Kosher and Jewish Life in Slovakia

The majority of Slovak Jews live in Bratislava, the capital, but there are also Jewish communities in Košice, Presov, Piestany, NowyZamky, and other towns. Today, there are an estimated 3,000 Jews in Slovakia but as in many communities, there is a disproportionate number of elderly people. In recent years, however, many younger people have rediscovered their Jewish origins, injecting new life into the remnant of Slovak Jewry. For close to a millennium, Slovakia was an integral part of Hungary, and the history of its Jewish community is tied to that of Hungarian Jewry. Before World War II, Bratislava (also known as Pressburg) was a great center of Jewish learning, and its yeshiva was among the most celebrated in all of Europe. Slovak Jewry included Chassidim, proponents of religious Orthodoxy, and Neolog reformer. Slovak Jews have been strongly influenced by Hungarian (and, to a lesser extent, German) culture, and many, particularly in southern Slovakia, are native Hungarian speakers.