Historical Sketch

The Austro-Hungarian defeat in the First World War triggered the fall of the Habsburg monarchy. The Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed and disintegrated into different national states. The former crown lands of Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia merged into Czechoslovakia in 1918. In the late 1930s, Nazi Germany first obtained the cession of the Sudetenland border territory, then occupied and dissolved Czechoslovakia before the outbreak of World War II. Bohemia-Moravia became a German protectorate while Slovakia became nominally independent. After the liberation in 1945, Czechoslovakia was restored under communist rule. In the 1990s the dissent between the two parts of the country became apparent again, and at the end of 1992, Czechoslovakia was dissolved for the second time and partitioned into Czechia and Slovakia.

Monetary History Overview

In 1939, Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany and split up into the Protectorate of Bohemia-Moravia and nominally independent Slovakia. The Czechoslovakian National Bank was succeeded by the Slovak National Bank. The 1st Slovak Crown was introduced at par and got pegged to the German Reichsmark. Slovak border territory had been annexed to Poland and Hungary already in 1938 and adopted their currencies. After the German defeat in 1945, Czechoslovakia was recreated under communist rule. The annexed territories were retaken and until mid-June, the Hungarian money was withdrawn and exchanged into Slovak banknotes. In November 1945, the Slovak Crown was exchanged at par into the new Czechoslovak currency, however, cash holdings above a threshold were confiscated and transformed into a state loan.

In January 1993, the Slovak Republic became one of the successors of Czechoslovakia. The 2nd Slovak Crown replaced the Czechoslovak Crown at par. The currency has remained stable after that. In 2009, Slovakia joined the European Monetary Union and introduced the European Euro. The Slovak banknotes and coins were withdrawn in within half a month.

Slovakia joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 01.01.1993.

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