Date of establishment: January 1,1993 (after splitting of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic)Form of government: republicPolitical system: parliamentary democracyPopulation: about 5,400,000 (out of them 51.5% of women)Area: 49,035 sq. kmOfficial language: SlovakCapital: Bratislava (about 430,000 inhabitants)Ethnic mix of the population: Slovaks (85.8%), Hungarians (9.7%), Roma (1.7%), Czechs (0.8%), Ruthenians (0.4%), Ukrainians (0.2%), Germans (0.1%), Others (0.2%), Unknown (1.1%)Currency: Slovak Koruna, from January 1, 2009 replaced by €Membership in international organisations: EU, NATO, UN, OECD, OSCE, WHO, INTERPOL etc.

SLOVAK REPUBLIC

In terms of its size and importance in the Slovak Republic, the city of Košice ranks immediately after the capital Bratislava. It lies in the eastern part of Slovakia, not far from the borders with Hungary (20 km), Ukraine (80 km) and Poland (90 km).

Košice, the second largest city in Slovakia, is easily reached by plane, train, and bus as well as by car.

There is an international airport in Košice, located 6 km south from the city centre, which is the destination of daily regular flights from Prague, Vienna, and Bratislava.

Letisko Košice - Airport Košice, a.s.General Enquiries: ++421-55-683 21 23 www.airportkosice.sk

International trains connect the city with a number of major cities in neighbouring countries, including Prague, Warsaw, Moscow, Kiev and Budapest.

Commonly used domestic route Bratislava-Žilina-Poprad-Košice by IC takes about 5 hours.

The Railways of the Slovak Republic (ZSR) www.zsr.sk

Please see for more information (events, accommodation, tourist guides, wandering, etc.) - Municipality information centre Kosice - M i C KOSICE www.mickosice.sk

DISTANCES FROM KOŠICE OF SOME EUROPEAN CITIES

Amsterdam(Holland) 1665 kmBarcelona (Spain) 2340 kmBerlin (Germany) 1140 kmBrussel (Belgium) 1550 kmBudapest (Hungary) 267 kmFrankfurt (Germany) 1210 kmKiev (Ukraine) 850 kmLondon (Great Britanian) 2117 kmMoscow (Russia) 1005 kmMünchen (Germany) 884 kmParis (France) 1997 kmPrague (Czech Republic) 667 kmRoma (Italy) 1590 kmVienna (Austria) 467 km

– one of the oldest towns in Slovakia – lies at the place where the River Hornád emerges from its pisturesque wooded valley and flows onto an extensive plain. This is a city with a rich and glorious past. It starts with the first mention of a community here in a document from the year 1230, when Košice is referred to as „villa Cassa“. The town itself was founded by German colonists from Lower Saxony together with the original local Slav settlers after the year 1243. It is assumed that in 1290 Košice acquired town privileges, with the right to hold markets and fairs, collect taxes and duild fortified walls.

Further privileges granted in 1342 and 1347 gave Košice the status of a free royal town, ranking it as one of the leading centres of Greater Hungary. Then in 1369 King Ludovicus Magnus granted Košice a coat of arms, making it absolutely the first town in Europe to us such a symbol on the basis of a royal armorial warrant.Following the period of economic flourishing and relative peace in the 14th and 15th centuries, Košice in the 16th and 17th centuries experienced troubled times as a result first of the Turkish invasion threat, then the religious conflicts of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, and later the series of aristocratic rebellions against the Habsburgs. Despite repeated armed clashes, during this time the Jesuits were able to make Košice a seat of learning with its own university and secondary schools.

KOŠICE

The confucion of the incipient Modern Age gave way to peace and progressive growth in the 18th and 19th centuries. The new Baroque architecture flourished here, followed by neo-Classicism and Romanticism; the aristocracy moved into the town, promoting the arts, theatre and

social life. By the end of the 19th century Košice had developed into one of the most important industrial cities in Greater Hungary. In 1918 Košice became part of the first Czechoslovak Republic, and although the wartime Hungarian occupation from 1938 to 1945 brought economic and demographic decline, at the end of the Second World War Košice for a while became the capital of the re-established Czechoslovakia.From the 1950’s onwards the city experienced furious growth, accelerated mainly by the building of the East Slovakian Steelworks. In the space of one generation there was a five-fold increase in the city’s population, and twenty-fold expansion in its built-up area.

Košice, the seat of three universities and home to more than 240 000 people, is mentioned in historical documents as a crossroads af ancient trading routes.

The most beautiful and most important piece of Gothic heritage in Slovakia, St. Elizabeth’s Catedral in the heart of Košice with an area of 1200 sq. metres, enjoys the admiration of thousand of visitors.

Construction started around the year 1380 and continued in several phases until 1508, and has never been truly completed.

The high altar was made between 1474-77. On the two pairs of altar wings there are altogether 48 pictures portraying the life of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, a Passion and an Advent cycle.

In 1804 the church became a cathedral, because Pope Pius VII accepted the proposal of Emperor Franz of Austria to establish the Košice bishopric.

Many great stories are linked with the Cathedral. Probably the oldest is the one about the hollow stone built into the walls in some place, which if it were found and removed, would cause the whole Cathedral to collapse. The secret of this stone has been awaiting discovery for centuries, but the truth about it is known only by the people who laid it in the Catedral walls.

St. Michael’s Chapelwas built in the mid-14th century and shows traces of Burgundian architecture. It originally functioned as a charnel-house – bone repository. It stands on the spot of the former town cemetery.

Urban’s Toweris the second-oldest piece of built heritage in Košice. The original bell-tower was erected in the early 14th century, but its present-day appearance is the result of reconstruction in the 1970’s.The bell on display outside the tower is the reconstituted remains of the famous old bell named Urban, cast in 1557.

The Dominican churchis the oldest religious building in Košice. It was built at the turn of the 13th - 14th century. Outside the church sanctuary stands the sculpture group of the Holy Trinity from 1721.

The Franciscan churchwas originally built in Gothic style at the turn of the 14th - 15th century, but it was renovated in Baroque style in 1724.

The theatre,built between 1897-99 in neo-Baroque style to the plan of Adolf Lang, is a unique piece of work by the construction firms of the Jakab brothers and Michal Repászky. The building’s cupola is adorned with a copy of the figure of Aurora, friend of the Muses. The auditorium is lyre-shaped, with rich sculptural and ornamental decoration. The cupola of the main hall is decorated with breath-taking scenes from Shakespeare’s plays. The scultural decoration is the work of Edi Mayer of Budapest, and the ceiling paintings are by Peregrin Gastgeb of Vienna.

Jakab’s Palacewas built in neo-Gothic style in 1899 by master-builder Arpád Jakab as his family residence. For a time the President of the Czechoslovak Republic Edvard Benéš had his office here.

The neo-Classical old town hallwas built in 1779-80, and served as such until the mid-1920’s. From 1928 to 1996 it housed the Ján Bocatius city library.

The palace of Count Forgácswas built im Empire (neo-Classical) style in the 19th century. From 1851 it was the seat of the Sheriff of the Košice District, but in 1878 a casino was established here. Since 1946 this building has been used by the regional research library, which keeps old books here such as incunabula from the 16th century.

The oldest in EuropeEight bold men, enthused by the idea of Vojtech Bukovský, who had recently returned from the Olympic Games in Paris, started off the story of the Košice Marathon on 28th October 1924.Every year on the first Sunday in October, the city comes alive to the steps of thousands of endurance runners, aficionados of the most classical but also the most difficult of athetic disciplines.

The city’s golden prideFor more than 250 years the golden treasure lay hidden below the stone floor in the cellar of house no.68 on the Main Street. Then on 24th August 1935 precisely, the workers of a Košice construction company discovered the treasure just like something out of a fairy-tale.The find stunned them so much that they wanted to keep it illegally. Fortunately they had second thoughts, and the treasure is now the pride of the city. It consists of a collection of 2920 gold coins, mostly ducats and doubloons, and three gold medals (the oldest dating from 1525) and a Renaissance gold chain 2.14 metres long.

Home of Universities and Sciences

Education is promoted by the various apprentice schools, specialized secondary schools, academies and grammar schools in Košice.

Three universities are based here: The University of P. J. Šafárik in Košice www.upjs.sk The Technical University www.tuke.sk The University of Veterinary Medicine www.uvm.sk

Except of these, in Košice there are located additional smaller educational units which belong to universities from other parts of Slovakia: Faculty of Business Economics (part of University of Economics in Bratislava), Faculty of Theology (part of the Catholic University in Ružomberok) and many others.

In Košice, there are more Institutes of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS).SAS is a self-governming scientific organisation of the Slovak Republic established by special Act, the activity of which is aimed at the development of science, education, culture, and the economy. www.sav.sk

UNIVERSITY OF PAVOL JOZEF ŠAFÁRIK IN KOŠICE

1770 – the bishop’s Alma Mater Universalis Episcopalis was transformed to Academia regia Cassoviensis as two-year Law Faculty with philosophical orientation

1921 – the University completed its existence for 38 years

1959 – old University traditions were renewed by foundation of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice which consisted of Faculty of Medicine in Košice, Faculty of Philosophy in Prešov (Faculty of Medicine existed since 1949 as a part of Comenius University in Bratislava)

1657 – beginning of university education in Košice – foundation of Academia Cassoviensis by Benedikt Kishdy, bishop of Eger

1660 – Golden Bull awarded by Leopold I, which gave the University and the city the same privileges as for instance, Cologne, Vienna, Graz and others

In 1990 two new faculties were established: Greek-Catholic Theologian Faculty in Prešov and Orthodox Theologian Faculty in Prešov

In 1997 after difficult discussion at the University and in the Parliament of the Slovak Republic the University split into two independent Universities: University of P. J. Šafárik in Košice and University of Prešov in PrešovUniversity of P. J. Šafárik in Košice consisted of three faculties: Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Science and Faculty of Law

In 1998 a new Faculty of Public Aministration was founded as a part of University of P. J. Šafárik in Košice

In 1999 – 2006 Faculty of Science opened an educational unit in the city of Rožňava, in the mine region near the birthplace of P. J. Šafárik

The new University has enlarged by new faculties:1963 – Faculty of Science in Košice1964 – Faculty of Education in Prešov1973 – Faculty of Law in Košice1998 – Faculty of Public Administration in Košice2007 – Faculty of Arts in Košice

In 2006 a whole-university educational and research unit Institute of Education of University of P. J. Šafárik in Košice was founded with its seat in Rožňava

In 2007 a Faculty of Arts of University of P. J. Šafárik in Košice was founded

The key mission of University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik in Košice is to provide higher education based on the newest scientific findings in a wide international context, following the European trends and goals laid down in the Bologna Declaration and other documents. Developing a harmonious personality by its knowledge improvement, wisdom and creativity rise in a person, the University fulfils its mission.

University is named after an outstanding personality of the Slovak history,

Pavol Jozef Šafárik (1795 - 1861)

who was a scientist, poet, linguist, ethnographer, archaelogist and educator.

FACULTIES OF UNIVERSITY OF P. J. ŠAFÁRIK IN KOŠICE

Faculty of Medicine Faculty of Science Faculty of Law

Faculty of Public Administration

Faculty of Arts The Institute ofEducation in Rožňava

FACULTY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (FPA)(Fakulta verejnej správy)

Historical Introduction

Idea to build study of public administration at University of P. J. Šafárik in Košice has arise as a fruit of cooperation with Bayreuth University in Germany. In early 90s there was prepared common project of the Institute of Public Administration.

The institute started its educational activities in 1994 as a part of Faculty of Law, University of P. J. Šafárik in Košice. In 1998 this institute was transformed into autonomous Faculty of Public Administration – the 4 th faculty of University of P. J. Šafárik in Košice. Three years later, Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic accredited faculty’s master programm in public administration.

Since its very beginnings, there has been very high interest to study at Faculty of Public Administration. Nowadays, faculty has approximately 800 students in all forms of study and study programs.

Department of EconomicSciences

kev@fvs.upjs.sk

Department of JuridicalSciences

kpv@fvs.upjs.sk

Department of SocialSciences

ksv@fvs.upjs.sk

Dean's office

sekrfvs@fvs.upjs.sk

Organizational Structure

Research activities

Since its establishment, faculty has been paying high attention to the development of scientific and research activities. Beginning with the year 2000, faculty members have obtained several grants from VEGA (Scientific Grant Agency) on their research projects.

Research activities constitute inseparable part of the life at Faculty of Public Administration. Staff members handle a lot of research grant projects like

Economical System of Self-government after joining EU Human Factor and Communication in Public Administration Organizational Culture in Public Administration Organizations Realization and Preservation of Human Rights in Public Administration Administrative Organizational Systems in Modern Democracies Economic and Legal Aspects of Public Administration in Regional

Contexts Through Exchange Programme to Citizen Friendly Public Administration Social Justice, Normative Believes and Social Differentation Comparative Sociological Study of the Trends in Marital and Partnership

Relations in West Europe and in Slovakia

Faculty organizes international scientific conferences where researchers, university teachers and practitioners discuss both theoretical and practical problems of public administration.

In the year 2000 the faculty started issuing scientific journal “Verejná správa a spoločnosť“ (Public Administration and Society, ISSN 1335-7182). It brings empirical and theoretical studies from the different aspects of public administration.

The scientific journal “Sociálne a politické analýzy“ (Social and Policy Analysis, ISSN 1337-555, http://sapa.fvs.upjs.sk) is an interactive electronic platform devoted to communication and presentation (publishing) of experts and results of their work from the area of basic and applied research and analyses in sociological, psychological, psychological, politological and methodological contexts.

In addition to these activities, the faculty staff prepare each year the number of textbooks for university students. Through these steps, the faculty developes public administration as a science as well as a study program in Slovak republic.

International relations

The development of international relations belongs to most important aims. The faculty has good cooperation with

University of Bayreuth (Germany)

The Volga Region Academy for Civil Service in Saratov (Russia)

The Faculty of Economics and Administration in Pardubice (Czech Republic)

Corvinus University, The Faculty of Public Administration in Budapest (Hungary)

Fachhochschule in Ludwigsburg (Germany)

Panteon University of Athens (Greece)

Scoala Nationalade de Studii Politice si Administrative Bucharest (Romania)

University of Leon (Spain)

Beograd University (Serbia)

Our faculty is a member of The International Forum for Public Administration and Management (IFPAM), NISPAcee (Network of Institutes and Schools of Public Administration in Central and Eastern Europe) and European Public Administration Network (EPAN).

Study at Faculty

Full-time study in the study program “Public administration“ started in the academic year 1998/1999. In the academic year 2001/ 2002 distance form of study also started.

At present, faculty offers following accredited study programs: 3 years Bc study in public administration 2 years MA study in public administration

Since 2002 it is possible to attain the academic title of “PHDr.“ (Doctor of Philosophy).

Study of public administration is organized as an interdisciplinary object built on the three pillars: social, economic and juridical disciplines.

All forms of study and all study programs are organized as credit study fully compatible with ECTS.

Study program (2008/2009)Bachelor Degree

Compulsory course units

Legal Theory, Politics, Constitutional Law of SR, Social Security Law, Material Administrative Law I, Material Administratite Law II

Economic Theory, Managerial Economics, Economics of Public Administration and Public Sector, Public Finance I, Public Finance II, Accounting in Public Administration

Sociology, Introduction to Public Administration, Political Science, Statistics, Theories of Administration and Bureaucracy, Organizational Behaviour, Social Policy, Theory of Public Policy

Bachelor Degree’s Graduation Thesis Seminar, Bachelor Degree’s Graduation Thesis

Compulsory elective units

Constitutional Systems of Democratic States, Protection of Civil Rights in Public Administration, Organization of Elections in SR, Financial LawComputer Skill I, Banking and Insurance, Introductory Financial Accounting, Marketing of Services and Non-Profit Organizations, Managerial Informatics in Public Administration, System of accounting records according to the EU standards, Economics and Management of Non-Profit Organizations, Managerial and Financial Analyses, Marketing in Public AdministrationPsychology, Social Anthropology, Social Philosofy, Law Sociology, Demographics, Communication and Language Culture, Comparative Politology, Social Institutions, Social Institutions in French or Russian Language, Methods of ResearchEnglish I, German I, English II, German II

Elective units

Computer Skill II, Economics of information SystemsPhysical Training I, Physical Training II

Master Degree

Compulsory course units

Administrative Action, Tax Law, Special Types of Administrative Action, Local Self-Government in Selected Countries of the EU, Introduction to Criminal Responsibility, Labour-Law Relations in Public Administration, European Law and Law of the EU

Regional Economics and Development I, Process Management in Public Administration, Regional Economics and Development II, International Economic Relations, Financial Management in Public Administration

Ethics in Public Administration, Organizational Theory for Public Administration, Management of Human Resources, Social and Managerial Skills

Professional Training, Diploma Seminar, Diploma Thesis

Compulsory elective units

Tax Administration and Tax Action, Criminal Action, Administrative Jurisdiction and Execution of Administrative Decisions, Sentences and Protective Measures, Real Estates’ Property Rights, Practical Lessons from Labour LawProject Management, Time Management, Organizational Structures, Economic Policy, Global Economics in German language, Strategic Management in Public AdministrationProcess of Creation of Public Policy, Local-Government Policy, International Policy

Course units for Erasmus students

Bachelor Degree

Administrative Law – Procedural Law, Financial Law Economic Theory, Economics and Management of Non-Profit Organizations, Marketing of Services and Non-Profit Organizations, Public Finance – Selected Topics Theories of Administration and Bureaucracy

Master Degree

Tax Law Financial Management, International Economic Relations, Process Management in Public Administration, Regional Economics and Development, Strategic Management in Public Administration Organizational Theory for Public Administration

CONTACT:

University of P. J. Šafárik in KošiceFaculty of Public Administration

Popradská 66, 041 32 Košice,Slovak Republic

Phone: ++421-55-788 36 18Fax: ++421-55-788 36 65E-mail: sekrfvs@fvs.upjs.sk

www.fvs.upjs.sk

See you soon in Košice...