Tourism in Slovenia
Encyclopedia
The Central Europe
an nation of Slovenia
offers tourists a wide variety of landscapes in a small space: Alpine
in the northwest, Mediterranean in the southwest, Pannonian in the northeast and Dinaric
in the southeast.
The nation's capital, Ljubljana
, has many important Baroque
and Art Nouveau
buildings, with several important works of the native born architect Jože Plečnik
. Other attractions include the Julian Alps
with picturesque Lake Bled
and the Soča
Valley, as well as the nation's highest peak, Mount Triglav. Perhaps even more famous is Slovenia's karst
named after the Karst Plateau in the Slovenian Littoral
. More than 28 million visitors have visited Postojna Cave
, while a 15-minute ride from it are Škocjan Caves
, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Several other caves are open to public, including the Vilenica
Cave.
Further in the same direction is the Adriatic coast, where the most important historical monument is the Venetian Gothic
Mediterranean town of Piran
. The neighboring town of Portorož
is a popular modern tourist resort, offering entertainment in gambling tourism. The former fishermen town of Izola
has also been transformed into a popular tourist destination; many tourists also appreciate the old Medieval center of the port of Koper, which is however less popular among tourists than the other two Slovenian coastal towns.
The hills around Slovenia's second-largest city, Maribor
, are renowned for their wine-making. Even though Slovenes tend to consume most of the wine they produce, some brands like Ljutomer
have made their appearance abroad. The northeastern part of the country is rich with spas, with Rogaška Slatina
being perhaps its most prominent site. Spa tourism has grown in importance in the last two decades, attracting many German, Austrian, Italian and Russian visitors. Important spas in Slovenia include Radenci
, Čatež ob Savi
, Dobrna
, and Moravske Toplice
.
Rural tourism is important throughout the country, and it is especially developed in the Kras
region, parts of Inner Carniola, Lower Carniola
and northern Istria
, and in the area around Podčetrtek
and Kozje
in eastern Styria
. Horse-riding, cycling and hiking are among the most important tourist activities in these areas.
Triglav National Park
(Slovene: Triglavski narodni park) is a national park located in Slovenia. It was named after Mount Triglav, a national symbol of Slovenia. Triglav is situated almost in the middle of the national park. From it the valleys spread out radially, supplying water to two large river systems having their sources in the Julian Alps: the Soča
and the Sava, flowing to the Adriatic and Black Sea, respectively.
The proposal for conservation dates back to the year 1908, and was realised in 1924. Then, on the initiative taken by the Nature Protection Section of the Slovene Museum Society together with the Slovene Mountaineering Society, a twenty year lease was taken out on the Triglav Lakes Valley area, some 14 km². It was destined to become an Alpine Protection Park, however permanent conservation was not possible at that time.In 1961, after many years of effort, the protection was renewed (this time on a permanent basis) and somewhat enlarged, embracing around 20 km². The protected area was officially designated as the Triglav National Park. Under this act, however, all objectives of a true national park were not attained and for this reason over the next two decades, new proposals for the extension and rearrangement of the protection were put forward. Finally, in 1981, a rearrangement was achieved and the park was given a new concept and enlarged to 838 km² – the area it continues to cover to this day.
The Karavanke mountain range and the Kamnik Alps
are also important tourist destinations, as are the Pohorje
mountains. Unlike the Julian Alps, however, these areas seem to attract mostly Slovene visitors and visitor from the neighboring regions of Austria, and remain largely unknown to tourists from other countries. The biggest exception is the Logar Valley, which has been promoted heavily since the 1980s.
Slovenia has a number of smaller Medieval towns, which serve as important tourist attractions. Among them, the most famous are Ptuj
, Škofja Loka
and Piran
. Fortified villages, mostly located in western Slovenia (Štanjel
, Vipavski Križ
, Šmartno
), have become an important tourist destination, as well, especially due to the cultural events organized in their scenic environments.
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
an nation of Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
offers tourists a wide variety of landscapes in a small space: Alpine
Alps
The Alps is 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....
in the northwest, Mediterranean in the southwest, Pannonian in the northeast and Dinaric
Dinaric
The term Dinaric comes from the name of a mountain called Dinara, on the border of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.* In geography, it is used to describe the Dinaric Alps mountain chain.* In physical anthropology, it is used to describe the Dinaric race....
in the southeast.
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, has many important Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
and Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
buildings, with several important works of the native born architect Jože Plečnik
Jože Plecnik
Jože Plečnik , was a Slovene architect who practised in Vienna, Belgrade, Prague and Ljubljana.-Biography:...
. Other attractions include the Julian Alps
Julian Alps
The Julian Alps are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretches from northeastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 m at Mount Triglav. They are named after Julius Caesar, who founded the municipium of Cividale del Friuli at the foot of the mountains...
with picturesque Lake Bled
Lake Bled
Lake Bled is a glacial lake in the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia, where it adjoins the town of Bled. The area is a popular tourist destination.-Geography and history:...
and the Soča
Soca
The Soča or Isonzo is a 140 km long river that flows through western Slovenia and northeastern Italy. An Alpine river in character, its source lies in the Trenta Valley in the Julian Alps in Slovenia, at an elevation of around 1,100 metres...
Valley, as well as the nation's highest peak, Mount Triglav. Perhaps even more famous is Slovenia's karst
KARST
Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...
named after the Karst Plateau 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....
. More than 28 million visitors have visited Postojna Cave
Postojna Cave
Postojna Cave is a 20,570 m long Karst cave system near Postojna, Slovenia. It is the longest cave system in the country as well as one of its top tourism sites.-History:The caves were created by the Pivka River....
, while a 15-minute ride from it are Škocjan Caves
Škocjan Caves
Skocjan Caves is a cave system in Slovenia. Due to its exceptional significance, Škocjan Caves was entered on UNESCO’s list of natural and cultural world heritage sites in 1986. International scientific circles have thus acknowledged the importance of the caves as one of the natural treasures of...
, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Several other caves are open to public, including the Vilenica
Vilenica
Vilenica Cave or Vilenica Cave at Lokev is the oldest show cave in Europe. The first tourists to the cave were recorded in 1633. It is located next to the village of Lokev in the municipality of Sežana on the Karst Plateau in southwestern Slovenia. Until the mid-19th century it was known as the...
Cave.
Further in the same direction is the Adriatic coast, where the most important historical monument is the Venetian Gothic
Venetian Gothic architecture
Venetian Gothic is a term given to an architectural style combining use of the Gothic lancet arch with Byzantine and Moorish architecture influences. The style originated in 14th century Venice with the confluence of Byzantine styles from Constantinople, Arab influences from Moorish Spain and early...
Mediterranean town of Piran
Piran
Piran is a city and municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. The city resembles a large open-air museum, with medieval architecture and a rich cultural heritage. Narrow streets and compact houses give...
. The neighboring town of Portorož
Portorož
- External links :**...
is a popular modern tourist resort, offering entertainment in gambling tourism. The former fishermen town of Izola
Izola
Izola is an old fishing city and a municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Adriatic coast of the Istrian peninsula. Its name originates from the Italian Isola, which means island.- History :...
has also been transformed into a popular tourist destination; many tourists also appreciate the old Medieval center of the port of Koper, which is however less popular among tourists than the other two Slovenian coastal towns.
The hills around Slovenia's second-largest city, Maribor
Maribor
Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia with 157,947 inhabitants . Maribor is also the largest and the capital city of Slovenian region Lower Styria and the seat of the Municipality of Maribor....
, are renowned for their wine-making. Even though Slovenes tend to consume most of the wine they produce, some brands like Ljutomer
Ljutomer
Ljutomer is a municipality in northeastern Slovenia, some 40 km east of Maribor. Traditionally it was part of the region of Styria. It is now included in the Pomurska statistical region....
have made their appearance abroad. The northeastern part of the country is rich with spas, with Rogaška Slatina
Rogaška Slatina
Rogaška Slatina is a settlement and a municipality in Slovenia. It is famous for its curative mineral water, spa and crystal glass.Rogaška Slatina is a synonym for health resort tourism in Slovenia. For centuries the curative mineral water rich in magnesium , the picturesque countryside and other...
being perhaps its most prominent site. Spa tourism has grown in importance in the last two decades, attracting many German, Austrian, Italian and Russian visitors. Important spas in Slovenia include Radenci
Radenci
Radenci is a town and a municipality on the right bank of the Mura River in the Mura statistical region of northeastern Slovenia. It is a well-known spa town and was first mentioned in written documents dating to 1436. After 1833, when a new source of mineral water was discovered, it developed...
, Čatež ob Savi
Čatež ob Savi
Čatež ob Savi is a village on the right bank of the Sava River at its confluence with the Krka River in the Municipality of Brežice in eastern Slovenia. The area was traditionally part of Lower Carniola...
, Dobrna
Dobrna
Dobrna is a settlement and municipality in Slovenia. It is best known for its spa. It lies to the north of Celje and to the east of Velenje in an area that was part of the traditional region of Lower Styria...
, and Moravske Toplice
Moravske Toplice
Moravske Toplice is a town and a municipality in Slovenia, part of the Prekmurje region. It is best known as a spa town.The municipality is an important center of Lutheranism in Slovenia. Large Lutheran churches are found both in the settlement, as in other surrounding villages...
.
Rural tourism is important throughout the country, and it is especially developed in the Kras
Kras
Karst ; also known as the Karst Plateau, is a limestone borderline plateau region extending in southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies between the Vipava Valley, the low hills surrounding the valley, the westernmost part of the Brkini Hills, northern Istria, and the Gulf of Trieste...
region, parts of Inner Carniola, Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola was a kreis of the historical Habsburg crown land of Carniola from 1849 till 1919 and is nowadays a traditional region of Slovenia. Its center is Novo Mesto, while other urban centers include Kočevje, Grosuplje, Krško, Trebnje, Mirna, Črnomelj, Semič, and Metlika.-See also:* Upper...
and northern Istria
Istria
Istria , 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...
, and in the area around Podčetrtek
Podcetrtek
Podčetrtek is a settlement and a municipality in eastern Slovenia. It was first mentioned as a settlement in the early 11th century as Lonsperch and later as Lontsperch, Landsprech, Landsperg, Landsberg and eventually Windisch Landsberg. Its Slovene name is a reference to Thursday , which was the...
and Kozje
Kozje
Kozje is a small town and a municipality in eastern Slovenia. The settlement of Kozje lies in the centre of the municipality, from Celje, from Ljubljana and from Rogaška Slatina. It is the main settlement of the Kozjansko area. The area was part of the traditional region of Lower Styria. The...
in eastern Styria
Lower Styria
Lower Styria or Slovenian Styria is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy of Styria. The population of Lower Styria in its historical boundaries amounts to around 705,000 inhabitants, or 34.5% of the population of Slovenia...
. Horse-riding, cycling and hiking are among the most important tourist activities in these areas.
Triglav National Park
Triglav National Park is a national park located in Slovenia and the only one in the country. It was named after Mount Triglav, the highest peak of the Julian Alps and a symbol of Slovenia and Slovenian character....
(Slovene: Triglavski narodni park) is a national park located in Slovenia. It was named after Mount Triglav, a national symbol of Slovenia. Triglav is situated almost in the middle of the national park. From it the valleys spread out radially, supplying water to two large river systems having their sources in the Julian Alps: the Soča
Soca
The Soča or Isonzo is a 140 km long river that flows through western Slovenia and northeastern Italy. An Alpine river in character, its source lies in the Trenta Valley in the Julian Alps in Slovenia, at an elevation of around 1,100 metres...
and the Sava, flowing to the Adriatic and Black Sea, respectively.
The proposal for conservation dates back to the year 1908, and was realised in 1924. Then, on the initiative taken by the Nature Protection Section of the Slovene Museum Society together with the Slovene Mountaineering Society, a twenty year lease was taken out on the Triglav Lakes Valley area, some 14 km². It was destined to become an Alpine Protection Park, however permanent conservation was not possible at that time.In 1961, after many years of effort, the protection was renewed (this time on a permanent basis) and somewhat enlarged, embracing around 20 km². The protected area was officially designated as the Triglav National Park. Under this act, however, all objectives of a true national park were not attained and for this reason over the next two decades, new proposals for the extension and rearrangement of the protection were put forward. Finally, in 1981, a rearrangement was achieved and the park was given a new concept and enlarged to 838 km² – the area it continues to cover to this day.
The Karavanke mountain range and the Kamnik Alps
Kamnik Alps
The Kamnik–Savinja Alps are a mountain range, part of the Southern Limestone Alps in north Slovenia and at the border with Austria. Its western part, the Kamnik Alps, is in the basin of the Kamniška Bistrica and is named after the town Kamnik. Its eastern part is in the basin of Savinja and is...
are also important tourist destinations, as are the Pohorje
Pohorje
Pohorje is a mountain range in northern Slovenia, near the towns of Dravograd and Maribor. Made of metamorphic rock, it is geologically part of the Central Eastern Alps, though due to its location south of the Drava River it is commonly regarded as a Southern Limestone Alps range.-Peaks:The most...
mountains. Unlike the Julian Alps, however, these areas seem to attract mostly Slovene visitors and visitor from the neighboring regions of Austria, and remain largely unknown to tourists from other countries. The biggest exception is the Logar Valley, which has been promoted heavily since the 1980s.
Slovenia has a number of smaller Medieval towns, which serve as important tourist attractions. Among them, the most famous are Ptuj
Ptuj
Ptuj is a city and one of 11 urban municipalities in Slovenia. Traditionally the area was part of the Lower Styria region. The municipality is now included in the Podravje statistical region...
, Škofja Loka
Škofja Loka
-Art colony:Before the civil war in the former Yugoslavia the Serbian town of Smederevska Palanka and the town of Škofja Loka held art colonies Groharijeva kolonija run by an art teacher from elementary school Olga Milošević in Smederevska Palanka. Now, after the split of SFR Yugoslavia, the two...
and Piran
Piran
Piran is a city and municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. The city resembles a large open-air museum, with medieval architecture and a rich cultural heritage. Narrow streets and compact houses give...
. Fortified villages, mostly located in western Slovenia (Štanjel
Štanjel
Štanjel is a village in the Komen Municipality in the Littoral region of Slovenia. It is located on the Kras plateau overlooking the Vipava Valley. In the 17th century it was fortificated to defend it against Ottoman raids...
, Vipavski Križ
Vipavski Križ
Vipavski Križ , named Sveti Križ till 1955, is a settlement built on a small hill in the Vipava Valley in the Ajdovščina Municipality in the Littoral region of Slovenia. It is one of the historically most interesting places of the area. There is evidence of habitation on the hill in pre-Roman period...
, Šmartno
Šmartno, Brda
Šmartno is a village in the Brda Municipality in the Littoral region of Slovenia. The entire village has been declared a cultural heritge monument....
), have become an important tourist destination, as well, especially due to the cultural events organized in their scenic environments.
External links
- Strategy of Slovenian Tourism. Slovenian Tourist Board - www.slovenia.info