Slovenia

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Quick Facts

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Capital

Ljubljana

Population

1,936,000

Government

Parliamentary Democratic Republic

Religions

Christianity (Catholic, Orthodox), Islam

Languages

Slovenian

Calling Code

+386

Nationality

Slovenian, Slovene

Local name

Slovenija

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Introduction

Piran

© All Rights Reserved Paulien

When Slovenia gained its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 after a ten-day war, it dodged a bullet. Ensuing years saw bitter warfare in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, but Slovenia remained free of war and terrorism.

For tourists, this means that Slovenia is one of central Europe's safer destinations. Other factors, like its hilly, richly vegetated landscape, fascinating cultural pull between the influences of the Habsburg Empire and the Venetian Republic, and the narrow sliver of Adriatic coast are what give Slovenia a nice edge. Keen skiers have found Slovenia's Julian Alps to be an ideal site for their next adventure, whilst those non-skiers have been drawn by the abundance of fine hiking areas and beautiful scenery. Slovenes have made efficient use of their tiny coastline, which boasts an excellent Mediterranean climate and a line-up of vibrant towns. Animal lovers are awed by the strange 'human fish', which can only be found in Slovenian caves.

Slovenia shares international borders with Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia.

Brief History

Geography

Regions

Slovenia is divided into twelve regions.

• Primorska
• Notranjska
• Goriska
• Gorenjska
• Central Slovenia
• Dolenjska
• Zasavje
• Posavje
• Savinjsko
• Koroska
• Podravje
• Pomurje

Cities

• Ljubljana - The capital is a small beautiful place to visit but somehow attracts fewer visitors than other capitals.
• Maribor - Second largest city in Slovenia. Picturesque city with River Drava running through it.
• Bled - Small town with beautiful lake, attracting many tourists - local and international alike.
• Koper
• Piran - Beautiful small coastal town on the Adriatic with an Italian-like feel.
• Postojna - Famous for its cave system and castle.
• Kranj

Sights and Activities

Lake Bled

Bled - reflection

© All Rights Reserved SEINGRU

Lake Bled is one of the most favorite places of travellers who visit Slovenia and possible of the Slovenians themselves as well. The lake and the town (which is called Bled as well) are beautifully located in the Julian Alps. In the lake itself is small island where a little church can be found, almost making up the whole island. There are numerous boats that can bring you there and the views are fantastic. The views are equally fantastic when you go up the hills to the Bled Castle, from where you can see the lake and little church from a distance. A very romantic place, but in the peak months a very crowded places as well. Therefore, it is best to visit somewhere in May/June or in September.

Škocjan Caves

The Škocjan Caves are one of the highlights of the country. The Škocjan caves are a fantastic system of limestone caves and forms some 6 km of underground passages with a total depth of more than 200 meters. To add, there are many waterfalls and one of the world's largest underground chambers. The site is located in the Kras region (which basically means karst) and is probably one of the best in the world for the study of karstic phenomena. For this reason, it is the only place in Slovenia which is placed on the Unesco World Heritage List.

Triglav National Park

Mt.Triglav

© All Rights Reserved triglav

Triglav National Park is the place to go if you like alpine landscapes and great multiple day hiking trips. The park is located in the extreme west of the country and covers nearly all of the Slovenian section of the Julian Alps. It is also Slovenia's only national park. Its masterpiece is the highest mountain in Slovenia after which the park has been named, Mount Triglav (2864 meters above sea level). You can get here first by road heading west from Bled towards Bohinj and further on to the historical village of Dovje-Mojstrana. Lake Bohinj is one of the other highlights in the park and is more quiet than Lake Bled. A small part of the park (Radovna valley) can also be cycled through from Bled. There are several cablecars (one near the town of Bohinj for example) which can take you up, from where you can walk further.

Other sights and activities

• Postojna Caves - huge cave system.
• Radovljicav - old town.
• Kamnik - mediaval town.
• Koper - small port city with Venetian old city part, nearby Piran is beautiful as well. Together they form part of a very short coastline of Slovenia.

Architecture

Famous throughout Slovenia is Jože Plečnik, a 20th century art nouveau architect who designed much of the buildings currently standing in Ljubljana. Plečnik is revered throughout the country, and could even be considered a sort of national hero.

Events and Festivals

• Ljubljana Festival held every July and August in the capital. It is mainly a musical and cultural event with jazz and classical music played on the streets.

Weather

Slovenia is a small country but has significant differences regarding the weather throughout the country. Most of the country has a moderate continental climate with warm summers and relatively cold winters. Temperatures in summer range from 22 to 27 degrees Celsius during the day and around 15 degrees at night. Precipitation is quite high throughout the year, with some less wet conditions in winter. During winter, temperatures are between 3 degrees during the day and around -5 degrees at night.
The main differences are that the northwestern part lying in the Alps has cooler and even wetter conditions than inland. Also, the coastline has conditions that are more of a Mediterranean type with warmers summers and milder winters, though also here precipitation is very heavy, especially in summer when heavy thunderstorms can happen. Still, many fine days with sunshine are the norm as well.

Getting There

By Plane

Adria Airways is the national airline of Slovenia, based at Ljubljana Airport (LJU). International destinations served by this airline are Amsterdam, Barcelona, Birmingham, Brussels, Bucharest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Kiev, London, Manchester, [Moscow]], Munich, Ohrid, Paris, Podgorica, Priština, Sarajevo, Skopje, Stockholm, Tirana, Vienna, Warsaw and Zürich. It also has charter flights to about 20 destinations mainly in the south of Europe. About 20 other airlines (both scheduled and charter flights) have direct flights to Ljubljana as well.

By Train

The Slovenian Railways have numerous connections to cities in Europe. Many of them go to other former Yugoslavian republics, including connections to Zagreb and Belgrade. Vienna and Budapest have connections with Ljubljana as well.

By Car

Slovenia is easily reached by car from neighbouring countries, like Austria, Serbia, Croatia and Italy. Crossings are very fast and straightforward. Be sure to have the proper documentation and insurance for the car and you will be fine.

By Bus

Buses connect Ljubljana and other cities in Slovenia with neighbouring countries and beyond. Check Eurolines for more information about long distance services. There are very regular connections with Austria, Croatia and Serbia.

By Boat

As Slovenia is located all the way in the north of the Adriatic coastline, it hardly pays to take a ferry. There are useful connections though between Venice and Rovigno.

Getting Around

By Plane

There are no domestic flights in Slovenia, as distances are small and there are excellent other ways of getting around.

By Train

The Slovenske železnice (Slovenian Railways) has an efficient train network of both intercity and local trains with regular departures to and from Ljubljana and smaller towns. Ljubljana to Maribor is relatively fast, the others are slower but still prefered as the routes to the coast and mountains are impressive.

By Car

Roads in Slovenia are in excellent condition and since the 1990's many new roads have been built or old ones have been renewed or tarred. This applies to motorways as well as secondary roads into the mountains. On airports, bigger cities and popular tourist areas like Bled and the coast you can rent cars from several international and national companies. You need a national driver's licence or international one if not from the EU. Be sure to have sufficient insurance which is mandatory. Traffic drives on the right.

By Bus

A number of bus companies run comfortable and frequent busses, most of which originate or terminate in Ljubljana. Destinations include Koper and Bled, which are just a few hours away.

By Boat

There are no scheduled passenger services in Slovenia, although you can get by boat to a small island in Lake Bled and a few other lakes and rivers and the small coastline can be visited by rented boat or tour.

Red Tape

If you are a European Union (EU) citizen, you may enter without any restriction as per your EU citizenship rights. If you are not an EU citizen, you will need to obtain a Schengen Visa. This visa is valid for any country in the Schengen zone.

Also see the governmental website for more (official) information on Slovenian visa and immigration policy

Money

See also: Money Matters

Slovenia has adopted the Euro (ISO code: EUR, symbol: €) as its official currency. One Euro is divided into 100 cents, which is sometimes referred to as eurocents, especially when distinguishing them with the US cents.

Euro banknotes come in denominations of €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200, €500. The highest three denominations are rarely used in everyday transactions. All Euro banknotes have a common design for each denomination on both sides throughout the Eurozone.

The Euro coins are 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, €1 and €2. Some countries in the Eurozone have law which requires cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest 5 cents. All Euro coins have a common design on the denomination (value) side, while the opposite side may have a different image from one country to another. Although the image side may be different, all Euro coins remain legal tender throughout the Eurozone.

Work

Study

Ljubljana, Slovenia is a university town, populated by a huge number of eager young students pursuing many different areas of study. This lends the city an immense vibrancy and energy, and makes for excellent night life and wonderful coffee.

Language

The Slovenian language is a South-Slavic language, with 3 person forms, 6 cases (to indicate case the ending of the word is changed), Singular, Dual and Plural.

The Slovenian alphabet has some signs that are common for Slavic languages but not other European languages:

č - tch (like in China)
š - sh (like in shoe)
ž - zh (like in beige)

Other special pronounciations include:

c - s (like in bicycle)
g - (like in go)
j - y (like in yoghurt)

Eat

Tipping is not traditional in Slovenia.

Sleep

Drink

Alcohol can only be sold to people over 18.

Health

See also: Travel Health

Safety

See also: Travel Safety

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

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