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SLOVENIA INTERESTING FACTS

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SLOVENIA

Find some interesting Slovenia facts below.

1st FACT 

5th MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY

The Center for Environmental Law and Policy of the elite American Yale University has ranked Slovenia fifth on the list of the most environmentally friendly countries.

In the research, the experts checked whether Slovenia was operating in accordance with international environmental goals.

The countries that fared even better are Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark.

Also Ljubljana, the capital, follows sustainable goals and sustainable practices

2nd FACT 

THE OLDEST WOODEN WHEEL EVER DISCOVERED 

The wooden wheel with an axle was found in 2002 in the Ljubljana Marshes approx. 20 km south of Ljubljana, and is kept by the City Museum of Ljubljana.

Radiocarbon dating by the Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator (VERA) has determined the age of 5,150 years, making it the oldest wooden wheel in the world.

The wheel is certainly one of the most important finds in the history of mankind.

3rd FACT 

3rd MOST FORESTED COUNTRY IN EUROPE

Slovenia is a country of forests, which cover almost 60% of its surface.

In percentage of forest cover, Slovenia comes in the third place in the European Union, after Sweden and Finland.

Slovenians feel strongly connected with the forest. This is shown by the fact that one in four Slovenians is a forest-owner.  Unlike most other countries, the share of forests in Slovenia has been growing in recent decades.

4th FACT 

MORE THAN 12 THOUSAND UNDERGROUND CAVES

Slovenia is the land of many many caves. The largest cave in Slovenia with 24 km of tunnels is Postojna Cave, which is certainly the queen of Caves. Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful caves in the world, the largest show-cave in Europe and the only cave with a double-track railway in the world.

Slovenia has also the oldest tourist cave in the world – the Vilenica cave.  It has offered guided tours since as early as the 17th century.

Due to their natural beauty, the Skocjan Caves have been included in the UNESCO list of natural and cultural heritage.

5th FACT 

RICH BEEKEEPING TRADITION 

Beekeeping has always been indispensably integrated into the Slovenian culture and space. There are about 90 thousand beekeepers in Slovenia. This means that every twentieth Slovene is engaged in beekeeping

Slovenes do beekeeping with their autochthonous and world-famous Carniolan honey bee, which differs from its relatives mainly in non-aggression and diligence.

With its rich tradition beekeeping is also reflected in folk art – painted hive covers are a valued example of Slovenian folk art.

6th FACT 

LEGENDARY “POTICA” CAKE 

Among Slovenian pastry Potica – Slovenian traditional holiday dish, takes a special place. It is traditionally eaten on Easter and Christmas.

Housewives would fill this traditional Slovenian nut roll most often with walnuts but also with poppy seeds, raisins, various herbs, cottage cheese, honey or even cracklings can be found in it.

In recent times, Potica has also become one of the more recognizable signs of Slovenia in various international state, cultural and sports meetings.

Wondering where to find grandma`s Potica recipe? Try here. 😉

7th FACT 

7th MOST PEACEFUL COUNTRY IN THE WORLD

In 2017, the Institute for Economy and Peace ranked Slovenia among the top ten most peaceful countries in the world.

According to the index, only six countries out of 163 covered are more peaceful than Slovenia (New Zealand, Iceland and Austria, among others).

The capital city Ljubljana is safe as well. It ranks among the safest capitals in the world.  There are only minor dangers and annoyances that a visitor should be aware of. 

8th FACT 

THE LAND OF “CAVE DRAGONS”

The Slovenian caves are inhabited by an utterly unusual aquatic salamander, better known as the Human Fish or Proteus. It got its name for its pale, human-reminiscent skin color and large blind eyes, which are adaptations to eternal darkness in caves.

It is the only cave vertebrate in Europe. In the past, when there were floods of rising groundwater and  human fish about 30 cm in size got flooded on the surface, people tirelessly killed them, thinking they were young dragons!

Luckily, they have been protected in Slovenia since 1922. Since 1982, little “dragons” have also been included in the list of rare and endangered species with which trade is prohibited. The easiest way to see them is to visit Postojna Cave,

9th FACT 

ONE OF THE MOST BIODIVERSE COUNTRIES

Although the surface of Slovenia represents less than 0.004% of the total Earth’s surface and Slovenes represent only 0.033% of humanity, Slovenia is home to as much as 1% of all known living species on Earth and more than 2% of continental species. or, in other words, at least every hundred known a species of all living beings today and at least every fiftieth continental species.

Such a large number of species in such a small area ranks our country among the most biodiverse areas of Europe and even the world.

10th FACT 

2nd SHORTEST MEDITERRANEAN COAST  

Slovenia has the second shortest coast of all Mediterranean countries.

Despite only 47 km of coastline, Slovenian fishermen catch thousands of tons of fish a year. Slovenia’s largest port Luka Koper is the biggest container terminal in the Adriatic, at the southern end of the coast there are salt pans more than 700 years old.

The Slovenian coast boasts a considerable culinary and tourist offer, which is tested annually by more than 450,000 tourists. It has three beautiful historical cities: Izola, Piran and Koper.

11th FACT 

A HOME TO LIPIZZANER HORSES

The world-famous Lipica stud farm has been operating in Slovenia since its foundation in 1580 and is the cradle of all Lipizzaner horses in the worldIt is recognized as the oldest European stud farm continuously breeding one of the oldest cultural horse breeds.

The characteristics of the adult Lipizzaner horse are its white colour and its incredible learning abilities.

Due to their gallant step, Lipizzaners were once bred mainly for the needs of the aristocracy, but today they represent a world tourist attraction and an important cultural and natural heritage.

12th FACT 

A COUNTRY WITH A FAIRYTALE LAKE

Slovenia is home to one of the most beautiful lakes an eye can witness.

Lake Bled has been on the list of the most beautiful lakes in Europe and in the world for several years. CNN travel, for example, has declared the ten most beautiful lakes in the world, and among them the Slovenian pearl was put on the first place.

In addition to the sky-blue color of the water and the fairy-tale castle that reigns on the rock by the lake, the lake is especially memorable because of the small island with a church that stirs the imagination of visitors.

13th FACT 

PROTECTED MORE THAN HALF OF THE  COUNTRY

The fact that Slovenia is committed to the protection of the environment is also reflected in the fact that as much as 53.6 percent of Slovenia’s territory is environmentally protected.

The most famous protected area is definitely the Triglav National Park.

14th FACT 

AMONG THE TALLEST

With 180.3 cm, Slovenians are in tenth place on the list of the tallest in the world.

Right in front of us, with an average height of 180.5, are the neighbouring Croats, while the Serbs take third place with an average height of 182 cm.

The first place, according to data published on Wikipedia, is shared by the Dutch and Montenegrins, who have the same average height – 183.2 cm. The same result – 182.4 cm is shared by the Danes and Norwegians in second place.

15th FACT 

WORLD LARGEST SKI JUMP

Planica ski jump is the biggest ski jump in the world and is a place of an every year world ski jumping competition.

For the first time in the history of ski jumping, man flew over 200 meters on this very ski jump. 28 world records were set here, which is the most from all ski jumps in the world.  In 2015, after a two-year renovation, a renovated ski jump was opened, which is expected to allow flights over 250 meters and possibly new world records.

Planica zipline, one of the steepest zip-lines in the world with 556 m long flight was officially opened on this device in 2015. Dare to try it?

16th FACT 

“VERONICA DECIDES TO DIE” IN SLOVENIA

Paulo Coelho, a well-known Brazilian writer, set his work “Veronica decides to die” in Slovenia.

Why he chose Ljubljana as the place of happening he does not say anywhere in the book. But the descriptions of the main characteristics of the city and the people, the historical events around independence and perhaps our small size corresponded to both the characters and the atmosphere in the book.

And master Coelho wrote the book in such a way that the “locals” read it as if it came from the pen of one of our writers.

17th FACT 

WHERE THE OLDEST VINE IN THE WORLD GROWS

The old vine is 440 years old and grows in the central part of the city of Maribor on the south side of the facade of a one-storey house. In 2004, it was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest of all vines in the world. House Vojasniska 8 and »Stara trta« (the Old Vine) are protected as a cultural monument of local significance.

The vine is characterized by lush growth, rich fertility, resistance to disease and long life. It is one of the oldest domestic grape varieties in Slovenia, called Blue Velvet. The age of the Old Vine was determined by the method of sounding and with the help of a microscope.