If you like visit Europe and you’re still thinking of the best destination for your travel, you will never regret choosing Slovenia.
Slovenia is basically a small yet topographically diverse country that is made up of 4 major European geographic landscapes, which include Mediterranean coast, the Danubian and Pannonian hills and lowlands, karstic Dinaric Alps, and European Alps.
For most of the country’s history, it was controlled by Austria’s Habsburgs who ruled the Roman Empire as well as its successor states, Austria-Hungary and Austrian Empire. Moreover, coastal portions were held by Venice for a time.
Slovenia, as part of the Yugoslavia, came under the communist rule for the period of post-World War II. In 1991, the Yugoslav federation’s dissolution, there was a multiparty democratic political system. The economic prosperity of Slovenia in late 20th century attracted migrants from across the world in Balkans. Ljubljana is the most important and capital city of Slovenia.
What is the Climate in Slovenia?
Slovenia can be divided to 3 climatic zones. Istria’s conditions show a transition from the Dalmatian coast’s Mediterranean climate to moderate continental climate. In moderate zone, the highest precipitation monthly happens in autumn and spring. The highest temperatures happen in the months of June and July. The temperatures during winter rarely drop below 10 degrees Celsius. However, there are times that this mildness is interrupted by a strong cold northerly wind known as bora.
Seasons in Slovenia: Temperature and Climate by Month
Northern and central Slovenia have continental cool summer climate. The country’s eastern third also falls to the continental category, yet has warm summers. The northeast and east portion of the country have less precipitation and midsummer highs that reach past 21 degrees Celsius. From the months of November to February, the temperature readings below freezing happen frequently. However, snow cover melts rapidly and less frequent.
Languages in Slovenia
In Slovenia, the official language is called Slovene. But also, it has affinities to Slovak and West Slavic Czech. The eastern Slovene dialects combine Kajkavian forms of the Serbo-Croatian language. But, Slovene is actually remote from the Croatian counterparts. It also borrows words from the Italian and German languages that are still spoken by the older generations of the Slovenians. Aside from that, there are differences between standard Slovene spoken and eastern Slovene dialects in Slovenia.
Slovene is the official language in Slovenia, influenced by Slovak, Czech, Italian, and German. Eastern dialects mix Kajkavian from Serbo-Croatian, though Slovene remains unique.
For those who don’t know, Slovene is one of the languages to have preserved dual grammatical number of Proto-Indo-European. Hungarian and Italian are the major languages spoken in Slovenia, primarily in regions where such 2 ethnic communities reside.
Economy
It was in early 20th century when Slovenes started the diversification and modernization of their economy. The market-oriented self-management form of communism in Yugoslavia helped Slovenia a lot. For most of the federation period, Slovenes made up less than 10% of the population of Yugoslavia. However, they produced twenty percent of the wealth of the country and 30% in exports.
Slovenia’s early 21st-century economy saw growth through trade, services, and privatization, improving living standards
The economy of Slovenia in early 21st century was based on trade and services. The shift to the market economy has improved people’s standard of living, particularly in rural areas in spite of the modest changes in the landownership’s traditional small holding pattern. Also, it produced new wealthy people. Most of the country’s economy has been privatized and the income comes from manufacturing automotive parts, electrical appliances, and pharmaceuticals.
Telecommunications and Transportation
The eastern Alpine location of Slovenia and accessible transit routes became crucial since antiquity. The settlement network and vestiges of Roman road are still visible. During 1840s, Vienna’s Habsburg government created the monumental Southern Railroad that passed through the country on its way from the capital of Austria to Trieste.
There are 2 primary highway-rail corridors cross in Slovenia. The first one runs from Iran to Europe’s northwestern part and the other one is from the country of Spain to Russia. The expressways are considered as the nexus of travelling by road to Hungary, Austria, and Italy. The routes to Croatia were also improved. Most of the rail cars in Slovenia have been modernized and the high-speed intercity service was introduced, which linked the cities of Ljubljana, Celje, and Maribor. Most of the track systems are outdated, which limit the equipment’s performance.
The telecommunications market of the country was full privatized in year 2001 and only some companies dominate the sector. Almost all households in the country of Slovenia have access to telephone service and mobile phones are prevalent.
Healthcare in Slovenia
The country offers most medical services and the public health system of Slovenia is one of the finest developed in eastern and central Europe, even if there’s lack of physicians in several remoter areas of the country as well as in particular specialized medicine fields.
The social services given by the government include pension, disability, and unemployment insurance. They also include dependant and family allowances. Both the social service programs and pension system have faced issues owing to the aging population as well as shrinking workforce of the country.
The pension system of Slovenia was reformed in year 2000 to raise the age for retirement and introduce special circumstances that could let people qualify for earlier retirement.
Education
Every Slovene with ages 15 and above is literate. In Slovenia, primary school is free for children between ages six and fifteen. In addition to that, primary schooling is considered compulsory. Secondary schools are either academic or vocational. Diploma from secondary school is needed to be admitted ine one of the 3 big universities in Slovenia. The government of Slovenia finances research institutes, particularly in technology and natural sciences.
Best Places to Visit in Slovenia
Slovenia may be a small country when compared to other destinations in the world. But, it has a lot of things to offer for every traveler or tourist out there. If you are planning to spend your vacation in a beautiful but unique place, Slovenia should be included in your list. Below are some of the places you can visit in this country:
- Maribor
- Koper
- Kranjska Gora
- Celje
- Ptuj
- Piran
- Postojna
- Triglav National Park
- Lake Bled
- Ljubljana
Those are just some of the places you can visit while you are travelling around Slovenia. If you want to discover more about this amazing country, make sure to plan your travel in advance and experience the difference!
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