Environment Ministry: 28 Municipalities to Compete to Become Village of Year

Bratislava, 20 May (TASR) - A total of 28 Slovak villages will compete this year for the title of 'Village of the Year', the Environment Ministry's communications department told TASR on Tuesday, adding that the winner should be announced in the autumn and will represent Slovakia at a European competition. The current 13th year of the competition has seen record interest among municipalities. "We support municipalities in preserving their native wealth, making their traditions and cultural practices more visible, but also in financing meaningful projects that will bring prosperity to their inhabitants and better protection of the environment," said Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee). The largest number of registered municipalities, five, are from Nitra region. Trnava, Trencin, Banska Bystrica and Kosice regions have four participants each. Three municipalities want to become the Village of the Year in Presov and Zilina regions and one in Bratislava region. am/df