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Slovenia



 
 
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia (), is a country
Country

Country may refer to the territory of a state, or to a smaller, or former, political division of a geographical region. In another meaning of the word, the country is also a term used to refer to rural areas....
 in southern Central Europe
Central Europe

Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern Europe and Western Europe Europe. In addition, Northern Europe, Southern Europe and Southeastern Europe may variously delimit or overlap into Central Europe....
 bordering Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 to the west, the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea

The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges....
 to the southwest, Croatia
Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a Central European country at the crossroads of Pannonian Plain, Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea....
 to the south and east, Hungary
Hungary

Hungary , officially in English the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia....
 to the northeast, and Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
 to the north. The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana
Ljubljana

Ljubljana is the capital city of Slovenia and its largest town. It is located in the center of the country and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants....
.

At various points in Slovenia's history, the country has been part of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, partly the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice

The Most Serene Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice . It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century AD until the year 1797....
, the principality Carantania (only modern Slovenia's northern part), the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early modern Europe under a Holy Roman Emperor....
, the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy

The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austria branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918....
, the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire

The Austrian Empire was a periodization successor state empire founded on a remnant of the Holy Roman Empire centered on what is today's Austria that officially lasted from 1804 to 1867....
 (later known as Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Kaiserlich und k?niglich Monarchy was a state in Central Europe ruled by the House of Habsburg, constitutionally a personal union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary....
), the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs

File:Austria Hungary ethnic.svgThe State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs was a short-lived state formed from the southernmost parts of the Austria-Hungary after its dissolution at the end of the World War I by the resident population of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs....
, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed to Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929); partly Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy

There have been several distinct entities known as the Kingdom of Italy. Italy under the rule of Odoacer from 476 to 493 is often called the kingdom of Italy, since it encompassed the Italia and Odoacer is periodically styled rex ....
, between the two World Wars
Interwar period

The interwar period is understood, within recent Western culture, to be the period between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the Second World War....
, occupied by Germany, Italy, Hungary and Croatia (1941-1945), and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and in Slovene language: Socialisticna Federativna Republika Jugoslavija The Slovene language name also uses this Gaj?s Latin alphabet version with a slight difference in spelling....
 from 1945 until gaining independence in 1991.

Slovenia is a member of the European Union
European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
, the Eurozone
Eurozone

The Eurozone is a currency union of 16 Member State of the European Union which have adopted the euro as their sole legal tender. It currently consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain....
, the Schengen area
Schengen Agreement

File:SchengenAgreement map.svgThe Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed between five of the then ten member states of the European Community in 1985....
, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press, and fair elections....
, the Council of Europe
Council of Europe

The Council of Europe is the oldest international organisation working towards European integration, having been founded in 1949. It has a particular emphasis on legal standards, human rights, democracy development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation....
 and NATO
NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization , also called the Atlantic Alliance, is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949....
.
lass="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m1661319",this)' onMouseout='hide("m1661319")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Slavic_peoples">Slavic
Slavic peoples

The Slavic Peoples are a linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in eastern Europe. From the early 6th century they spread from their original homeland to inhabit most of eastern Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans....
 ancestors of the present-day Slovenes settled in the area in the 6th century.






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Timeline

1144   First recorded mention of Ljubljana, Slovenia

1335   Carinthia and Carniola come under Habsburg rule. After the death of Duke Henry, the duchies are bestowed by Louis the Bavarian on the dukes of Austria. From that time onwards, what is today Slovenia was ruled jointly with Austria until 1918.

1778   Triglav, at 2,864 metres above sea level the highest peak of Slovenia, was ascended for the first time by four brave men: Luka Korošec, Matevž Kos, Štefan Rožic and Lovrenc Willomitzer on Sigismund Zois's initiative.

1895   a major earthquake severely damages Ljubljana, Slovenia.

1945   World War II: General Alexander Löhr Commander of German Army Group E near Topolšica, Slovenia, signs capitulation of German occupation troops.

1945   World War II: the last WWII battle in Europe is fought at Poljana near Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia

1946   Yugoslavia's new constitution, modeling the Soviet Union, establishes six constituent republics (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia). , elected President of Argentina in February 1946]]

1991   Croatia and Slovenia declare their independence from Yugoslavia.

1991   The Brioni Agreement ends the ten day war in Slovenia.

1992   The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia begins to break up. Slovenia and Croatia gain independence and international recognition in some Western countries.







Encyclopedia


Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia (), is a country
Country

Country may refer to the territory of a state, or to a smaller, or former, political division of a geographical region. In another meaning of the word, the country is also a term used to refer to rural areas....
 in southern Central Europe
Central Europe

Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern Europe and Western Europe Europe. In addition, Northern Europe, Southern Europe and Southeastern Europe may variously delimit or overlap into Central Europe....
 bordering Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 to the west, the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea

The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges....
 to the southwest, Croatia
Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a Central European country at the crossroads of Pannonian Plain, Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea....
 to the south and east, Hungary
Hungary

Hungary , officially in English the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia....
 to the northeast, and Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
 to the north. The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana
Ljubljana

Ljubljana is the capital city of Slovenia and its largest town. It is located in the center of the country and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants....
.

At various points in Slovenia's history, the country has been part of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, partly the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice

The Most Serene Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice . It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century AD until the year 1797....
, the principality Carantania (only modern Slovenia's northern part), the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early modern Europe under a Holy Roman Emperor....
, the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy

The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austria branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918....
, the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire

The Austrian Empire was a periodization successor state empire founded on a remnant of the Holy Roman Empire centered on what is today's Austria that officially lasted from 1804 to 1867....
 (later known as Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Kaiserlich und k?niglich Monarchy was a state in Central Europe ruled by the House of Habsburg, constitutionally a personal union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary....
), the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs

File:Austria Hungary ethnic.svgThe State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs was a short-lived state formed from the southernmost parts of the Austria-Hungary after its dissolution at the end of the World War I by the resident population of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs....
, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (renamed to Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929); partly Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy

There have been several distinct entities known as the Kingdom of Italy. Italy under the rule of Odoacer from 476 to 493 is often called the kingdom of Italy, since it encompassed the Italia and Odoacer is periodically styled rex ....
, between the two World Wars
Interwar period

The interwar period is understood, within recent Western culture, to be the period between the end of the First World War and the beginning of the Second World War....
, occupied by Germany, Italy, Hungary and Croatia (1941-1945), and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and in Slovene language: Socialisticna Federativna Republika Jugoslavija The Slovene language name also uses this Gaj?s Latin alphabet version with a slight difference in spelling....
 from 1945 until gaining independence in 1991.

Slovenia is a member of the European Union
European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
, the Eurozone
Eurozone

The Eurozone is a currency union of 16 Member State of the European Union which have adopted the euro as their sole legal tender. It currently consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain....
, the Schengen area
Schengen Agreement

File:SchengenAgreement map.svgThe Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed between five of the then ten member states of the European Community in 1985....
, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press, and fair elections....
, the Council of Europe
Council of Europe

The Council of Europe is the oldest international organisation working towards European integration, having been founded in 1949. It has a particular emphasis on legal standards, human rights, democracy development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation....
 and NATO
NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization , also called the Atlantic Alliance, is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949....
.

History

Slavic
Slavic peoples

The Slavic Peoples are a linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in eastern Europe. From the early 6th century they spread from their original homeland to inhabit most of eastern Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans....
 ancestors of the present-day Slovenes settled in the area in the 6th century. The Slavic principality Carantania was formed in the 7th century. In 745, Carantania was incorporated into the Carolingian Empire
Carolingian Empire

Carolingian Empire is a historiography term sometimes used to refer to the Francia under the Carolingian dynasty. This dynasty is seen as the founders of France and Germany....
, while Carantanians and other Slavs living in present Slovenia converted to Christianity
Christianization

The historical phenomenon of Christianization, the religious conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once, also includes the practice of converting native Paganism practices and culture, pagan religious imagery, pagan sites and the pagan calendar to Christian uses, due to the Christian efforts at Ch...
. Carantania retained its internal independence until 828 when the local princes were deposed following the anti-Frankish
Franks

The Franks or Frankish people were a West Germanic ethnic group first identified in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River....
 rebellion of Ljudevit Posavski
Ljudevit Posavski

Ljudevit Posavski was a Croat Duke of Pannonian Croatia from 810 to 823. The capital of his realm was in Sisak. As the ruler of the Pannonian Croatia, he led an unsuccessful resistance to Franks domination....
 and replaced by a German (mostly Bavaria
Bavaria

Bavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is a region located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest States of Germany of Germany by area....
n) ascendancy. Under Emperor Arnulf of Carinthia
Arnulf of Carinthia

Arnulf of Carinthia was the Carolingian King of Germany from 887 and Holy Roman Emperor from 896 until his death. He was the illegitimate son of Carloman, King of Bavaria, and his concubine, Liutswind, of Carantanians origin, daughter of one Count Ernst....
, Carantania, now ruled by a mixed Bavarian-Slav nobility, shortly emerged as a regional power, but was destroyed by the Hungarian
Hungarian people

Hungarians are an ethnic group primarily associated with Hungary. There are around 10 million Magyars in Hungary . Hungarians were the main inhabitants of the Kingdom of Hungary that existed through most of the second millennium....
 invasions in the late 9th century.

Carantania was established again as an autonomous administrative unit in 976, when Emperor Otto I., "the Great", after deposing the Duke of Bavaria, Henry II."the Quarreller", split the lands held by him and made Carinthia
Duchy of Carinthia

The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire from 976 until the dissolution of the Empire in 1806, and a crownland of Austria-Hungary until its dissolution in 1918....
 the sixth duchy of the Holy Roman Empire, but old Carantania never developed into a unified realm. In the century of the second millennium protecting marches were established at the south-eastern borders of the Empire, which in the course of time developed into duchies in their right: Styria
Duchy of Styria

The history of Styria concerns the region roughly corresponding to the modern state of Styria from its settlement by Slavs in the Dark Ages until the present....
, Carniola
Carniola

Carniola is a Historical regions of Central Europe of Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918....
 and Friuli
Friuli

Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e....
, into which the Slovene Lands remained divided up to 1918. The Carantanian identity remained alive into the 12th century when it was slowly replaced by regional identities. The first mentions of a common Slovene ethnic identity, transcending regional boundaries, date from the 16th century.

During the 14th century, most of Slovene Lands passed under the Habsburg rule. In the 15th century, the Habsburg domination was challenged by the Counts of Celje
Counts of Celje

The Counts of Cilli or Celje represent the most important medieval aristocratic and ruling house with roots and territory in present-day Slovenia....
, but by the end of the century the great majority of Slovene-inhabited territories were incorporated into the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy

The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austria branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918....
. Most Slovenes lived in the region known as Inner Austria
Inner Austria

Inner Austria was a term used from the late 14th to the 16th century referring to Styria , Carinthia , Carniola and the Windic march, the County of Gorizia, Trieste and assorted smaller Habsburg possessions bordering the area ....
, forming the majority of the population of the Duchy of Carniola
Duchy of Carniola

The Duchy of Carniola was an administrative unit of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg Monarchy from 1364 to 1918. Its capital was Ljubljana....
 and the County of Gorizia and Gradisca, as well as of Lower Styria
Lower Styria

Lower Styria is a historical region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Styria ....
 and southern Carinthia
Duchy of Carinthia

The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire from 976 until the dissolution of the Empire in 1806, and a crownland of Austria-Hungary until its dissolution in 1918....
. Slovenes also inhabited most of the territory of the Imperial Free City of Trieste
Trieste

Trieste is a city and port in northeastern Italy very near to the Slovenian border, to the North, East, and South. Trieste is located at the head of the Gulf of Trieste on the Adriatic Sea....
, although representing the minority of its population. Slovene majorities also existed in the Prekmurje
Prekmurje

Prekmurje is the easternmost region of Slovenia. It borders Hungary to the north-east, Austria to the north-west, Croatia to the south and the Slovenian region of Lower Styria to the south-west....
 region of the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary , which existed from 1000 to 1918, and then from 1920 to 1946, was a considerable state in Central Europe....
, and in Venetian Slovenia
Venetian Slovenia

Venetian Slovenia is a small mountainous region in northeastern Italy, in the area between the towns of Cividale del Friuli , Tarcento and Gemona along the border between Italy and Slovenia....
 and north-western Istria
Istria

File:Istria Croatian Adriatic.pngIstria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner....
, which were part of the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice

The Most Serene Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice . It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century AD until the year 1797....
.

In the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe. It is thought to have begun in 1517 with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses and may be considered to have ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648....
 spread throughout the Slovene Lands. During this period, the first books in Slovene language were written by the Protestant
Protestantism

Protestantism is a movement within Christianity that originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the three principal traditions of Christianity, together with Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy....
 preacher Primož Trubar
Primož Trubar

Primo? Trubar was a Slovenes Protestant Reformation, the founder and the first superintendent of the Protestant Church of the Slovene Lands, a consolidator of the Slovene language and the author of the first Slovene printing book....
 and his followers, establishing the base for the development of the Slovene standard language. Although almost all Protestants were expelled from the Slovene Lands (with the exception of Prekmurje) by the beginning of the 17th century, they left a strong legacy in the tradition of the Slovene culture, which was partially incorporated in the Catholic Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation

The Counter-Reformation denotes the period of Roman Catholic Church revival from the pontificate of Pope Pius IV in 1560 to the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648....
 in the 17th century. The Slovene cultural tradition was further reinforced in the Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment

The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a time in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century, in which rationalism was advocated as the primary source and legitimacy for authority....
 period in the 18th century by the endeavours of the Zois Circle.

After a short French interim
First French Empire

The Empire of the French , also known as the Greater French Empire or First French Empire, but more commonly known as the Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France in France....
 between 1805 and 1813, all Slovene Lands were included in the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire

The Austrian Empire was a periodization successor state empire founded on a remnant of the Holy Roman Empire centered on what is today's Austria that officially lasted from 1804 to 1867....
. Slowly, a distinct Slovene national consciousness developed, and the quest for a political unification of all Slovenes became widespread. In 1848, a mass political and popular movement for the United Slovenia
United Slovenia

United Slovenia is the name of a political program of the Slovenes national movement, formulated during the Spring of Nations in 1848. The program demanded unification of all the Slovene Lands into one single kingdom under the rule of the Austrian Empire, equal rights of the Slovene language in public, and strongly opposed the planned in...
 () emerged as part of the Spring of Nations movement within the Austrian Empire.

Between 1848 and 1918, numerous institutions (including theatres and publishing houses, as well as political, financial and cultural organisations) were founded in the so-called Slovene National Awakening. Despite their political and institutional fragmentation and lack of a proper political representation, the Slovenes were able to establish a functioning and integrated national infrastructure. During this period, the town of Ljubljana, the capital of Carniola, emerged as the undisputed centre of all Slovene Lands, while the Slovenes developed an internationally comparable literature and culture. Nevertheless, the Slovene national question remained unsolved, so the political élite started looking towards other Slavic nations in Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Kaiserlich und k?niglich Monarchy was a state in Central Europe ruled by the House of Habsburg, constitutionally a personal union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary....
 and the Balkans
Balkans

The Balkans is the historical name of a geographic subregion of southeastern Europe. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains, which run through the centre of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia....
 in order to engage in a common political action against German and Hungarian hegemony
Hegemony

Hegemony first denoted the dominance of a Greek city-state over other city-states, then denoted the dominance of one nation over others. The political scientist Antonio Gramsci developed the former conceptions to identify the dominance of one social class over the other social classes in a society by means of cultural hegemony....
. The idea of a common political entity of all South Slavs
South Slavs

The South Slavs are a southern branch of the Slavic peoples that live in the Balkans mainly throughout the former Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the southern Pannonian Plain, the eastern Alps and the Balkans and they speak South Slavic languages....
, known as Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia

File:LocationYugoslavia2.pngYugoslavia is a term that describes three political entities that existed successively on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century....
, emerged.

During World War I, after the Italian attack on Austria-Hungary in 1915, the Italian front
Italian Campaign (World War I)

The Italian campaign refers to a series of battles fought between the armies of Austria-Hungary and Kingdom of Italy , along with their allies, in northern Italy between 1915 and 1918....
 opened, and some of the most important battles (the Battles of the Isonzo
Battles of the Isonzo

"Battles of the Isonzo" were a series of 12 battles between the Austria-Hungary and Italy armies in World War I. They were fought along the Isonzo River on the eastern sector of the Italian Front between June 1915 and November 1917....
) were fought along the river Soca
Soca

The Soca or Isonzo or Lusin? or Sontig is a 140 km long river that flows through Western Slovenia and North-Eastern Italy....
 and on the Kras Plateau
Kras

Kras , also known as the Classical Karst or the Kras Plateau, is a limestone borderline plateau region in southwestern Slovenia extending into northeastern Italy....
 in the Slovenian Littoral
Slovenian Littoral

The Slovenian Littoral is a historical region of Slovenia. Its name recalls the historical Habsburg crown land of the Austrian Littoral, of which the Slovenian Littoral was a part....
.

With the collapse of the Austria-Hungary in 1918, the Slovenes initially joined the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs

File:Austria Hungary ethnic.svgThe State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs was a short-lived state formed from the southernmost parts of the Austria-Hungary after its dissolution at the end of the World War I by the resident population of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs....
, which just a few months later merged into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, in 1929 renamed to Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a monarchy stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918?1941....
. The western part of the Slovene Lands (the Slovenian Littoral and western districts of Inner Carniola
Inner Carniola

Inner Carniola is a traditional region of Slovenia. It was a part of the historical Habsburg crown land of Carniola. The traditional administrative and economic center of the region is Postojna, and other minor centers include Logatec, Cerknica, Pivka and Ilirska Bistrica....
) was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy and became known under the name of Julian March. In 1920, in the Carinthian Plebiscite
Carinthian Plebiscite

The Carinthian Plebiscite on October 10, 1920 determined the final southern border between the Austria and the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes after World War I....
, the majority of Carinthian Slovenes
Carinthian Slovenes

Carinthian Slovenes are the Slovene language population group in the Austrian State of Carinthia . The Carinthian Slovenes send representatives to the National Ethnic Groups Advisory Council....
 voted to remain in Austria. Although the Slovenes in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a monarchy stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918?1941....
 were submitted to an intolerant centralist policy trying to eradicate a distinct Slovene national consciousness, they were still better off than Slovenes in Italy, Austria and Hungary, who became victims of policies of forced assimilation
Cultural assimilation

Cultural assimilation is when an individual or individuals adopts some or all aspects of a dominant culture . Cultural assimilation is a process of socialization....
 and violent persecution. As a reaction to the fascist violence of the Italian State in the Julian March, the organisation TIGR
TIGR

TIGR, abbreviation for Trst , Istra , Gorica and Reka , was an anti-Fascist insurgent organization, active in the 1920s and the 1930s in the eastern Italy region known as the Julian March....
, was founded in 1927.

In April 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded
Invasion of Yugoslavia

The Invasion of Yugoslavia , also known as the April War , was the Axis powers' attack on Kingdom of Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941 during World War II....
 by the Axis Powers
Axis Powers

The Axis powers were those countries that were opposed to the Allies of World War II during World War II. The three major Axis powers - Nazi Germany, Kingdom of Italy , and Empire of Japan - were part of a military alliance on the signing of the Tripartite Pact in September 1940, which officially founded the Axis powers....
. Slovenia was divided between Fascist Italy
Italian Fascism

The term Italian Fascism denotes the Authoritarianism Nationalism Fascismo political movement that ruled Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943 under leader Benito Mussolini....
, Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the colloquial English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party , which established a Totalitarianism dictatorship that existed from 1933 to 1945....
 and Horthy's Hungary and several villages given to the Independent State of Croatia
Independent State of Croatia

The Independent State of Croatia was a puppet state of Nazi Germany. It was established on April 10, 1941, after the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was attacked by the Axis forces....
. Soon, a liberation movement under the Communist leadership emerged. Due to political assassinations carried out by the Communist guerrillas as well as the pre-existing radical anti-Communism of the conservative circles of the Slovenian society, a civil war between Slovenes broke out in the Italian-occupied south-eastern Slovenia (known as Province of Ljubljana
Province of Ljubljana

Province of Ljubljana was a province of the Kingdom of Italy and of the Nazi German Adriatic Littoral during World War II . It was created on May 3 1941 out of the territory occupied by Italian troops after the Axis powers invasion of Yugoslavia, and it was abolished in May 9 1945, when the Partisans liberated it from Nazi occupation....
) between the Liberation Front of the Slovenian People
Liberation Front of the Slovenian People

The Liberation Front of the Slovenian People, established 26 April 1941 in Ljubljana as the Anti-Imperialist Front, was the political organization of the Anti-Fascist resistance in Slovenia to Axis powers occupation during World War II....
 and the Axis-sponsored anti-communist militia, the Slovene Home Guard, formed to protect villages from attacks by partisans. The Slovene partisan guerrilla managed to liberate large portions of the Slovene Lands, making a contribution to the defeat of Nazism
Nazism

Nazism, officially National Socialism , refers to the ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Workers? Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945....
.

Following the re-establishment of Yugoslavia at the end of World War II, Slovenia became part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and in Slovene language: Socialisticna Federativna Republika Jugoslavija The Slovene language name also uses this Gaj?s Latin alphabet version with a slight difference in spelling....
, declared on 29 November 1945. A Communist dictatorship was established, but due to the Tito-Stalin split
Tito-Stalin Split

The Tito-Stalin Split was a conflict between the leaders of Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which resulted in Yugoslavia's expulsion from the Communist Information Bureau in 1948....
 economic and personal freedom were better than in the Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc

During the Cold War, the terms Eastern Bloc, Communist Bloc or Soviet Bloc were used to refer to European annexed or expanded Soviet Socialist Republics of the USSR and Satellite state states, including members of the Soviet-dominated organizations Comecon and the Warsaw Pact....
. In 1947, Italy ceded most of the Julian March to Yugoslavia and Slovenia thus regained the Slovenian Littoral
Slovenian Littoral

The Slovenian Littoral is a historical region of Slovenia. Its name recalls the historical Habsburg crown land of the Austrian Littoral, of which the Slovenian Littoral was a part....
, including access to the sea. From the 1950s, the Socialist Republic of Slovenia
Socialist Republic of Slovenia

The Socialist Republic of Slovenia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1963 until 1990 when Slovenia abandoned its Communist infrastructure and became a democratic constituent republic, still within Yugoslavia....
 enjoyed a relatively wide autonomy under the rule of the local Communist elite. In 1990, Slovenia abandoned its communist infrastructure, the first free and democratic elections were held and the DEMOS coalition defeated the former Communist parties. The state reconstituted itself as Republic of Slovenia
Republic of Slovenia (1990-1991)

The Republic of Slovenia was briefly a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 8 March 1990 to 1991.In March 1990, the Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia approved a number of constitutional changes that enabled a democratic transition....
. In December 1990, the overwhelming majority of Slovenian citizens voted for independence, which was declared on 25 June 1991. A Ten-Day War
Ten-Day War

The Ten-Day War , sometimes called the Slovenian Independence War , was a brief military conflict between Slovenia and SFRY in 1991 following Slovenia's declaration of independence....
 followed in which the Slovenians rejected Yugoslav military interference. After 1990, a stable democratic system evolved, with economic liberalisation and gradual growth of prosperity. Slovenia joined NATO on 29 March 2004 and the European Union on 1 May 2004. Slovenia was the first post-Communist country to hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union
Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Presidency of the Council of the European Union is the responsibility for the functioning of the Council of the European Union which is rotated between European Union member states every six months....
, for the first six months of 2008.

Politics

The Slovenian head of state
Head of State

Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchic or republican nation-state, federation, commonwealth or any other political state....
 is the president
President of Slovenia

The function of President of the Republic of Slovenia was established on 23 December 1991, when the National Assembly of Slovenia passed a new constitution as a result of independence from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
, who is elected by popular vote every five years. The executive branch is headed by the prime minister
Prime Minister of Slovenia

There have been five prime ministers of Slovenia since that country gained its independence in the breakup of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
 and the council of ministers
Minister (government)

A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the Cabinet , usually led by a monarch, Governor-General, or president....
 or cabinet, who are elected by the National Assembly
National Assembly

The National Assembly is either a legislature, or the lower house of a bicameral legislature in some countries. The best known National Assembly, and the first legislature to be known by this title, was that established during the French Revolution in 1789, known as the National Assembly ....
.

The bicameral Parliament of Slovenia is characterized by an asymmetric duality, as the Constitution does not accord equal powers to both chambers. It consists of the National Assembly
National Assembly (Slovenia)

The National Assembly is the lower house of the parliament of the Republic of Slovenia. It has 90 members, elected for a four year term, 88 members elected by the mixed member proportional representation system and 2 members elected by ethnic minorities using the Borda count, who have an absolute veto in matters concerning their ethnic grou...
 (), and the National Council
National Council (Slovenia)

The National Council is the constitutional representative of social, economic, professional and local interest groups and can be considered as the upper house of the Slovenian parliament....
 (). The National Assembly has ninety members, 88 of which are elected by all the citizens in a system of proportional representation
Proportional representation

Proportional representation , sometimes referred to as full representation, is a category of voting systems aimed at a close match between the percentage of votes that groups of candidates obtain in elections and the percentage of seats they receive ....
, while two are elected by the indigenous Hungarian and Italian minorities. Elections take place every four years. It is the supreme representative and legislative institution, exercising legislative and electoral powers as well as control over the Executive and the Judiciary. The National Council has forty members, appointed to represent social, economic, professional and local interest groups. Among its best-known powers is the authority of the "postponing veto
Veto

A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is used to denote that a certain party has the right to stop unilaterally a piece of legislation. In practice, the veto can be absolute or limited ...
" - it can demand that the Parliament re-discusses a certain piece of legislation.

Administrative divisions

The traditional regions of Slovenia based on the former four Habsburg crown land
Crown land

Crown land is a designated area belonging to the Crown, the equivalent of an Fee tail Estate that passed with the monarchy and could not be Title from it....
s (Carniola
Carniola

Carniola is a Historical regions of Central Europe of Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918....
, Carinthia
Duchy of Carinthia

The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire from 976 until the dissolution of the Empire in 1806, and a crownland of Austria-Hungary until its dissolution in 1918....
, Styria, and the Littoral
Slovenian Littoral

The Slovenian Littoral is a historical region of Slovenia. Its name recalls the historical Habsburg crown land of the Austrian Littoral, of which the Slovenian Littoral was a part....
) are the following:

Goriška and Slovenian Istria together are known as the Littoral
Slovenian Littoral

The Slovenian Littoral is a historical region of Slovenia. Its name recalls the historical Habsburg crown land of the Austrian Littoral, of which the Slovenian Littoral was a part....
 region (). White Carniola
White Carniola

White Carniola is a traditional region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia. Its major towns are Metlika, Crnomelj, and Semic, and the principal river is the Kolpa, which also forms part of the border between Slovenia and Croatia....
 (), otherwise part of Lower Carniola, is considered a separate region of Slovenia, as are Zasavje and Posavje
Posavje

Posavje is a region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia. It has three major urban centres: Bre?ice, Kr?ko, and Sevnica.It extends along the lower part of the Sava River, on the border with Croatia....
, the former being a part of Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola and Styria; and the latter part of Lower Carniola and Styria.

Statistical regions

Slovenia's statistical regions exist solely for legal and statistical purposes. As of February 2007 there are 12 statistical regions (NUTS-2 level), which are grouped in two macroregions (NUTS-1 level): Mura (Pomurska), Drava (Podravska), Carinthia (Koroška), Savinja (Savinjska), Central Sava (Zasavska), Lower Sava (Spodnjeposavska), Southeast Slovenia (Jugovzhodna Slovenija), Inner Carniola-Karst (Notranjsko-kraška), Central Slovenia (Osrednjeslovenska), Upper Carniola (Gorenjska), Gorica (Goriška), and Coastal-Karst (Obalno-kraška)

|
Zahodna Slovenija (West Slovenia) - SI02
Statistical Region NUTS code
Osrednjeslovenska SI021
Gorenjska SI022
Goriška SI023
Obalno-kraška
Littoral-Kras statistical region

Littoral-Kras statistical region is a statistical region in the south-west of Slovenia. The region is compromised out of 7 municipality: Divaca, Hrpelje-Kozina, Izola, Komen, Koper, Piran, Se?ana and has an area of 1,044 km?....
SI024
|}

The government, however, is preparing a plan for new administrative regions. The number of these regions is not yet defined, but is said to be between twelve and fourteen. After being unveiled publicly, the plan will undergo parliamentary debate. Constitution
Constitution

A constitution is a system for government — often codified as a written document — that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity....
al changes allowing the creation of regions have already been approved by the National Assembly. If, however, twelve administrative regions are favored, they will most likely be the same as those already in place.

On 24 May 2007 the government proposed a reform in the local government
Local government

Local governments are administrative offices that are smaller than a state. The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government....
 system, introducing administrative regions with limited home rule
Home rule

Home rule refers to a demand that constituent parts of a state be given greater self-governance within the greater administrative purview of the central government....
. It has been stated that 13 will be the maximum allowed number of such regions (or provinces), but their actual names, territories and capitals have yet to be exactly determined. As the passage of necessary legislation has stalled, the process of devolution
Devolution

Devolution is the Statute granting of powers from the central government of a state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level....
 has been postponed, probably till 2010.

Municipalities

Slovenia is divided into 210 local municipalities, eleven of which have urban status.

Geography


Four major European geographic regions meet in Slovenia: the Alps
Alps

The Alps is the name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
, the Dinarides
Dinaric Alps

The Dinaric Alps or Dinarides form a mountain chain in southern Europe, spanning areas of Slovenia, Croatia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and the Republic of Macedonia....
, the Pannonian Plain
Pannonian Plain

The Pannonian Plain is a large plain in Central Europe that remained when the Pliocene Pannonian Sea dried out. It is a geomorphology subsystem of the Alpide belt....
, and the Mediterranean. Slovenia's highest peak is Triglav
Triglav

Triglav is the highest mountain in Slovenia and the Julian Alps. While its name, meaning "three-headed", can describe its shape as seen from the valley of Bohinj, the mountain may have been named after the Slavic god Triglav , although this hypothesis remains disputed, as the deity is not well understood and it is not documented whether it...
 (2,864 m; 9,396 ft); the country's average height above sea level is 557 metres (1,827 ft). Although on the shore of the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea

The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges....
, near the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
, most of Slovenia is in the Black Sea
Black Sea

The Black Sea is an inland sea sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolia and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean Sea and Aegean Seas and various straits....
 drainage basin
Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean....
. The geographical centre
Geographical centre

In geography, the centroid of a region of the Earth's surface is often known as its geographical centre.*Geographical centre of Europe**Geographical centre of Austria#Center...
 of Slovenia is at the coordinates
Geographic coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates, using mainly a Spherical coordinates#Spherical coordinates....
 46°07'11.8" N and 14°48'55.2" E. It lies in Spodnja Slivna near Vace in the municipality
Municipality

A municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly denotes a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them....
 of Litija
Litija

Litija is a town and a municipality in Slovenia, located in the Sava River Valley. The town is home to about 7,000 people while the population of the municipality is about 15,000 ....
. Slovenia's coastline measures 47 km (29 mi).

Around half of the country (11,691 km˛; 4,514 sq mi) is covered by forests; the third most forested country in Europe, after Finland
Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland , is a Nordic countries situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland....
 and Sweden
Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
. Remnants of primeval forests are still to be found, the largest in the Kocevje
Kocevje

Kocevje is a municipality and town in Slovenia, the largest by area, located between the rivers Krka and Kolpa, but also refers to the former county Gottschee county in the Habsburg empire and its German speaking population....
 area. Grassland covers 5,593 square kilometres (2,159 sq mi) and fields and gardens 2,471 square kilometres (954 sq mi). There are 363 square kilometres (140 sq mi) of orchards and 216 square kilometres (83 sq mi) of vineyards.

Its climate
Climate

Climate encompasses the temperatures, humidity, atmospheric pressure, winds, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other Meteorology elements in a given region over long periods of time, as opposed to the term weather, which refers to current activity of these same elements....
 is sub-mediterranean on the coast, alpine
Alpine climate

Alpine climate is the average weather for a region above the tree line. The climate becomes colder at high elevations—this characteristic is described by the adiabatic lapse rate of air: air tends to get colder as it rises, since it expands....
 in the mountains and continental
Continental climate

Continental climate is a climate that is characterized by winter temperatures cold enough to support a fixed period of snow cover each year, and relatively moderate precipitation occurring mostly in summer, although east coast areas may show an even distribution of precipitation....
 with mild to hot summers and cold winters in the plateaux and valleys to the east. Average temperatures are -2 °C (28 °F) in January and 21 °C (70 °F) in July. The average rainfall is 1,000 millimetres (39.4 in) for the coast, up to 3,500 millimetres (137.8 in) for the Alps, 800 millimetres (31.5 in) for south-east and 1,400 millimetres (55.1 in) for central Slovenia.

Natural regions

Si 4geographic Regions
The first regionalisations of Slovenia were made by geographers Anton Melik
Anton Melik

Anton Melik was a Slovenes geographer....
 (1935-1936) and Svetozar Ilešic (1968). The newer regionalisation by Ivan Gams divides Slovenia in the following macroregions:
  • the Alps
    Alps

    The Alps is the name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
     (visokogorske Alpe)
  • the Prealpine Hills (predalpsko hribovje)
  • the Ljubljana Basin
    Ljubljana basin

    The Ljubljana Basin stretches from Bled to the Ljubljana marshlands. It is the most populated area in Slovenia, with two of the biggest Slovene cities Ljubljana and Kranj....
     (Ljubljanska kotlina)
  • Submediterranean (Littoral
    Littoral

    In coastal environments and biomes, the littoral zone extends from the high water mark, which is rarely inundated, to shoreline areas that are permanently submerged....
    ) Slovenia (submediteranska - primorska Slovenija)
  • the Dinaric
    Dinaric Alps

    The Dinaric Alps or Dinarides form a mountain chain in southern Europe, spanning areas of Slovenia, Croatia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and the Republic of Macedonia....
     Karst
    KARST

    Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope is a forerunner....
     of inner Slovenia (dinarski kras notranje Slovenije)
  • Subpannonian Slovenia (subpanonska Slovenija)


According to a newer natural geographic regionalisation, the country consists of four macroregion
Macroregion

A macroregion is a geopolitical subdivision that encompasses several traditionally or politically defined regions the meaning may vary, the common denominator being cultural, economical, historical or social similarity within a macroregion....
s. These are the Alpine, the Mediterranean, the Dinaric, and the Pannonia
Pannonia

Pannonia is an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
n landscapes. Macroregions are defined according to major relief units (the Alps, the Pannonian plain, the Dinaric mountains) and climate types (submediterranean, temperate continental, mountain climate). These are often quite interwoven.

Biodiversity

Forest1
Although Slovenia is a small country, there is an exceptionally wide variety of habitats. In the north of Slovenia are the Alps
Alps

The Alps is the name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
 (namely, Julian Alps
Julian Alps

The Julian Alps are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretches from north-eastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 metres at the Triglav mountain....
, Karavanke, Kamnik Alps
Kamnik Alps

The Kamnik Alps , , are a mountain range, part of the Southern Limestone Alps in north Slovenia and at the border of Austria. The name is derived from the town Kamnik....
), and in the south stand the Dinaric Alps
Dinaric Alps

The Dinaric Alps or Dinarides form a mountain chain in southern Europe, spanning areas of Slovenia, Croatia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and the Republic of Macedonia....
. There is also a small area of the Pannonian plain
Pannonian Plain

The Pannonian Plain is a large plain in Central Europe that remained when the Pliocene Pannonian Sea dried out. It is a geomorphology subsystem of the Alpide belt....
 and a Littoral Region. Much of southwestern Slovenia is characterized by Classical Karst
Kras

Kras , also known as the Classical Karst or the Kras Plateau, is a limestone borderline plateau region in southwestern Slovenia extending into northeastern Italy....
, a very rich, often unexplored underground habitat containing diverse flora and fauna.

About 58% of the country is covered by forests. The forests are an important natural resource, but logging is kept to a minimum, as Slovenians also value their forests for the preservation of natural diversity, for enriching the soil and cleansing the water and air, for the social and economic benefits of recreation and tourism, and for the natural beauty they give to the Slovenian landscape. In the interior of the country are typical Central Europe
Central Europe

Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern Europe and Western Europe Europe. In addition, Northern Europe, Southern Europe and Southeastern Europe may variously delimit or overlap into Central Europe....
an forests, predominantly oak
Oak

The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of about 400 species of trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus , which are listed in the List of Quercus species, and some related genera, notably Lithocarpus....
 and beech
Beech

Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe and North America.The leaf of beech trees are entire or sparsely toothed, from 5–15 cm long and 4–10 cm broad....
. In the mountains, spruce
Spruce

A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea, a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth....
, fir
Fir

Firs are a genus of between 45-55 species of evergreen Pinophyta in the family Pinaceae. All are trees, reaching heights of 10-80 m tall and trunk diameters of 0.5-4 m when mature....
, and pine
Pine

Pines are Pinophyta trees in the genus Pinus, in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species....
 are more common. The tree line is at 1,700 to 1,800 metres (or 5,575 to 5,900 ft).

Pine trees also grow on the Kras plateau. Only one third of Kras is now covered by pine forest. Before that Kras was covered by oak forest. It is said that most of the forest was chopped down long ago to provide the wooden piles on which the city of Venice
Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital city of the Italian regions Veneto, a population of 271,251 . Together with Padua, Italy, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area ....
 now stands. The Kras and White Carniola
White Carniola

White Carniola is a traditional region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia. Its major towns are Metlika, Crnomelj, and Semic, and the principal river is the Kolpa, which also forms part of the border between Slovenia and Croatia....
 are well known for the mysterious proteus
Olm

The olm, or proteus , is a blind amphibian Endemism to the subterranean waters of caves of the Dinaric Alps Karst topography of southern Europe....
. The lime/linden
Tilia

Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, in Asia , Europe and eastern North America; it is not native to western North America....
 tree, also common in Slovenian forests, is a national symbol.

In the Alps, flowers such as Daphne blagayana, various gentian
Gentian

Gentiana is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the Gentian family , tribe Gentianeae and monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species, it is considered a large genus....
s (Gentiana clusii
Gentiana clusii

'Gentiana clusii' is a large-flowered, short-stemmed gentian, which is very similar to Gentiana acaulis. The two species differ in the presence or absence of green stripes inside the Corolla , by the shape of the corners between the petals , but mostly in their ecology, with G....
, Gentiana froelichi), Primula auricula
Primula auricula

Primula auricula, often known as Auricula or bear's ear , is a species of Primula that grows on basic rocks in the mountain ranges of central Europe, including the western Alps, Jura mountains, the Vosges, the Black Forest and the Tatra mountains....
, edelweiss (the symbol of Slovene mountaineering), Cypripedium calceolus
Cypripedium calceolus

Cypripedium calceolus is a Lady's Slipper orchid.It is a widespread plant worldwide, found from Europe east through Asia to the Pacific Ocean....
, Fritillaria meleagris
Fritillaria meleagris

Fritillaria meleagris is a Fritillary, a flower from the family Liliaceae.The flower has a chequered reddish-brown, purple, white and grey colouration, sometimes mostly white....
 (snake's head fritillary), and Pulsatilla grandis are found.

The country's fauna includes marmot
Marmot

Marmots are members of the genus Marmota, in the rodent family Sciuridae .Marmots are generally large ground squirrels. Those most often referred to as marmots tend to live in mountainous areas such as the Alps, northern Apennines, Carpathian_Mountains, Tatra_Mountains, and Pyrenees in Europe, the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada...
s, Alpine ibex
Alpine Ibex

The Alpine Ibex ? commonly called by its local names in the various languages - French language bouquetin, German language steinbock, Italian language stambecco, Slovenian language kozorog, or by its Latin language nickname: capricorn?is the species of ibex that lives in the European Alps....
, and chamois
Chamois

The chamois is a goat-like animal native to the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, the European Alps, the Gran Sasso region of the central Italian Apennine Mountains, the Tatra Mountains, the Balkans, parts of Turkey, and the Caucasus....
. There are numerous deer
Deer

Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae . A number of broadly similar animals from related families within the order even-toed ungulate are often also called deer....
, roe deer
Roe Deer

The European Roe Deer is a deer species of Europe, Asia Minor, and Caspian Sea coastal regions. There is a separate species known as the Siberian Roe Deer that is found from the Ural Mountains to as far east as China and Siberia....
, boar
Boar

The wild boar , or colloquially simply called the boar, is an omnivorous, wikt:gregarious mammal of the family Suidae. It is native across much of Central Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and much of Asia as far south as Indonesia, and has been introduced elsewhere....
, and hare
Hare

Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Very young hares, less than one year old, are called leverets....
s. The edible dormouse
Edible dormouse

The edible dormouse or fat dormouse is a small dormouse and the only species in the genus Glis. It was farmed and Roman cuisine, from which it gains its name....
 is often found in the Slovenian beech forests. Hunting these animals is a long tradition and is well described in the book The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola
The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola

The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola is Janez Vajkard Valvasor's most important work on the natural history of his homeland Carniola, a central part of the present-day Slovenia....
 (1689), written by Janez Vajkard Valvasor
Janez Vajkard Valvasor

Baron Janez Vajkard Valvasor , was a Slovenia nobleman, scholar, and polymath, member of the Royal Society.Janez Vajkard Valvasor was born in May 1641 in Ljubljana, Carniola to father Jernej and mother Ana Marija b....
 (1641-1693). Some important carnivores include the Eurasian lynx
Eurasian Lynx

The Eurasian lynx is a medium-sized Felidae native to European and Siberian forests, where it is one of the predators. The Eurasian lynx is the biggest of the lynxes, ranging in length from 80 to 130 cm and standing about 70 cm at the shoulder....
 (reintroduced to the Kocevje
Kocevje

Kocevje is a municipality and town in Slovenia, the largest by area, located between the rivers Krka and Kolpa, but also refers to the former county Gottschee county in the Habsburg empire and its German speaking population....
 area in 1973), European wild cat
Wild cat

The Wildcat , sometimes Wild Cat or Wild-cat, is a small felidae native to Europe, the western part of Asia, and Africa. It is a hunter of small mammals, birds, and other creatures of a similar size....
s, fox
Fox

A fox is an animal belonging to any one of about 27 species of small to medium-sized Canidae, characterized by possessing a long, narrow snout, and a bushy tail, or brush....
es (especially the red fox
Red Fox

The Red Fox is a mammal of the order Carnivora. In the British Isles, where there are no longer any other native wild canids, it is referred to simply as "the fox"....
), and the rare jackal
Jackal

A jackal is a member of any of three small to medium-sized species of the family Canidae, found in Africa, Asia and southeastern Europe. Jackals fill a similar ecological niche to the coyote in North America, that of predators of small to medium-sized animals, scavengers, and omnivores....
. There are also hedgehog
Hedgehog

A hedgehog is any of the spiny mammals of the subfamily Erinaceinae and the Order Erinaceomorpha. There are 16 species of hedgehog in five genus, found through parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and New Zealand....
s, marten
Marten

The Martens constitute the genus Martes within the subfamily Mustelinae, in family Mustelidae. They are slender, agile, animals, adapted to living in taigas, and are found in coniferous and northern deciduous forests across the northern hemisphere....
s, and snakes such as vipers
Viperinae

The Viperinae, or viperines, are a subfamily of venomous snake Viperidaes found in Europe, Asia and Africa. They are distinguished by their lack of the heat-sensing pit organs that characterize their sister group, the Crotalinae....
 and grass snake
Grass Snake

The Grass Snake , sometimes called the Ringed Snake or Water Snake is a European non-venom snake.The Grass Snake is typically dark green or brown in colour with a characteristic yellow collar behind the head, which explains the alternative name ringed snake....
s. As of March 2005, Slovenia also has a limited population of wolves and around four hundred brown bear
Brown Bear

The Brown Bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It weighs 100 to 700 kg and its larger populations such as the Kodiak bear match the Polar bear as the largest extant land predator....
s.

There is a wide variety of birds, such as the Tawny Owl
Tawny Owl

The Tawny Owl is a stocky, medium-sized owl which is common in woodlands across much of Eurasia. Its underparts are pale with dark streaks, and the upperparts are either brown or grey, with several of the eleven recognised subspecies having both variants....
, the Long-eared Owl
Long-eared Owl

The Long-eared Owl - Asio otus is a species of owl which breeds in Europe, Asia, and North America. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, family Strigidae, which contains most species of owl....
, the Eagle Owl, hawk
Hawk

The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Europe and Asia, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genus Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis....
s, and Short-toed Eagle
Short-toed Eagle

name = Short-toed Eagle| status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1| image = Circaetus gallicus 02.JPG| range_map = Circaetus gallicus dis.PNG| range_map_width = 240px...
s. Various other birds of prey have been recorded, as well as a growing number of raven
Raven

Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus —but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied....
s, crow
Crow

The true crows are large passerine birds that form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small dove-sized jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several offsh...
s and magpie
Magpie

Magpies are passerine birds of the crow family , Corvidae. The names 'jay' and 'magpie' are to a certain extent interchangeable, although this does not accurately reflect the evolutionary relationship between these birds....
s migrating into Ljubljana
Ljubljana

Ljubljana is the capital city of Slovenia and its largest town. It is located in the center of the country and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants....
 and Maribor
Maribor

Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia. The population of Maribor is approximately 133,000 . Maribor lies on the river Drava at the meeting point of the Pohorje mountain, the Drava Valley, the Drava Plain, and the Kozjak and Slovenske gorice hill ranges....
 where they thrive. Other birds include (both Black and Green) Woodpecker
Woodpecker

Woodpeckers are near passerine birds of the order Piciformes. They are one subfamily in the family Picidae, which also includes the piculets and wrynecks....
s and the White Stork
White Stork

The White Stork is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae, breeding in the warmer parts of Europe , northwest Africa, and southwest Asia ....
, which nests in Prekmurje
Prekmurje

Prekmurje is the easternmost region of Slovenia. It borders Hungary to the north-east, Austria to the north-west, Croatia to the south and the Slovenian region of Lower Styria to the south-west....
.

The indigenous Slovenian fish is the marble trout or marmorata (Salmo marmoratus). Extensive breeding programmes have been introduced to repopulate the marble trout into lakes and streams invaded by non-indigenous species of trout
Trout

Trout are a number of species of freshwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the Salmonidae family. Salmon belong to some of the same genera as trout but, unlike most trout, most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water....
.

The only regular species of cetacea
Cetacea

The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Cetus is Latin and is used in biological names to mean "whale"; its original meaning, "large sea animal", was more general....
ns found in the northern Adriatic sea is the bottlenose dolphin
Bottlenose Dolphin

Bottlenose dolphins, the genus Tursiops, are the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins....
 (Tursiops truncatus).

Domestic animals originating in Slovenia include the Carniolan honeybee
Carniolan honeybee

The Carniolan honey bee is a subspecies of Western honey bee. It originates from Slovenia, but can now be found also in Austria, part of Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia....
, the indigenous Karst Shepherd and the Lipizzan
Lipizzan

The Lipizzan or Lipizzaner , is a list of horse breeds of horse closely associated with the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria where the finest representatives demonstrate the haute ecole or "high school" movements of classical dressage, including the highly controlled, stylized jumps and other movements known as the "airs abo...
 horse. The exploration of various cave systems has yielded discoveries of many cave-dwelling insects and other organisms.

Slovenia is a veritable cornucopia of forest, cavern and mountain-dwelling wildlife. Many species that are endangered or can no longer be found in other parts of Europe can still be found here.

Economy


Slovenia has a high-income developed economy
Developed country

The term developed country is used to describe countries that have a high level of development according to some criteria. Which criteria, and which countries are classified as being developed, is a contentious issue and there is fierce debate about this....
 which enjoys the second highest (after Cyprus) GDP
Gross domestic product

File:GDP nominal per capita world map IMF 2008.pngThe gross domestic product or gross domestic income is one of the measures of national income and output for a given country's economy....
 per capita ($28,010.76 estimate for 2008) of the new EU countries which is 93% of the EU average. Although the country's relatively high inflation
Inflation

In economics, inflation is a rise in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. The term "inflation" once referred to increases in the money supply ; however, economic debates about the relationship between money supply and price levels have led to its primary use today in describing price inflatio...
 declined to 2.3% in 2006 (prior to adoption of the euro), in October 2007 it reached 5.1% year-on-year, exceeding the average in the eurozone
Eurozone

The Eurozone is a currency union of 16 Member State of the European Union which have adopted the euro as their sole legal tender. It currently consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain....
. Slovenia's economy has started to grow
Economic growth

Economic growth is the increase in the amount of the goods and services produced by an economics over time. It is conventionally measured as the percent rate of increase in real gross domestic product, or real GDP....
 more strongly in the last few years 4.3% in 2004 and 2005, 5.9% in 2006 and 6.8% in 2007, after relatively slow growth in 2003 (2.8%). in the first three quarters of 2008, the economy expanded at a 5% annual rate.

Despite economic success, Slovenia faces some challenges. A big portion of the economy remains in state hands and foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment

Foreign direct investment in its classic form is defined as a company from one country making a physical investment into building a factory in another country....
 (FDI) in Slovenia is one of the lowest in the EU per capita. Tax
Tax

To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon an individual or Legal person by a state or the functional equivalent of a state.Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entity....
es are relatively high, the labor market is seen as inflexible, and industries are losing sales to China, India, and elsewhere.

During the 2000s, privatization
Privatization

Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of business from the public sector to the private sector . In a broader sense, privatization refers to transfer of any government function to the private sector including governmental functions like revenue collection and law enforcement....
s were seen in the banking, telecommunications, and public utility sectors. Restrictions on foreign investment are being dismantled, and foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment

Foreign direct investment in its classic form is defined as a company from one country making a physical investment into building a factory in another country....
 (FDI) is expected to increase. Slovenia is the economic front-runner of the countries that joined the European Union in 2004 and was the first new member which adopted the euro
Euro

The euro is the official currency of 16 out of 27 European Union member state of the European Union . The states, known collectively as the Eurozone are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain....
 on 1 January 2007.

Demographics


Slovenia's main ethnic group is Slovene (83%). Ethnic groups from other parts of the former Yugoslavia (Serbian
Serbs

Serbs are a South Slavs people living in the Balkans and Central Europe, mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia....
, Croatian
Croats

Croats are a South Slavs nation mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 5 million Croats living in the southern Central Europe region, along the east bank of the Adriatic Sea and an estimated 9 million throughout the world....
, Bosnian
Bosniaks

group = BosniaksBo?njaci|image = ...
, Macedonian
Macedonians (ethnic group)

The Macedonians also referred to as Macedonian Slavs are a South Slavs people who are primarily associated with the Republic of Macedonia....
, Montenegrin
Montenegrins

group=Montenegrins|pop=800,000|region1=|pop1=267,669 198,414 |ref1=|region2=|pop2=69,049 ca. 200,000 |ref2=|region3=|pop3=30,000:...
) form 5.3%, and the Hungarian, Albanian
Albanians

The Albanian people , from southeast Europe, live in Albania and neighbouring countries and speak the Albanian language. About half of Albanians live in Albania, with other large groups residing in Kosovo, the Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro....
, Roma, Italian and other minorities form 2.8% of the population. Ethnic affiliation of 8.9% was either undeclared or unknown.

Life expectancy in 2003 was 72.2 years for men and 80 years for women. Slovenia ranks number 4 on the list of countries by suicide rate
List of countries by suicide rate

The following is a List of suicide rates by country according to data from the World Health Organization in which a country's rank is determined by its total rate deaths officially recorded as suicides....
.

With 99 inhabitants per square kilometre (256/sq mi), Slovenia ranks low among the European countries in population density (compared to 320/km˛ (829/sq mi) for the Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
 or 195/km˛ (505/sq mi) for Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
). The Notranjska-Kras statistical region has the lowest population density while the Central Slovenian statistical region has the highest. Approximately 51% of the population lives in urban areas and 49% in rural areas.

The official language is Slovene, which is a member of the South Slavic language group
South Slavic languages

South Slavic languages comprise one of the three geographical groups of Slavic languages . There are around 30 million speakers of these languages, mainly in the Balkans....
. Hungarian
Hungarian language

Hungarian is a Uralic languages unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries....
 and Italian
Italian language

Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
 enjoy the status of official languages in the ethnically mixed regions along the Hungarian and Italian borders.

By religion, Slovenes are traditionally largely Roman Catholic
Roman Catholicism in Slovenia

The Roman Catholic Church in Slovenia is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome....
 (57.8% according to the 2002 Census).

According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll
Eurobarometer

Eurobarometer is a series of statistical survey regularly performed on behalf of the European Commission since 1973. It produces reports of public opinion of certain issues relating to the European Union across the member states....
 2005, 37% of Slovenian citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 46% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 16% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".

Culture


Slovenia's first book was printed by the Protestant reformer Primož Trubar
Primož Trubar

Primo? Trubar was a Slovenes Protestant Reformation, the founder and the first superintendent of the Protestant Church of the Slovene Lands, a consolidator of the Slovene language and the author of the first Slovene printing book....
 (1508-1586). It was actually two books, (a catechism
Catechism

A catechism is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present....
) and Abecedarium
Abecedarium (Trubar)

Abecedarium is along with the Katekizem the first Slovenian printed book. The protestant reformer Primo? Trubar had it printed in 1550....
, which was published in 1550 in Tübingen
Tübingen

T?bingen, a traditional university town in Baden-W?rttemberg, Germany, is situated 30 km southwest of Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers....
, Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
.

The central part of the country, namely Carniola
Carniola

Carniola is a Historical regions of Central Europe of Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918....
 (which existed as a part of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Kaiserlich und k?niglich Monarchy was a state in Central Europe ruled by the House of Habsburg, constitutionally a personal union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary....
 until the early 20th century) was ethnographically and historically well-described in the book The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola
The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola

The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola is Janez Vajkard Valvasor's most important work on the natural history of his homeland Carniola, a central part of the present-day Slovenia....
 (, ), published in 1689 by Baron Janez Vajkard Valvasor
Janez Vajkard Valvasor

Baron Janez Vajkard Valvasor , was a Slovenia nobleman, scholar, and polymath, member of the Royal Society.Janez Vajkard Valvasor was born in May 1641 in Ljubljana, Carniola to father Jernej and mother Ana Marija b....
 (1641-1693).

Some of Slovenia's greatest literates were the poets France Prešeren
France Prešeren

France Pre?eren was a Slovene language Romanticism poet. He is considered the Slovenes national poet. Although he was not a particularly prolific author, he inspired virtually all Slovene literature thereafter....
 (1800-1849), Oton Župancic
Oton Župancic

Oton ?upancic was a Slovene language poet, translator and playwright.?upancic is regarded, alongside Ivan Cankar, Dragotin Kette and Josip Murn, as the beginner of modernism in Slovenian literature....
, Srecko Kosovel
Srecko Kosovel

Srecko Kosovel was a Slovene language Avant garde poet.Since the 1960s, Kosovel has become a poetic icon, in the league of France Pre?eren and Edvard Kocbek....
, Edvard Kocbek
Edvard Kocbek

Edvard Kocbek was a Slovenian poet, writer, essayist, translator and political activist. He is considered as one of the best authors who have written in the Slovene language, and one of the best Slovene poets after Pre?eren....
 and Dane Zajc
Dane Zajc

Dane Zajc was a Slovenes poet. President of the Slovene Writers' Association , awarded the prestigous Pre?eren Award for lifetime achievement ....
, as well as the writers Ivan Cankar
Ivan Cankar

Ivan Cankar was a Slovenes writer, playwright, essayist, poet and political activism. He is regarded as the greatest writer in the Slovene language, and has sometimes been compared to Franz Kafka and James Joyce....
 (1876-1918) and Vladimir Bartol
Vladimir Bartol

Vladimir Bartol was a Slovenian language writer, most famous for his novel Alamut . Alamut was published in 1938 and translated into numerous languages, becoming the most popular work of Slovene literature around the world....
, Alojz Rebula
Alojz Rebula

Alojz Rebula is a Slovenes writer, playwright, essayist and translator, who lives and works in the Province of Trieste, Italy. ...
, Drago Jancar
Drago Jancar

Drago Jancar is a Slovenia writer, playwright, essayist and public intellectual. Jancar is one of the most prolific and famous contemporary Slovene writers....
, Boris Pahor
Boris Pahor

Boris Pahor is a Slovenes writer from Italy. He is considered to be one of the most important living authors in the Slovene language and has been nominated for the Nobel prize for literature by the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts....
, Tomaž Šalamun and Aleš Debeljak
Aleš Debeljak

Ale? Debeljak , is a Slovenian cultural critic, poet, and essayist. He is considered one of the most influential contemporary intellectuals in Central Europe....
 are the leading names of contemporary Slovene literature, while Aleš Šteger
Aleš Šteger

Ale? ?teger is a Slovenian language poet.He was born in the town of Ptuj in Lower Styria, Slovenia, then part of Yugoslavia. He studied Comparative Literature and German language at University of Ljubljana....
 is one of the most noticeable name among newcomers.

The most important Slovene painters include Jurij Šubic and Anton Ažbe
Anton Ažbe

File:Anton Azbe Self Portrait.jpgAnton A?be was a Slovenes Painting and teacher.He was born in a peasant family in the small Carniolan village of Dolencice near ?kofja Loka in Austria-Hungary ....
 in late 19th century. Ivana Kobilca
Ivana Kobilca

Ivana Kobilca was a Slovenes Realism Painting who lived, worked and studied in various European cities including Vienna, Sarajevo, Berlin, Paris and Munich....
, Rihard Jakopic
Rihard Jakopic

Rihard Jakopic was a Slovenians painter. He was the leading Slovenes Impressionist painter and theoretician. Together with Matej Sternen, Matija Jama and Ivan Grohar, he is considered the pioneer of Slovenian impressionist painting....
, Ivan Grohar
Ivan Grohar

Ivan Grohar was a Slovenian Impressionism painter.Grohar showed an interest in art from an early age and, encouraged by a local vicar, began working at a painter's studio in Kranj and later in Zagreb....
 worked in the beginning of 20th century while Avgust Cernigoj
Avgust Cernigoj

Avgust Cernigoj was a Slovenes Painting, known for his avant-garde experiments in Constructivism .He was born in Trieste, then part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire....
, Lojze Spacal, Anton Gojmir Kos, Riko Debenjak, Marij Pregelj, exceptional Gabrijel Stupica, Janez Bernik worked mostly in the second part of 20. century. Contemporary artists are Emerik Bernard, Metka Krašovec, Ivo Prancic, Gustav Gnamuš, group IRWIN and Marko Peljhan. World fame obtained Zoran Mušic
Zoran Mušic

Zoran Mu?ic was a Slovenia Painting....
 who worked in Paris and Venice.

Some important Slovene sculptors were Fran Berneker, Lojze Dolinar, Zdenko Kalin, Slavko Tihec, Janez Boljka and now Jakov Brdar and Mirsad Begic. The most famed Slovene architects were Jože Plecnik
Jože Plecnik

Jo?e Plecnik, was a Slovenes architect who practised in Vienna, Belgrade, Prague and Ljubljana....
 and Max Fabiani
Max Fabiani

Max Fabiani, was a Slovenes-Italy art nouveau architect....
 and later Edo Ravnikar and Milan Mihelic.
Iacobus Handl Gallus
Slovenia is a homeland of numerous musicians and composers, including Renaissance
Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe....
 composer Jacobus Gallus
Jacobus Gallus

Jacobus Gallus Carniolus was a late Renaissance composer of Slovenia origin. Born in what is today Carniola, part of Slovenia, then part of the Habsburg Holy Roman Empire, he lived and worked in Moravia and Bohemia during the last decade of his life....
 (1550-1591), who greatly influenced Central European classical music, and the violin virtuoso Giuseppe Tartini
Giuseppe Tartini

Giuseppe Tartini was an Italy composer and violinist....
. In the twentieth century, Bojan Adamic
Bojan Adamic

Bojan Adamic, was a renowned Slovenian composer of film scores, born in Ribnica....
 was a renowned film music composer and Ivo Petric
Ivo Petric

Ivo Petric is a Slovenia composer of European classical music.Petric was educated at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana from 1952 to 1958. After completing his studies at the Academy, he conducted and toured with the Slavko Osterc chamber music ensemble until 1982....
 (born 16 June 1931), is a composer of European classical music.

Contemporary popular musicians have been Slavko Avsenik
Slavko Avsenik

Slavko Avsenik is a Slovenians composer and musician. His career accomplishments place him at the worldwide pinnacle of success among ethnic popular musicians....
, Laibach
Laibach (band)

Laibach is a Slovenian avant-garde music music group, strongly associated with industrial music, martial music, and Neoclassical musical styles....
, Vlado Kreslin
Vlado Kreslin

Vlado Kreslin is a Slovenian folk rock musician.Kreslin was born in the village of Beltinci in the Prekmurje region of Slovenia, then part of former Yugoslavia....
, Pero Lovšin
Pero Lovšin

Peter Lov?in, known also as Pero Lov?in , is a Slovenian musician, songwriter and singer, best known as a frontman of the Slovene punk rock group Pankrti....
, Pankrti
Pankrti

Pankrti were a punk rock band from Ljubljana, Slovenia, active in the late 1970s and during the 1980s. They were known for provocative and politically engaged songs and billed themselves "The First Punk Band Behind The Iron Curtain" ....
, Zoran Predin
Zoran Predin

Zoran Predin is a singer-songwriter from Maribor, Slovenia. He was the front man of the rock band Lacni Franz, and writes music for film, television and theatre....
, Lacni Franz
Lacni Franz

Lacni Franz was a rock music band from Slovenia. The band was formed in Maribor in June 1979. Their name, meaning hungry Franz, is a pun on Hungry Joe, and describes hunger for rock music....
, New Swing Quartet, DJ Umek
DJ Umek

Uro? Umek Umek began DJing in 1993 at the age of 17 years. He was among the pioneers of the electronic music in Slovenia. Umek became famous by techno-supporters in Europe about 2001, for his fast mixing skills and his uplifting dj-sets....
, Valentino Kanzyani
Valentino Kanzyani

Tine Kocjancic, better known as Valentino Kanzyani is a Slovenian techno deejay and music producer. He has also released records under the name Recycled Loops, which is also the name of one of the record labels that he co-runs , the other being Earresistable....
, Siddharta
Siddharta (band)

Siddharta is a five-piece Slovenian rock and roll musical band founded in 1995. They are named after the popular novel by Germany writer Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha ....
, Big Foot Mama
Big Foot Mama

Big Foot Mama is a rock bands from Ljubljana, Slovenia. It is one of the most popular Slovenian pop rock bands of the 1990s.The group started their career in 1990....
,Terrafolk
Terrafolk

Terrafolk is a Music of Slovenia folk band which formed in 1999 at Festival Lent in Slovenia. They quickly rose to fame, performing at numerous fesivals throughout Europe, including the Edinburgh Fringe and Glastonbury, before winning the BBC World Music Audience Award in 2003....
, Katalena, Magnifico
Magnifico

Magnifico may refer to the following:*Robert Pe?ut - Magnifico, a Serbian-Slovenian singer known also as Magnifico.*Magnifico , a film from the Philippines that won the Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival....
 and others.

Slovene cinema has more than a century-long tradition with Karol Grossmann, Janko Ravnik, Ferdo Delak, France Štiglic
France Štiglic

France ?tiglic was a Slovenians film director and screenwriter. His 1948 film On Own Land was entered into the 1949 Cannes Film Festival. His film The Ninth Circle was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film....
, Mirko Grobler, Igor Pretnar, France Kosmac, Jože Pogacnik, Matjaž Klopcic, Jane Kavcic, Jože Gale, Boštjan Hladnik
Boštjan Hladnik

Bo?tjan Hladnik was a Yugoslavian/Slovenes filmmaker.Hladnik was born in Kranj. He started with amateur short films after acquiring a projector and a 8 mm film in 1947....
 and Karpo Godina as its most established filmmakers. Contemporary film directors Janez Burger, Jan Cvitkovic
Jan Cvitkovic

Jan Cvitkovic is a critically acclaimed Slovenia film director, screenwriter and actor. As of April 2007 he has already won a total of 12 awards and 3 nominations at various film fesitvals for his work, including the San Sebastian Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival....
, Damjan Kozole
Damjan Kozole

Damjan Kozole , is a Slovenian film director.His 2003 feature film Spare Parts was screened in the Competition Programme at Berlinale 2003 and following that at more than fifty international film festivals, where it won many international awards and entered the selection of best European Film for the European Film Awards....
, Janez Lapajne
Janez Lapajne

Janez Lapajne [yannez la-pie-nay], Slovenian film director, * June 24 1967, Celje, Slovenia.Leading Slovenian contemporary independent filmmaker....
 and Maja Weiss are most notable representatives of the so-called "Renaissance of Slovenian cinema".

Famous Slovene scholars include the chemist and Nobel prize
Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize , established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Nobel Prize in Literature, and Nobel Peace Prize in 1901....
 laureate Friderik - Fritz Pregl, physicist Joseph Stefan
Joseph Stefan

Joseph Stefan was a physicist, mathematician and poet of Slovene language mother tongue and Austria-Hungary citizenship.Life and work ...
, philosophers Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek

Slavoj ?i?ek is a Marxist sociologist, philosopher, and cultural critic. He was born in Ljubljana, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . He received a Doctor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Ljubljana and studied psychoanalysis at the University of Paris VIII with Jacques-Alain Miller and Fran?ois Regnault....
 and Milan Komar
Milan Komar

Milan Komar, also known as Emilio Komar was a Argentines of Slovene descent Roman Catholic Church philosopher and essayist....
, linguist Franc Miklošic
Franc Miklošic

Fran Miklo?ic , was a Slovenes philology....
, physician Anton Marko Plencic, mathematician Jurij Vega
Jurij Vega

Baron Jurij Bartolomej Vega was a Slovenes mathematician, physicist and artillery Commissioned officer....
, sociologist Thomas Luckmann
Thomas Luckmann

Thomas Luckmann is a Germany sociologist of Slovenes origin. His main areas of research are the sociology of communication, Sociology of knowledge, sociology of religion, and the philosophy of science....
, theologian Anton Strle
Anton Strle

Anton Strle was a Slovenians professor of Theology and a priest. He was born in the village Osredek in the parish Sv.Vid nad Cerknico. He was ordained priest in 1941 and was promoted D.D....
 and rocket engineer Herman Potocnik
Herman Potocnik

Herman Potocnik was a Slovenes rocket engineer and pioneer of cosmonautics . He is chiefly remembered for his work addressing the long-term human habitation of space....
.

Education

Univerza Ljubljana
The Slovenian education system consists of:
  • pre-school education
  • basic education (single structure of primary and lower secondary education)
  • (upper) secondary education: vocational and technical education, secondary general education
  • higher vocational education
  • higher education


Specific parts of the system:
  • adult education
  • music and dance education
  • special needs education
  • programmes in ethnically and linguistically mixed areas


Currently there are three public universities in Slovenia:
  • University of Ljubljana
    University of Ljubljana

    The University of Ljubljana is the first and the largest university in Slovenia; with 64,000 enrolled graduate and postgraduate students, it is among the largest universities in the world....
  • University of Maribor
    University of Maribor

    The University of Maribor is the second university in Slovenia, established in 1975. It currently has 15 faculties.The university's roots reach back to 1859, when a theological seminary was established with the encouragement of Maribor bishop and patriot Anton Martin Slom?ek....
  • University of Primorska
    University of Primorska

    University of Primorska is the third university in Slovenia. It is located in Koper, Izola and Portoro? and is named for the Slovenian Littoral region where it is located....


In addition, there is the private University of Nova Gorica
University of Nova Gorica

University of Nova Gorica - UNG , is the fourth university in Slovenia. It is located in the towns of Nova Gorica and Ajdov?cina....
.

The Programme for International Student Assessment
Programme for International Student Assessment

The Programme for International Student Assessment is a triennial world-wide test of 15-year-old schoolchildren's scholastic performance, the implementation of which is coordinated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ....
, coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks Slovenia's education as the 12th best in the world, being significantly higher than the OECD average.

See also

  • Communications in Slovenia
    Communications in Slovenia

    Telephones - number of subscribers:562.000 analog subscribers, 119.000 ISDN subscribers, 130.000 Centrex subscribers Telephones - mobile cellular:...
  • Constitution of Slovenia
    Constitution of Slovenia

    The Constitution of the Slovenia was adopted by the Slovenian National Assembly on December 23 1991. The document is divided into ten chapters:...
  • Foreign relations of Slovenia
    Foreign relations of Slovenia

    Since Slovenia declared independence in 1991, its Government of Slovenia have underscored their commitment in improving cooperation with neighbouring countries and to actively contribute to international efforts aimed at bringing stability to Southeast Europe....
  • Health in Slovenia
  • Music of Slovenia
    Music of Slovenia

    The music of Slovenia is closely related to Austrian, Istrian and Croatian because of its common history and Alps and littoral culture. In the minds of many Slovenes and foreigners, Slovenian folk music means a form of polka that is still popular today, especially among expatriates and their descendants in North America....
  • National symbols of Slovenia
    National symbols of Slovenia

    National symbols of Slovenia are the symbols that are used in Slovenia and abroad to represent the country and its people. The most common and recognizable of these is the Flag of Slovenia....
  • Military of Slovenia
    Military of Slovenia

    The Military of Slovenia consists of the Slovenian Armed Forces . The SAF are the armed forces of Slovenia. As of 2003 it is organized as a fully professional standing army....
  • Slovene language
  • Tourism in Slovenia
    Tourism in Slovenia

    The Central European nation of Slovenia offers tourists a wide variety of landscapes in a small space: Alps in the northwest, Mediterranean in the southwest, Pannonian Plain in the northeast and Dinaric Alps in the southeast....
  • Transportation in Slovenia


External links

Government
  • . Slovenia gateway page.
  • . Government links.
  • [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/world-leaders-1/world-leaders-s/slovenia.html Chief of State and Cabinet Members]
General information* from UCB Libraries GovPubs*, publication from the Slovenian Government Communication Office. pdf. In English, Spanish, French, German and Russian. Travel
  • . Published by the Slovenian Tourist Board.
Other
  • . A site featuring virtual reality panoramas of various spots in the country.
  • . Published by the Association of the Geographical Societies of Slovenia.