Brief history of the Slovak geographic society

The scientific society presents a peculiar institutional structure of each scientific branch. In respect to a specific development of the Slovak geography within a Czechoslovak context, the social activity has been also realized within the Czechoslovak Geographical Society, which tradition dates back to 1894. The Slovak geographers would regularly participate in meetings and other events organized by this society. In the 1946 the subsidiary in Bratislava was established called the Slovak Geographic Society led by Jan Hromádka. The development of Slovak geography as a science, its wider penetration into the school system on all levels, and the continuous growth of personal background were the basic premises for the formation of independent geographical society. In 1955 the preparatory committee started to work (Mikuláš Konček, Michal Lukniš and Ján Hanzlík) and on 8 December 1955 the constitutive meeting of the Slovak Geographic Society under SAS took place in Bratislava. The managing body had been built-up by seven membered Slovak central committee of the society led by the chairman. Mikuláš Lukniš had been elected the first chairman of the society. The committee comprised of Mikuláš Konček, Pavol Plesník, Jozef Martinka, Ján Hanzlík, Koloman Ivanička and Ján Purgina. In 1959 the first regional subsidiary was established – the east Slovak subsidiary in Prešov. The first meeting of the society took place in Bratislava in 1959. At this time the society registered 175 members. In the following period there were established another regional subsidiaries – the West Slovak in Bratislava (in 1965) and the Central Slovak in Banská Bystrica (in 1966). Furthermore, in 1960 the speleological subsidiary was founded seating in Liptovský Mikuláš. The society had 372 members in 1967. The members would regularly meet at general assembly within the congress. Until now there took place 14 meetings (since 1998 they are called congresses) – in 1959, 1961 and 1991 in Bratislava, in 1964 in Košice, in 1967 in Liptovský Mikuláš, in 1970, 1986 and 2006 in Banská Bystrica, in 1974 and 2002 in Nitra, in 1978 in Levice, in 1982 and 1998 in Prešov and in 1944 in Častá. A the head of the society were Michal Lukniš (1955-1970), Pavol Plesník (1970-1974), Emil Mazúr (1947-1978), Ján Drdoš (1978-1986, 1990-1992), Oliver Bašovský (1986-1990), Michal Zaťko (1992-1998), Jozef Mládek (1998-2006) and René Matlovič (since 2006).

Nowadays the Slovak Geographic Society associates above 300 geographers. It has five regional (Bratislava, the West Slovak, the Central Slovak, the East Slovak, and Košice) and the three specialised section (s. of theoretical geography, applied geography, and school geography). Every four years the society organized the congress, which includes the general assembly, the supreme body of the society. The forthcoming congress is going to be held in Košice in 2010.

prof. René Matlovič