About

you. From upland meadows your view stretches into river gorges. This proximity of opposites and contrasts is a hallmark of the country.

Slovenia lies in the heart of , where the Alps meet the Mediterranean and the Pannonian Plain meets the Karst. This small green country measures 20,273 km2 in area, and is home to sincere, hospitable people of great diligence. It has an exceptional number of top athletes, and a wealth of cultural creativity. In Slovenia it is not difficult to Slovenia is the only country in Europe that compare the value of goods and services, as combines the Alps, the Mediterranean, the they are priced in one of the world’s major Pannonian Plain and the Karst. The changing currencies, the euro. www.slovenia.info landscape is constantly surprising, time and again. You can have one eye on the sea, then look in the other direction and be surrounded by high mountains. Heading up into the forests, you can see the green plains below

Slovenia is a country situated in southern . It stands bordered by Italy in the west, the in the southwest, Croatia in the south and east, Hungary in the northeast, and Austria in the north. The has seen many occupations, including those by Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Republic of Venice, Duchy of , Holy Roman Empire, Habsburg Monarchy, Austrian Empire, State of , Croats and Serbs, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Today, it is an independent country, boasting of high rates of growth and progress.

Slovenia you can still walk through virgin forest, or watch the grapes ripen on the oldest vine in the world. You can hear tales of bears, and eat forest fruits that you have foraged yourself on a brief walk out of town. Here you can uncover the secrets of the land, and what lies beneath it. Here you are part of nature.

Mladinski center Brežice, Gubčeva 10A, SI-8250 Brežice, Slovenia For further info: [email protected]

Slovenia has numerous sites of special natural interest, with features of all four main areas: the Alps, the Mediterranean, the Karst and the Pannonian Plain. It also has a wealth of diverse architecture and urban design. You can truly feel at home in Slovenia’s towns.

Slovenia is a land of greenery, which offers great opportunities for activity holidays. Its high-quality accommodation guarantees a comfortable stay. It is perfect for a summer holiday, a winter break or a weekend away. Slovenia is famed for its excellent food, accompanied by one of its fine wines.

Mladinski center Brežice, Gubčeva 10A, SI-8250 Brežice, Slovenia For further info: [email protected]

Fun & Interesting Facts about Slovenia

 The official name of Slovenia is ‘Republic of Slovenia’.  The of Slovenia is Slovene. However, Italian and Hungarian are also widely spoken there.  Slovenians are known as good speakers of foreign languages. Most of them speak English, Croat, Serbian and at school they learn also Italian, German or French.  Majority of the people in Slovenia are Roman Catholics, followed by Muslims, Orthodox and other Christians.  The currency of Slovenia is Euro.  The capital of Slovenia is .  Slovenia follows the system of ‘Parliamentary Republic’.  Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia on 25th June 1991.  Slovenia is bordered by four countries; Austria, Italy, Croatia and Hungary  Although Slovenia's total surface area is only around 20,000 km2, it has almost 10,000 km2 of forest.  Slovenia’s Adriatic coastline is 46.6 kilometers long.  Over 400 brown bears make their home in Slovenia.  Slovenia has over 7,000 km of marked mountain trails, with 165 mountain huts and shelters.  216 square kilometers of Slovenia is covered in vineyards.  Slovenia is the only former communist state to be a member of the , the Eurozone, the Schengen area, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe and NATO at, the same time.  Mt. , towering to a height of 2863 m, forms the highest peak in the Slovenian Alps. It is also represented on Slovenia's national coat of arms.  Slovenia's Skocjan Caves are included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites List. They are also one of the famous systems of limestone (karstic) caves in the world.  The largest lake in Slovenia is Lake Bohinj.  Slovenia is home to as many as 260 waterfalls, out of which Boka is the highest one.  A cave near Reka was found to contain the bone of a cave bear, with artificially made holes. It is believed to be the oldest musical instrument in Europe.  Lipizzaner horses, known throughout the world, originate from Lipica in Slovenia.  , the oldest town of Slovenia, was built on Roman foundations and claims the distinction of being a museum town.  The town of Kamnik, Kranj, Ljubljana, , , Ptuj and Skofja Loka were made chartered towns, in the 13th century.  .  Old Vine in Maribor is over 400 years old and the oldest vine in the world. It still bears between 35 and 55 kilos of red grapes annually from which wine is produced.  The Triple Bridge is one of the main symbols of Ljubljana. It was designed by Joze Plecnik, in 1929.  The Republic of Slovenia adopted Euro on 1st January 2007, after joining the European Union in 2004.  , founded in 1918, is the main university in Slovenia.

Mladinski center Brežice, Gubčeva 10A, SI-8250 Brežice, Slovenia For further info: [email protected]

 Triglav National Park is one of the oldest parks in Europe, with the first efforts to protect the area dating back to 1906  Slovenia has lots of quirky food festivals including the Salt Makers’ Festival, Cabbage Festival, Chestnut Sunday and Bean Day to name a few.  In Slovenia, you can pay to stay in a prison cell at the Hostel Celica in Ljubljana.  Slovenia has a shape of the chicken. 

Mladinski center Brežice, Gubčeva 10A, SI-8250 Brežice, Slovenia For further info: [email protected]

LANGUAGE:

Slovene or Slovenian (slovenski jezik or slovenščina, not to be confused with slovenčina, the native name of Slovak) is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It belongs among the group of the 5% world’s most spoken languages. It is the first language of about 1.85 million people and is one of the 23 official and working languages of the European Union. As of 2010, Slovene is not endangered but its scope is shrinking considerably, especially in science and higher education. Although the country is relatively small, there are over 42 different official dialects spoken, which can be grouped into 7 larger dialect segments. The diversity in language is due to the influences of neighboring countries as well as the mountainous nature of the country, which has led to isolated language development. The biggest specialty of is that there are three grammatical numbers, beside singular and plural the Slovene grammar also uses the dual. It is used for two persons or objects. It was known in a lot of old Indo-European languages. But today only two Indo- European languages are known for the dual: Slovene and lužiška srbšcina. That makes the Slovenian

language very special.

http://www.digitaldialects.com/Slovene.htm

Mladinski center Brežice, Gubčeva 10A, SI-8250 Brežice, Slovenia For further info: [email protected]