Attractions

Natural points of interest

Slovenia surprises visitors at every step with its natural sites. In this tiny piece of Europe, the picturesque features of the Alpine, Mediterranean, Karst, and Pannonian worlds are combined. At the contact point of such naturally diverse regions, nature shows a hundred attractive faces.

Slovenia is a country of karst regions, and its Kras region gave its name to this type of limestone landscape across the world. In Slovenia, there are thousands of karst caves and shafts, and about one tenth of them are open to visitors. The best known is Postojna Cave, but many prefer the Škocjan Caves, which are on UNESCO's list of world natural and cultural heritage sites.

The springs, waterfalls, and lakes are different in each part of Slovenia. The karst springs of rivers are a surprising feature in the Julian Alps; waterfalls and whitewater rapids are found on the Soča, the Sava, the Krka, the Savinja, and numerous other rivers and streams that flow here through narrow gorges and there across wide valleys. Thermal and mineral springs have placed their stamp on northeastern Slovenia, where numerous health resorts developed but even today it is possible to see still-untamed mineral springs. The majority of Slovenia's glacial lakes, including Lake Bohinj, the largest, are found in Triglav National Park, our largest area of protected nature. Lake Bled, which with its island is a world famous site in Slovenia, is also of glacial origin.

Slovenia is a heavily wooded country with protected forests and areas of primeval forest. Throughout Slovenia, there are forest reserves, and primeval forests are still to be found in Kočevski Rog, on Gorjanci, on Pohorje . . Protected forests, trees, and the autochthonous flora and fauna are often a part of the landscape parks that preserve the heritage of individual areas.

Cultural and historical heritage

There are over two hundred museums and museum collections in Slovenia. The most important heritage is preserved by the National Museum, the Slovene Museum of Ethnography, and the Museum of Natural Science of Slovenia. Among the museums of European significance belongs the World War I Soča (Isonzo) Front Museum in Kobarid, which was awarded the European Museum of the Year award by the Council of Europe.

A great number of smaller museums and collections throughout Slovenia reveal the history and methods of various typical handicraft and professional skills and trades, Also particularly interesting are the mining museums that offer underground tours and the open-air ethnological museums.

Throughout Slovenia, there are art galleries and Fine Art museums. The most important institutions for the Fine Arts are the National Gallery, the Gallery of Modern Art, and the International Graphics Center in Ljubljana. In many places, Forma Viva art colony collections are exhibited. A country situated at the intersection of many historical routes, Slovenia is a rich treasury of the past, to which many valuable archeological finds testify. Libraries and archives also maintain rich historical and cultural heritage collections, and monuments and protected buildings- many of them linked by arranged heritage, memorial, and cultural trails-also draw the attention of visitors.

Arhitecture heritage

Slovenia is a country rich with interesting architecture. Its capital Ljubljana is a unique exhibition site for the work of the renowned Slovene and European architect Jože Plečnik. The Architectural Museum in Ljubljana also bears witness to his creativity. But the appearance of Slovene cities, towns, and villages was created centuries ago with churches, monasteries, and castles.

While always in the mainstream of European architecture, many points of interest and special features of Slovenia's architectural heritage are marked by folk creativity, which shows a different face from place to place. Along the coast and in the Vipava region, the architecture boasts fascinating stonecutting details, while the Soča River region boasts roofs covered with the wooden shingles that replaced the thatched roofs of the past. Thatched houses are still today a feature of Prekmurje. Particularly worth attention are the ancient granaries and the remarkable Slovene kozolec or hayrack, and in many places the village well is a picturesque sight.

Sacral sites

Wherever the eye wanders in Slovenia, it catches sight of a bell tower, whether on top of a hill or in the center of a city. Slovenia is a country of churches that testify to the artistic and architectural features of the land and the past life of its people. In Slovenia, it is possible to find antique Early Christian basilicas; pre-Romanesque chapels; Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Neo-Romanesque churches; and outstanding architectural works of the modern age linked with the name of the famous Slovene architect Jože Plečnik or other prominent architects.

Particularly interesting among the sacral monuments are the churches fortified with walls and towers against the Turkish raids. With such a heritage, it is difficult to choose the most beautiful, the most interesting, or the most important.

Along with Catholic churches, there are Lutheran churches in Slovenia, particularly in Prekmurje, and the Jewish synagogues in Maribor and Lendava are also of particular interest. In addition to churches, there are a number of interesting monasteries in Slovenia, including Cistercian monasteries like the one in Stična, Carthusian monasteries, among which Pleterje has a special reputation, Capuchin monasteries like the one that has existed in Vipavski križ for centuries, Dominican and Minorite monasteries like the ones in Ptuj, and memories of the Knights Templar such as Križanke in Ljubljana.

Cussine and wine

Slovenia is a hospitable country which surprises its visitors with the abundance of traditional Slovenian food as well as culinary masterpieces which originated outside the country but have received a Slovenian touch. To complement our dishes there have always been excellent wines of three Slovenian wine growing regions. You can encounter all the pleasures on wine roads and in numerous traditional gostilnas*. Gostilna is the heart of the Slovenian culinary offer. Gostilnas are famous for homeliness and genuine hospitality - that is one of the reasons why guests like coming there again and again.

In the palette of national dishes there are many connected with the traditional festive slaughtering. Popular everyday dishes are made from cabbage, beans and potatoes. Every Slovenian region has its own various types of bread. There are also many flour-based dishes, among which those made from buckwheat – the cereal which gives grey flour, are a speciality. More than seventy variations of štruklji are widely spread across Slovenia. The most renowned is luxuriously filled prekmurska gibanica. Don't forget to try the potica, a cake roll filled with walnuts, poppy seeds, raisins, various herbs, cottage cheese, honey or crackling. In Primorska, they will delight you with original fish dishes and delicacies made from local plants, vegetables and fruit (asparagus, artichokes, truffles), and of course pršut from Karst which is cured in the bora wind.

A special delight are the wines – from quality to top quality specialty wines, predicate wines and sparkling wines. On the coast you should try Teran, Rumeni Muškat, Malvazija in Rebula. The speciality of the Posavje Region is Cviček, a Slovene wine with a light taste and low alcohol.
Vine growing hills of the Podravje Region in the east boast excellent speciality wines such as Renski Rizling, Traminec, Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Ranina and many other top quality wines. Numerous wine cellars in Slovenia offer wine tasting and the inns and restaurants you can consult experienced sommeliers.
 

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