Top 50 Amazing Facts About Slovenia...
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a sovereign state located in southern Central
Europe. It has an area of 20,273 square km. Ljubljana is its capital and largest city.
Slovene is the official language of the country. Euro is its official currency. Though being
small, it is a natural bio-diverse nation with plenty of tourist attractions. With a
narrow coastline, it shares its land borders with four countries – Austria, Croatia,
Hungary, and Italy. It is mostly a mountainous country.
With these 50 interesting facts about Slovenia, let’s learn about its history, culture,
economy, famous tourist attractions and more.
1. Slovenia’s War of Independence in 1991, also known as the Ten-Day War claimed 76 lives.
It was also the first war in Europe since World War II.
2. In 1995, archaeologists dug up the Divje Babe Flute, which is a flute made of the femur
of a bear. Yes, that’s how passionate the early Slovenians were for music. It is believed
to be 55,000 years old.
3. Though Slovenia was a monarchy, the first free election in Slovenia (then part of Yugoslavia)
was held in 1925.
4. Everyone was happy with the 1925 elections, except the king who staged a coup to re-establish
his reign. Known as 6 January coup, it resulted in, King Alexander I’s assassination two
years later.
5. Slovenia represented a major part of the greater Yugoslavia. A political volcano for
both the US and USSR, it was a hotspot of spying and backchannel diplomacy during the
cold war era.
6. Slovenians are very passionate about politics. The president of the Croatian People’s Peasant
Party, Stjepan Radić was assassinated right in the middle of the country’s parliament.
7. Slovenia is the only modern-day European country that was occupied by both Nazi Germany
and Fascist Italy. But still, Slovenia had seen worse.
8. In 1990, Slovenia established democracy for the first time since World War I.
9. Slovenia had to face the wrath of the Yugoslavian military during its independence from Yugoslavia.
The short 10 days war escalated quickly to engulf the whole Balkan region into a war
frenzy.
10. The first country to recognize Slovenia as a country was Croatia. Incidentally, the
first country to recognize Croatia itself as a country was Slovenia.
11. The oldest wheel ever excavated, Ljubljana Marshes Wheel belongs to Slovenia. Radiocarbon
dating shows it to be 5000+ years old.
12. The pen is mightier than the sword. In 1887, a group of liberal-minded people forced
the Communist leadership of the country to adopt democracy, through just one article
published by the Nova revija, a popular newspaper.
13. Nova revija is more than just an institution; it is a vehicle of change. It represents the
free will of the people and has a special place in the Slovene hearts and contemporary
culture.
14. Hayracks are a unique cultural symbol of Slovenia and the country is also known
as the Land of Hayracks. Farmers are very proud of their hayracks, so never ever mess
with the hack rays in Slovenia.
15. The linden tree is a symbol for the Slovenian people. The tree can survive centuries and
it represents love, friendship, and loyalty in Slovenia.
16. The oldest linden tree is in Slovenia is actually older than Modern Europe itself.
The Najevnik Linden tree in the Slovenia’s Koroška region is 700 years old and has a
circumference of 10 meters (over 30 feet).
17. Local lore has it that the Najevnik Linden tree was planted by Turks atop a massive loot
of treasure, so they can collect it later.
18. Slovenia is famous for its own patented brand of beautiful white show horses. 425
years old Lipica Horse farm, located in Slovenia breeds its own unique white horse that’s
found nowhere else.
19. Imagine your wedding in a prehistoric church, where once the Slavic goddess of love
Ziva herself got married. Add to that the charm of an isolated island and what you get
is the Bled Church of the Assumption, in Slovenia. The only catch is the groom has to carry the
bride 99 steps up into the church.
20. A potica a day keeps the sadness away. A Slovenian loves his potica, which is a very
popular pastry in Slovenia.
21. Tourism in Slovenia is fuelled by unique and offbeat places. Numerous hidden caves,
beautiful forest canopy, an awesome network of waterways and adventurous people make it’s
a major tourist puller of Europe.
22. Tourism in the country grew by a whopping 65% in 2019.
23. Ljubljana is pronounced lub-lee-yana.
24. The country’s capital city’s (Ljubljana) name translates as “the loved one”.
25. Ljubljana is the center of Slovenia.
26. There are 12 museums in the city and they are close to each other. Thus you could visit
them all in one day and still have ample time to do other things.
27. Ljubljana is the European Green Capital of the world for 2016.
28. The linden tree and the chamois are two important national symbols of Slovenia.
29. Slovenia is a country dotted with picturesque natural wonders. It has the highest number
of caves (more than 10,000) in the world and more than half of the country is covered with
forests.
30. Postojna is the biggest at 20,570 m long and the best-known cave system in the world.
31. Slovenia is a heaven of biodiversity. It contains 1% of the world’s organisms
on 0.004% of the Earth’s surface area.
32. Slovenia has a total coastline of 46.6 km.
33. Slovenia by some estimate has a winery for every 70 people.
34. The mysterious pile dwellers of the Alps lived in Slovenia during the prehistoric and
Neolithic ages.
Etruscan shrew, weighing at 2 grams, is the lightest mammal in the world. This little
known, fascinating creature is found natively in Slovenia.
36. You might wonder why a person swims the entire length of various rivers. The answer
is because he is a Slovenian. Martin Strel swam the entire length of Mississippi River
(2,414 mi), Yangtze River (2,487 mi), Amazon River (3,273 mi) and the Danube River (1,780
mi). He is the first person to do so.
37. Imagine skiing down the world’s roughest and highest peak, the Mount Everest. No one
dared entertain such thought, expect Slovene alpinist Davorin Karničar, who became a record
holder for his daredevil stunt. He is also the first man in the world to ski the highest
peaks of all seven continents.
38. Ljubljana is a fairy-tale city for kids. Legends have it that a mighty dragon was harassing
the townsmen. Prince Jason of ancient Greece happened to be passing by and decided to help.
In a classic battle, the young prince slew the dragon.
39. Sadly, the dragon became the de-facto symbol of Ljubljana and not Prince Jason of
ancient Greece.
40. Speaking of Dragons, you can find the green statue of the “martyr” dragon at
the awesome Dragon Bridge. It represents power, courage and greatness. Yes, Ljubljana is that
cool. This bridge is also the finest example of Vienna Secession style architecture.
41. Slovenia has one of the highest per capita GDP in Central Europe.
42. It’s also said that the dragon at the Dragon Bridge wags its tail every time a virgin
lady crosses the bridge.
43. Wanna try being a prisoner without committing a crime? Book a room, rather a cell at the
Celica Hostel, which happens to be an ex-military prison camp.
44. The grandmother of all European chimneys is the Chimney of the power station in Trbovlje.
At 360 m, it is the tallest in Europe.
45. What is the wildest place you can imagine hosting a literary award ceremony? Whatever
you can think of Slovenians will beat that. The Vilenica international literary prize
is held every year inside a cave.
46. Slovenia is famous for its water tourism. It’s a water paradise with 27,000 km of
rivers and streams.
47. Bears and forests are abundant in the country.
48. Slovenia is so small that you can look at two countries while standing in Slovenia.
On the right you can spot Italy, while on the left you can find Croatia.
49. The Old Vine in Maribor, Slovenia is at least 400 years old and it is believed to
be the oldest vine in the world.
50. “Lake Cerknica” in Slovenia is an intermittent lake. An intermittent lake is
the one that disappears seasonally.
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