territory located in the Liberec region and on the so-called Friedlant peninsula, between Swieradow-Zdrój and Bogatynia. The day after this announcement, Polish Minister Jerzy Miller publicly stated that such a border correction had nothing to do with the border debt, but only with the administrative procedures that needed to be carried out as a result of the change in river valleys.
Opinions of residents of border areas
Residents believe that today the difference between the two countries is almost imperceptible. The way of life of these countries is almost the same, and the buildings are made in the same styles. Therefore, one does not have to get used to a foreign culture.
However, a few years ago, the region, which lay near the border "Slovakia - Czech Republic", massively suffered from unemployment. In particular, the Czechs themselves found something to do there with difficulty, which, of course, was not good.
Now, after the accession of both countries to the European Union, this problem has disappeared.
The nuances of crossing the border. Are there any?
Due to the fact that between the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic there is a Schengen agreement, crossing the cordon does not cause any difficulties.
Unless border guards from Poland and Serbia can stop a car or even a bus and check documents, as well as conduct a search, which will take at least an hour.
But for the most part, crossing the border is done smoothly and quickly.
