Thousands of orange tulips ready to start sprouting across Slovakia

Last autumn, the Dutch Ambassador to Slovakia Gabriela Sancisi and Slovak President Peter Pellegrini planted Slovensko tulips in Bratislava. Photo courtesy: ©Dutch Embassy in Slovakia.

Last autumn, gardeners planted thousands of tulip bulbs, a donation of the Dutch embassy in Bratislava, in city parks and other green spaces across Slovakia. The tulips are part of a tradition that dates back to 2018, and are a symbol of the enduring friendship between Slovakia and the Netherlands.

In 2018, The Netherlands and Slovakia celebrated 25 years of diplomatic relations. To mark the occasion, Dutch tulip breeders created Tulipa ‘Slovensko’ symbolising values such as friendship, eco consciousness, equality and inclusion both countries stand for.

The Gift of Tulips became a yearly tradition with the ‘Slovensko’ tulip each time occupying pride of place in the planting schemes.

This spring, parks, the garden of the Presidential Palace in Bratislava, other institutional gardens and green spaces in Banská Bystrica, Bratislava, Košice, Nitra, Prešov, Trenčín, Trnava, and Žilina will come alive with a dazzling display of mostly orange tulips. The colour orange is intrinsically tied to the Netherlands, the Dutch culture, and the Royal Family, the House of Orange-Nassau. The story begins with William of Orange, who was crowned Prince of Orange in 1544. The latter was undaunted and born a leader and as such the colour orange became of symbol of the Dutch Royal Family.

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