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Słowenia

Hello everyone! My name is Luka and I have got the opportunity to spend one month in Lublin as a trainee at The Rule of Law Institute Foundation. I come from Slovenia, so I would like to tell you a little bit about our small but beautiful country.

Most of you have probably heard about our successful sportsmen and sportswomen, with the likes of ski jumper Peter Prevc, skier Tina Maze, and most recently NBA basketball wonderkid Luka Dončić being the most famous ones, but did you know that the current First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump, comes from Slovenia? You can check some more interesting facts at the end of this blog!

As you can see on the map, Slovenia is a Central European country, bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the east, and Croatia to the south. Official language is Slovenian, though a lot of people speak Croatian, English and German as well. The population of Slovenia is around 2 million people and it covers approximately 20.000 km2 of land. For such a small country, we are lucky to have our own seaside (Mediterranean Sea in the south-western part of the country) and mountains (Julian Alps in the north-western part of the country, where is also located our tallest mountain called Triglav with its highest peak at 2.864m above sea level). Them being only a bit more than 1-hour drive by car apart, you can theoretically go swimming in the sea in the morning and then go skiing or hiking in the afternoon. For your lunch break, you can stop at one of our beautiful lakes Bled or Bohinj, which are also very popular touristic destinations. North-eastern part of the country, though, with its long flat fields presents contrast to diverse west. For those who prefer to explore caves rather than mountains, Slovenia has plenty to offer as well. The most famous cave is Postojna cave, located in the southern part of the country, which is the largest show cave in Europe. If you are lucky, you can also see Olm (scientific name Proteus anguinus), a blind salamander known as “the human fish” and often referred to as “baby dragon”.

In the central part of the country lies the capital city Ljubljana, with the population of a little bit less than 300.000 people. It is worth visiting as it offers wonderful ambience, especially by the river Ljubljanica, where you can sit down at one of the many cafes or restaurants, or just go for a walk and enjoy the cosy atmosphere of the city (make sure to check out the castle as well). I personally come from the second biggest city called Maribor, with the population of around 100.000 people. You might have heard of it because of the annual World Cup ski competition for women called “Golden Fox” which is held there.

Slovenia used to be part of the former Yugoslavia for most of the 20th century. It gained its independence in 1991 and is now a member of the European Union (joined in 2004). If you are going to visit it, you might want to keep in mind that its currency is Euro (€). The exchange rate between Euro and Polish złoty is approximately 1 euro for 4,30 Polish złoty.

Some interesting facts about Slovenia:

  • Approximately 60% of the land is covered by forest, which makes it one of the countries with the most forest area in Europe, behind Finland, Sweden and Estonia (according to the World Bank collection of development indicators and the Forest Service of Slovenia)
  • A remarkable 53.6 per cent of Slovenia is protected land, a higher percentage than any nation on Earth except Venezuela (according to data compiled by the World Bank in 2016)
  • In Maribor is located World’s Oldest Vine which is more than 450 years old
  • Slovenian language is one of few languages in the world where dual form still exists
  • You can spend the night in a Hostel Celica in Ljubljana, which once used to be a prison
  • Slovenia is regarded as the home of ski-flying, with Planica until recently being the largest ski-jumping hill in the world, with the current official record of 251.5 metres (held by Kamil Stoch!)