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Slovenia

geography Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Slovenia is a beautiful country located in Central Europe.

Motorways-SLO-map 2018
Motorways-SLO-map 2018

It sits next to several different lands and waters. To the west, it borders Italy. To the north, it meets Austria. Hungary lies to the northeast. Croatia is found to the south and southeast. A small part of the country reaches the Adriatic Sea.

Strunjan bay (24209577441)
Strunjan bay (24209577441)

This coastline makes the southwestern part very special.

The land here is mostly made of mountains and thick forests.

Mangart 16
Mangart 16

Most of the country has a temperate continental climate. This means the weather stays fairly mild for much of the year. However, some areas feel different. The Julian Alps and the Slovene Littoral have their own weather patterns.

Climate types Slovenia 1970-2000
Climate types Slovenia 1970-2000

The capital city is Ljubljana. It is the largest city and sits near the center of the country. Other big cities include Maribor, Ptuj, Kranj, Celje, and Koper.

People have lived in this area for a very long time. Evidence shows humans lived here 250,000 years ago. In a cave near Cerkno, experts found a pierced bear bone. This bone might be the oldest musical instrument ever found.

Postojna Cave. 2012-07-26 13-41-13
Postojna Cave. 2012-07-26 13-41-13

In the Ljubljana Marshes, people found something even more amazing. They discovered a wooden wheel that is over 4,500 years old.

View of Bled Island (6)
View of Bled Island (6)

This is the oldest wooden wheel in the world. It shows that wheels were used in Europe at the same time as in Mesopotamia.

Slovenia has belonged to many different powerful states throughout history. It was once part of the Roman Empire. Later, it was ruled by the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg Empire. It was also part of the Kingdom of Hungary and the Republic of Venice. In 1918, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed. This later became known as Yugoslavia. In June 1991, Slovenia declared its independence. It then became a sovereign state that we know today.

Today, about 2.1 million people live in Slovenia. They speak Slovene as their official language. The country has a high-income economy with many different jobs. Some people work in traditional ways like farming and manufacturing. Others work in modern fields like finance and information technology.

GDP per capita development in Slovenia
GDP per capita development in Slovenia

Slovenia is an active member of the global community. It belongs to the United Nations and the European Union. It is also part of NATO.

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🖼️ Images & Media (35)
Slovenia's national anthem, performed by...
File:Kaernten herzogeinsetzung.jpg
Kaernten herzogeinsetzung.jpg
File:Boj s Turki-Valvasor.jpg
Boj s Turki-Valvasor.jpg
File:Eingebaute Mannschaftsunterstände am Monte Sabotino.jpg
Eingebaute Mannschaftsunterstände am...
File:KongressfallofAH.jpg
KongressfallofAH.jpg
File:Economy Yugoslavia 1975.png
Economy Yugoslavia 1975.png
File:Teritorialci so z armbrustom zadeli tank v križišču pred MMP Rožna Dolina..jpg
Teritorialci so z armbrustom zadeli tank...
File:Mangart 16.jpg
Mangart 16.jpg
File:Žlebiči.jpg
Žlebiči.jpg
File:Strunjan bay (24209577441).jpg
Strunjan bay (24209577441).jpg
File:Climate types Slovenia 1970-2000.JPG
Climate types Slovenia 1970-2000.JPG
File:Lake Bohinj (9452094709).jpg
Lake Bohinj (9452094709).jpg

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