The Foreigner's Guide to Living in Slovakia

It all started with my curiosity over a street name I saw in Nitra: Wilsonova ulica.

In the Slovak language ova is one of the suffixes added to the end of a street name. This ending is added because the word “street” is a noun and the name is the adjective form describing the street. For example, Bernolákova ulica is Bernolák Street, and in this case named after Anton Bernolák, first codifier of the Slovak language. Other examples are Einsteinova or Kopernikova streets.

When I lived in Zlate Moravce I often took the bus to Nitra to go shopping for the day. As the bus comes into Nitra, just before crossing the main street where the Tesco is located, there is a street called Wilsonova. This was strange to me. I had seen many streets with Russian names such as Gagarinova or Sputnikova but I had never seen any British/American names. “W” is not even a letter in the Slovak alphabet.

Could it be? A street named after Wilson? If so, which Wilson?

Wilsonova streets are found in many towns across Slovakia and are named after Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States. I discovered another interesting fact about President Wilson and Slovakia later on: After WWI ended and Czechoslovakia was being formed, the name Wilsonovo mesto or Wilson Town was briefly considered for naming what is now called Bratislava. Before 1918 the town was referred to by three names- Pressburg by the Germans, Pozony by the Hungarians, and Prešporok by Slovaks. Even if the name Wilsonovo mesto was only a suggestion that may have not been seriously considered, it is still a great compliment and curious that some would feel so strongly about President Wilson .

Why was President Wilson such an important person to Czechs and Slovaks? What did he do for them?

Though there were several causes for the First World War, one of the most compelling was the rise of ethnic nationalism, which culminated in the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire (an empire that was comprised of many different ethnic groups including Czechs and Slovaks) in 1914.

Wilson was President when the US joined the war in 1917. In early 1918, President Wilson gave his Fourteen Points speech to the US Congress. Even though the speech was delivered to American lawmakers, it became foreign policy and became the basis for the terms of the surrender of the Central Powers.

Point 10 is what was of interest to the different ethnic groups of Austria-Hungary:

The peoples of Austria-Hungary, whose place among the nations we wish to see safeguarded and assured, should be accorded the freest opportunity to autonomous development.

With support from the Allies, including President Wilson and the US, Czechoslovakia was established on October 20, 1918. Wilson had met the future Czechoslovak President, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, in the United States and had been won over to the idea of self-determination for the Czechs and Slovaks.

To this day Czech and Slovak Ambassadors come to the Woodrow Wilson House in Washington DC to honor his vision.

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