About Slovenia

Full name Republic of Slovenia or Republika Slovenija. Capital City Ljubljana Language Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian, German and English. Currency Tolar Religion Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Christian, Muslim and Protestant. National Anthem "Zdravljica" meaning 'A Toast'; and "Naprej zastava slave" meaning 'Go ahead, the Flag of Glory'. Newspaper Delo, Dnevnik, Finance, Kapital, Ljubljanske Novice, Mariborean, Mladina and Vecer. Places to Visit Adriatic Coast, Julian Alps, Ljubljana, Bled Castle, National Gallery, Predjama Castle, Skocjan Caves and Triglav National Park. Transport Airways: Easyjet and Wizz Air provide the most frequent services between Western Europe and Ljubljana. Slovenia too has a national airline called Adria Airways which has flights between Ljubljana's Brnik airport and every major European city and also Tel Aviv; Roadways: daily bus service is available between Italy and Slovenia. Buses can also be availed from Hungary, Croatia, Austria and Serbia-Montenegro;Waterways: weekend catamarans are available between April and October from Venice to Izola and back; Railways: available from Salzburg, Trieste, Amsterdam, Vienna and Zagreb into Slovenia. Shopping handmade carpets; woolens; embroidery and tapestries; lace; delicate embellished jewelry; Rogaska crystal; leather goods, especially boxes; ceramics; and wine.

Introduction a fragment formed from the multinational state of Yugoslavia, Slovenia is the youngest European nation that was born in 1991 after a struggle for freedom that lasted for a short span of 10 days. Until the World War-I, the country was an integral component of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.Post World War-I, when the Empire disintegrated the Slavic countries of Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia collaborated to form Yugoslavia. With time and support, however, Slovenia has come a long way in establishing a stable democracy and a secure economy.

Physical Map of Slovenia
around 40% of Slovenia's land mass comprises of elevated land - mostly in the form of mountains and plateaus - which is located in the interior regions of the country. These mountains are mostly situated near the Italian and Austrian borders to the west and northwest. The chief ranges that are located in Slovenia are the Alps, the Julian range and the Savinja range. A unique landscape feature in Slovenia is the Strunjan cliff, near the Adriatic coast, which is the highest "flysch wall" rising to some 80 meters. The other unique feature that can be witnessed in Slovenia is the 'Krast': limestone formations resulting from erosion of water. In the mountain terrain is also to be found the valleys of the country. The mountains also are the source of Slovenia's two of the most important rivers: River Drava and River Sava. Slovenia also has an extremely short coast to the southwest of the country.

Location of Slovenia
situated in a region that forms a part of the European continents most important transit routes, save for an extremely short coastline, the country of Slovenia is practically landlocked. Its more precise location of Slovenia is the central Europe. The immediate political neighbors of Slovenia are Hungary to the northeast; Croatia to the east and the south; Italy to the west; and Austria to the north. The tiny coastal region situated to the southwest of the country is bordered by the Adriatic Sea and is called the Gulf of Trieste.

Flag of Slovenia
Slovenia's simple and rectangular flag is dominated by three pan-Slavic colors: white, blue and red (top to bottom). The other color that appears in a minor extent is golden-yellow. They appear in three horizontal stripes and also in a coat of arms located at the top left side of the flag. This Slovenian seal falls midway in the white and the blue stripes. The seal comprises of a blue background against which is superimposed a white representation of the Alps, and more specifically the Triglav - Slovenia's highest mountain. Above the center and highest peak of these mountains, appear three golden-yellow six-pointed stars in the formation of an inverted triangle. Across the base of the mountains run two parallel wavy blue lines which signify the rivers and seas of the country. The pattern of the inverted triangle of stars is taken from the insignia of the Counts of Celje.

Climate of Slovenia
The climatic condition of the country of Slovenia is largely dependent on the landscape and geographical coordinates of the country. The regions around Slovenia's tiny coast enjoy a slightly warm, but pleasant Mediterranean type of weather; while further inland in the plateaus and valleys, the summers are warmer- sometimes even hot - and the winters are cold, in fact, there is a considerable amount of experienced in the mountains of the northern regions of the country. The summer months occur between May and October.


Flora and Fauna of Slovenia
the country of Slovenia is well endowed with diverse species both in the category of plants and animals. Flora comprises of varieties of mosses and ferns along with a host of flowers and trees. The widespread varieties of trees are pines, junipers, sharp grass, lime trees and linden trees; aside of vineyards. Among animal life, brown bear, deer, fox, rabbit, marmots, wild boar, chamois, steinbocks, bears, loir or fat dormouse, European wild cats, Eurasian lynx, jackal, red foxes, hedgehogs and martens. Snakes, grass snakes and vipers are also found in Slovenia. Avian fauna in Slovenia comprises of several owl species like the tawny owl, the long-eared owl and the Eagle Owl. Other carnivorous birds are hawks, short-toed eagles, ravens and crows. Apart from these species, birds like magpies, woodpeckers and white storks are also a part of the avian species list in Slovenia. Marine life off the country's short coast comprise mainly of migratory varieties that use the route as a transit point. Some of the species of fish are marmorata and other trout, cetaceans and bottlenose dolphins.

People of Slovenia
Slovenia has a confluence of several ethnicities, though the Slovene race forms a clear majority of the population. In fact, more than 80% of the population is Slovenes. The rest of the population is made up of Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Yugoslavs, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Albanians, Hungarians and a small number of Italians as well. There is also a miniscule population of Gypsies to be found in the country.

Arts, Culture and Music of Slovenia

Art: the artistic tradition of Slovenia is pretty rich. The country boasts of both traditional forms of art as well as modern art forms. The traditional types are making of bobbin lace, fashioning crystal and glass wares, hand-woven carpets, hand-fashioned filigree ornaments, making leather boxes, and, amazingly, wine-making too. The country, however, does not lag far behind in terms of contemporary forms of art either. Slovenia boasts of being home to the renowned poet, France Preseren, and author Ivan Cankar. There are also several reputed painters who hail from Slovenia; two of them are Ivana Kobilca and Rihard Jakopic - who is known for his impressionist works.

Culture: the culture of Slovenia is as much a melting pot for diverse the cultures as it is a convergence of the dissimilar landscapes of the Alps Mountains, the Mediterranean coasts, the Pannonian plains and the Karst. The confluence of several ethnicities and regional traditions that resulted from the different environs of the people. As a result there has evolved in Slovenia a 'hybrid culture'. Though the people of the different races adhere to their ethnicity strongly, there is also a considerable amount of tolerance towards other ethnic races. Yet over the years practices of the different cultures have slowly filtered in and fused with the existing tradition.

Music: the music of the country of Slovenia is a medley of different forms. However, the one trait that remains constant is the fact that all the genres of music in Slovenia are essentially Alpine and 'littoral'. The several ethnicities that contribute to the composite music of Slovenia are the Germans, a mixture of Croatians and Slovenians called Istrians and the Austrians. The two major musical types in the country are the Waltz and Polka. A considerably recent genre of music called the "Oberkrainer" music was popularized by noted musician Slavko Avsenik, is quite a popular form. The genres of folk music that remain popular despite several newer genres include the "Velike Goslarije". The chief musical instruments that are used in Slovenia are the bowed zither and panpipes.



Economy of Slovenia
once having a socialist economy, Slovenia has moved to market economy when it realized that a market economy would lead to the country's financial stability. From the agrarian and artisan spell under the Austro-Hungarian dominion to the industrial stint as a component of Yugoslavia to a socialist state under Russian dominion, and finally to a market economy as an independent state, Slovenia has come a long way to finally establish one of the continent's most stable economy. Its natural resources contribute to its financial status as much as its industry and exports. In the list of its natural resources features such minerals as zinc, silver, lignite coal, uranium, lead and mercury. Also among its natural resources are hydropower and forest reserves. Agriculture yields such crops as wheat, grapes, potatoes, corn, hops and sugar beets, all of which have commercial significance. The industries that thrive in the country of Slovenia are metallurgical industries, iron ore and aluminum industries, industries engaged in the smelting of lead and zinc; manufacture of electronics, machine tools, trucks, equipment for electric power, chemicals, wood products and textiles. Most of the manufactured goods and industrial products are exported from the country. Some of the major export commodities are machinery; equipment for transport; chemicals; and packaged and processed food.