The study deals with the travelogue Notes on the Land of the Slovaks, published in 1787 in a collection of short travelogues in Leipzig. The author of the travelogue goes by the pseudonym Gottfried von Rotenstein. Based on literary-historical research, we discovered that his real name is Gottfried Stegmüller, a pharmacist, and owner of the pharmacy U červeného raka in Bratislava. He was the author of a series of travelogues published in Germany. It is noteworthy that Stegmüller understood by the land of the Slovaks the area north of Bratislava to almost Žilina, i.e. the area of Považie. Stegmüller set out on his journey from Bratislava on 11 July 1785. He traveled through Senec, Trnava, Hlohovec, Čachtice, Nové Mesto nad Váhom, Piešťany, Trenčín and Dubnica. The author wrote in his travelogue that the majority of the population in this area was Slovak. The author described in detail the peculiarities of the Slovak people.

The aim of this article is to present the development of geography's interest in the study of rural settlements from the earliest known works to the present day. The text analyses changes in priorities in the selection of substantive topics and approaches to the study of rural settlements, particularly in the context of major paradigmatic changes in society, science and geography itself. It therefore divides the history of the geographical study of rural settlements into four major temporal phases. These are the period from antiquity to the end of the 19th century (1), the period of the first half of the 20th century (2), the period of quantitative geography (3), and the current period within rural geography (4). Within the framework of the individual time stages, the text deals with the issues specifically in the world and specifically in the conditions of Slovak geography. Within the current (most prolific) period, the text is divided in even greater detail according to the individual regions of the world, in the environment of Slovak geography after 1989 according to the dominant research themes and according to the nature of the published works. The basic working method was a content analysis of available texts and electronic sources based on their search by keywords in the core database of the Web of Science portal and on the social platforms ResearchGate, Google Scholar and Academia.edu. The article has the ambition to build on previous, more concise and more narrowly focused works of Slovak geographers (Lobotka 1987, Zubriczký 2003).

The primary objective of this study is to analyze the national and provincial road network in the city of Constantine, employing a range of quantitative methods commonly used in transportation geography. The aim is to assess the current state of the city's road network, its adequacy, efficiency, and suitability in meeting the needs of the population. This evaluation will be conducted in terms of accessibility, connectivity between network components, and efficiency as measured by curvature and traffic volume. While transportation geography offers a variety of quantitative measurement techniques, this research will focus on four primary methods: (1) Network analysis based on the curvature index: This method will assess the efficiency of the road network by evaluating the degree of curvature of the road segments, (2) Network analysis based on daily traffic volume: This method will examine the capacity of the road network by measuring the volume of traffic on each road segment, (3) Network analysis based on connectivity and road dispersion: This method will assess the level of connectivity between different parts of the network and the overall distribution of roads within the study area, (4) Network analysis based on traffic volume density: This method will evaluate the concentration of traffic on the road network.

Schoolyard offers a unique opportunity to connect theoretical education with practical experiences, yet its potential often remains untapped. The article aims to analyse schoolyards from a perspective of sustainability, urbanism and their integration into natural science teaching, specifically into biology, geography, and chemistry. It discusses the functional and environmental aspects of schoolyard design, which can contribute to creating better conditions for outdoor education. The article concludes with a case study of an innovative schoolyard, and a design of a model schoolyard at the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, demonstrating how outdoor spaces can be effectively utilised to enhance the educational process.

Landscape represents a specific part of the earth's surface, while it has its own structure – primary, secondary and tertiary. The secondary landscape structure consists of elements of land use and material creations of man, which currently fill the earth's surface. The aim of the paper is to evaluate, based on the analysis of historical military and topographical maps, the changes in the secondary landscape structure in the area formed by the cadastral territories of selected municipalities in the eastern part of Upper Medzibodrožie Region. On four maps showing selected territories of Upper Medzibodrožie Region, we compare extensive changes that have occurred in the landscape structure mainly as a result of human intervention in the landscape structure. Historical maps show that the use of the Upper Medzibodrožie Region landscape has changed significantly over the past 150 years. River regulation, drainage works, deforestation and also the transformation of agriculture had a major impact on these changes. The results show that the largest decrease in area representation was recorded by forests and the largest increase by arable land.

In this paper we deal with the impact of PM10 and NO2 pollutants in selected urban-traffic, urban-background, and rural-background air quality stations in Slovakia in the period of 2016-2022 years. We selected only 26 air quality stations (AQS) out of 55 from National Air Quality Monitoring Network (NAQMN) which are managed with Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMI). We compared the average annual concentrations of PM10 and NO2 pollutants of urban-traffic, urban-background, and rural-background stations. The specific aim of this study is to demonstrate the decreasing trend of PM10 and NO2 pollutants in Slovakia and we aim to statistically prove the concentrations are lower at rural stations than at urban-traffic stations due to anthropogenic activity – traffic and industry. In conclusion, we proved that the lowest values are measured at rural-background stations. We undoubtedly proved that the higher concentrations of PM10 and NO2 are measured in agglomerations at urban-traffic stations. We statistically proved that concentrations of NO2 pollutants are 83 % and PM10 pollutants are 34 % lower at rural-background stations than at urban-traffic stations. We proved a decreasing trend of concentration of PM10 and NO2 pollutants in the period from 2016 to 2022 for both types of stations.

Turiec is one of the traditional regions of Slovakia, which is often described as romantic, unique, quirky and one the kind (Vahot in Demmel, 2022). Not only natural heritage, but also historic-cultural and etnographic legacy allows to create region of tourism with wide variability of available choices. One of the avaliable choices is the use of existing cycling network, which covers the large part of the region, connects majority of municipalities and allows visiting surrounding mountains and foothill areas. Objective of this article is to evaluate the network of cycle paths in the region, using a selected methodical procedure for creating the “bikeability“ index, while thanks to the created map outputs will be possible to point out suitable or less suitable locations, but also locations where new cycle paths could be created in the future. In this article, based on the achieved results, we propose practical submissions for pottencial new cycle paths, which could be marked in the future.

Most of the water reservoirs in Banská Štiavnica and its surroundings were built for mining, which was a major economic force in this area for centuries. While in the past these reservoirs, called tajchs were used precisely for mining purposes, nowadays, with the almost extinct mining activity, they have found a new application, primarily in the field of recreation. However, not all tajchs are equally attractive to visitors. The subject of interest in our contribution was therefore the evaluation of the recreation attractiveness of the Banská Štiavnica water reservoirs from the point of view of tourism. The evaluation was created using the valorization method, based on the materials obtained through bibliographic, field and questionnaire research. The results of the evaluation can be used in the development of tourism in localities of water reservoirs, since their attractiveness is directly related to the development of tourism.

The paper discusses phenomena in the rural area of the Vojvodina Region, which are recognized as opportunities that contribute to the balancing of regional development. The selection of phenomena is the result of clues about them found in the media. Through field observations and communication with the local population, knowledge about phenomena has been enriched. The task of the paper is to highlight the emergence of new, but also the renewal of old agricultural cultures that can be called new rural potentials. The importance of the work is to draw scientific attention to these "rays of hope", as the interlocutors called them during the research, and to highlight the need for continued monitoring because they can change certain natural and social characteristics of the Vojvodina Region.

The article provides insights into the existing state of balneotourism in the Košice Basin area (Eastern Slovakia), emphasizing the insufficient utilization of valuable mineral springs and advocating for immediate efforts in preservation and revitalization. By underscoring the cultural and therapeutic importance of these springs, the paper calls for a renewed dedication to their restoration in the context of modern balneotourism. The study offers a comprehensive examination of the current status of mineral springs in the selected area. Through field research, on-site measurements, and detailed analysis of 23 mineral springs in the Košice Basin's 11 municipalities, the research encompasses various factors, including temperature, chemical composition, yield, drilling depth, overall mineralization, and therapeutic effects. Utilizing a synthesis approach, the research establishes a strategic framework for the effective utilization of mineral waters. These findings play a crucial role in shaping an informed policy aimed at harnessing this valuable resource to drive the development of balneotourism.