For centuries it was disputed from when were vines first grown on the hillsides of the Small Carpathians and in other traditional vine growing areas in Slovakia. Archaeological research has at last determined that the Celts had indeed cultivated grapevines several centuries before the arrival of the Romans and Slavs. During the Middle Ages, viticulture and winemaking were developed by the towns, nobility and monasteries which consequently generated a significant part of the country's economy. At the height of development, there were up to 80 thousand hectares of vineyards in Slovakia. Neither the Thirty Year's War nor the pest epidemic, phylloxera, brought the wine growing industry to its knees. Presently, vine growing is progressively moving forward as Slovakia prepares for the transition to become an equal player in the European system of vine growing, as testified during the 27lh World Congress of Vine and Wine in Bratislava.