Program
Slovenia in Brief
Area: 20,273 km2; About half size of Switzerland
Population: 2 million
Capital city: Ljubljana
Language: Slovene; also Italian and Hungarian in nationally mixed areas
Currency: Euro
Important dates:
-Independence - 25 June 1991
-Member of EU - 1 May 2004
-Introduction of the Euro - 1 January 2007
Geographical characteristics, climate
Geographical division of Slovenia:
Alps: 42.1% of territory
Dinaric Alps: 28.1% of territory
Pannonian Plain: 21.2% of territory
Mediterranean: 8.6% of territory
Highest peak:
Mt. Triglav: 2,864 metres
The Republic of Slovenia lies at the heart of Europe, where the Alps face the Pannonian plains and the Mediterranean meets the mysterious Karst. To the north is Austria; Hungary is to the east; Croatia to the south and Italy to the west.
In Slovenia, the sun shines approximately 2,000 hours per year. And there is plenty of snow in winter. The average temperatures are -2°C in January and 21°C in July.
Green is the dominant colour. There are many woods and forests in Slovenia – covering more than half of the country; Slovenia is the third most forested country in Europe, right after Finland and Sweden. In one of the last primeval forests of the Kočevje area, it is possible to hike through for days without ever emerging onto the plain.
As a small, beautiful and picturesque country, Slovenia makes a great tourist destination. You can ski in the morning and surrender yourself to the luxury of the Adriatic Sea in the afternoon.
Slovenia has 46.6 km of sea coast - one inch per inhabitant.
More info about Slovenia:
http://www.uvi.gov.si/eng/slovenia/publications/facts-book/booklet.pdf
A detailed and up-to-date introduction to Slovenia: 116 pages, colour photographs, diagrams and a map of Slovenia.
http://www.slovenia.info/
The official website of Slovenian tourism
Ljubljana
In Ljubljana the old meets the new; and it seems that history has spent all of the
settlement's five millennia preparing it to become the nation's capital. It has managed to retain traces from all periods of its rich history; from the legacy of Roman Emona; through to the Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau periods characterised in the house fronts and ornate doorways of the city centre, the romantic bridges adorning the Ljubljanica river, the lopsided rooftops and a park reaching deep into the city centre.
Here eastern and western cultures met; and the Italian concept of art combined with the sculptural aesthetics of Central European cathedrals. The city owes its present appearance partly to Italian baroque and partly to Art Nouveau, which is the style of the numerous buildings erected immediately after the earthquake of 1895.In the first half of the 20th century, modern Ljubljana was shaped by the strong personal style of Jože Plečnik, a great European architect and a local of Ljubljana. The cityscape was complemented by his modernist followers as well as by creations of the "New Wave" of acknowledged young architects. All the different facets of Ljubljana blend harmoniously into a single image.
More info about Ljubljana:
http://www.ljubljana-tourism.si/en/