Certainly by the time Melania Trump became the first Slovene to serve as First Lady of the US, the rest of the world had become aware of this small Balkan country. And with good reason: Slovenia is an emerging economy that is blessed with incredible cinematic landscape and zoological curiosities.
We Germans also have more in common with the country than one might think at first. We reveal why the country is significant from a tourism and business perspective with the following five facts.
1. Slovenia: The land of animals and dragons
In addition to having a geographical shape that resembles that of a running chicken, Slovenia’s biodiversity is virtually unmatched in Europe. For instance, almost 1,000 brown bears inhabit this green country – the largest population in Europe.
Things also get really interesting in the country’s famous stalactite caves, which are home to the smallest living miniature dragon, known as the black olm. Generally speaking, Slovenians are mad about dragons, as you can see from the nickname for the capital city Ljubljana: the city of dragons. According to an ancient legend, a dragon was once killed there. Since then, it has watched over the city as a coat of arms, symbolizing strength, courage and wisdom for the inhabitants.
You will find the dragon in the municipal coat of arms and on the city’s manhole covers and when you take a stroll across the city’s dragon bridge. The annual dragon carnival clearly shows that these flying predators have long played an important role in Slovenian culture. In place of scantily clad samba dancers, this procession consists of life-sized dragon structures that parade through the streets.
2. A paradise for lovers of wine and sweet treats
Slovenia is a wine-producing country that claims to have a vineyard for every 70 inhabitants. In fact, the Slovenes are so fond of their fine wines that they only export eight to nine percent of the harvest. That’s hardly surprising, given that some of the Slovenian wines are truly of world-class standard.
The country can also lay claim to having the world’s oldest vine. The “Stara trta” vine is more than 400 years old and grows in the river town of Maribor. What sets it apart is its exclusivity: each year, just 100 bottles of 0.25 liters each of this wine variety are produced.
And how about a delicious walnut poteca to accompany the wine? This typical Slovenian dessert is reminiscent of a German Gugelhupf cake and translates roughly as “wrap up”. In fact, there are more than 80 different fillings that are rolled into the dough. It’s a sweet treat for anyone with a sweet tooth!
3. The chronicles of the Balkans: Cinematic landscapes in Slovenia
Slovenia is a country of great natural beauty. More than 54 % of its total area is covered by forests, and one third of the country’s territory is protected as a conservation area. In addition, Slovenia is the only European country to combine the Julian Alps, the Mediterranean Sea, karst landscapes and the Pannonian Plain.
This creates a paradise for lovers of nature and outdoor activities: more than 10,000 stalactite caves, the crystal waters of the Adriatic, lakes and rivers, more than 260 waterfalls as well as vineyards and mountains are all packed into a very small area. It therefore comes as no surprise that the country has produced many Olympic champions of outdoor sports such as skiing or sport climbing.
However, the spectacular landscapes not only appeal to sports fans. In the famous Soča valley, there is an emerald-green river that winds its way through jagged cliffs. This fairy-tale vista provided the backdrop for the Hollywood blockbuster “The Chronicles of Narnia”. The stalactite cave “Županova jama” was once used as a prison camp in the Winnetou movie “Old Surehand”, while former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan made himself comfortable near to Ribnica in the movie “Death Train”.
4. The Slovenian economy: Top of the class in the EU
Slovenia is a small country with a population of 2.3 million. With a population density of 99 inhabitants per square kilometer, it is only half as densely populated as Germany. Nevertheless, it has enjoyed an extremely high level of economic development and per-capita income since gaining independence in 1991. Even before it joined the EU in 2004, it was considered a model country in terms of political and economic transformation.
Slovenia is an industrial nation on the up. Due to its small size, the country is strongly export-oriented. Its most popular products include chemicals, machinery, vehicles and electrical engineering. In fact, almost twenty percent of all exports go to Germany, making Slovenia an important trading partner for German companies.
5. Slovenian language: Singular, plural, or dual?
What language is spoken in Slovenia? Slovenian is a Slavic language and is spoken by almost 2.5 million people today. However, this was not always the case. During the country’s occupation in World War II, the official language was banned and the inhabitants were forced to speak the language of the occupiers. Since Slovenia also had long-standing ties with Austria due to the Habsburg monarchy, many Slovenes still speak German today.
This is why you will come across many German-sounding words if you travel through Slovenia: For example, the word “Deka” is similar to the German word “Decke” for ceiling. Likewise, “Pir” means “Bier”, “Špura” is similar to “Spur”, which means track, while “Mušter” means “Muster” or pattern. The grammar, on the other hand, includes one or two stumbling blocks: in addition to the singular and plural, Slovenian is also one of the few Indo-European languages that still uses the dual number classification. This is reserved for things such as arms and legs that only exist in pairs.
Students of the language must also get to grips with six instead of just four grammatical cases. The locative case is used to respond to the questions “where” or “where to”, while the instrumental case describes actions such as “with what”, “by what”, “with whom” or “what”. What’s more, 46 different dialects are likely to make listening comprehension tricky.
To ensure that you have a voice in this Balkan country, our native-speaker translators would be delighted to assist you with cultural expertise and professional translations for Slovenia. Since the language is also spoken outside the country, for instance, in Austria, in Italy in parts of Western Hungary, you will cover several markets in one go.
If you enjoyed this excursion to Slovenia, then we would like to invite you to visit Croatia, Iceland, Portugal, and Turkey.
