Slovenia Hotels

Slovenia is a country in Central Europe that lies in the eastern Alps at the northeastern end of the Adriatic Sea, with Austria to the north, Italy to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast and Croatia to the south. Despite its small size, Slovenia has a surprising variety of terrain, ranging from the beaches of the Mediterranean to the peaks of the Julian Alps, to the rolling hills of the south. Slovenia was already more economically advanced than other "East Block" nations prior to European integration and the powerhouse of Tito's Yugoslavia. Added the fact that Slovenia is also home to some of the finest scenery in the "New Europe", the transition from socialism to the european common market economy has gone well and serves as a model for other nations on the same track to follow. Slavic ancestors of Slovenians came from eastern parts of Europe and inhabitated territory north of present Slovenian territory in 6. century AD. They established a state called Caranthania (Karantanija in Slovene), which was an early example of parliamentary democracy in Europe. The ruler (knez in Slovene) was elected by popular vote. The Caranthanians were later defeated by Bavarians and Franks who subordinated them. They were christianized, but they preserved many rituals of their pagan religion, and above all they preserved their native language. The Slovene lands were part of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria under Habsburg dynasty until 1918 when the Slovenes joined the Serbs and Croats in forming a new south-Slavic state ruled by Serbian Karadjordjeviæ dynasty called Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians ("Kraljevina Srbov, Hrvatov in Slovencev" in Slovene), renamed Yugoslavia in 1929. In WWII Slovenia was invaded and occupied by Germans, Italians and Hungarians, leading to a parallel civil war between pro-communist liberation forces (Partizani) and catholic Nazi-collaborator factions ("Belogardisti", Domobranci). The victory of the Allies and consequentlly the Partizans resulted in a massive exodus of members of those who had collaborated with the occupying forces. After World War II, Slovenia became a republic in the reestablished Yugoslavia, which although Communist, distanced itself from the Soviet bloc and small territorial gains were made from Italy. Dissatisfied with the exercise of power in Belgrade, the Slovenes succeeded in establishing their independence in 1991 with minimal bloodshed. In 2004, Slovenia joined the European Union and NATO. Most recently Slovenia adopted the Euro in 2007, completing a quick and efficient accession to Europe and the EU. For a pint-sized country Slovenes are fiercely proud of their culture. Two names you will run into over and over again are national poet France Prešeren (1800-1849), who penned (among other things) the Slovenian national anthem, and the architect Jože Pleènik (1872-1957), credited with Ljubljana's iconic Tromostovje bridges and, seemingly, half the modern buildings in the country. It was the monks of the Catholic Church that kept Slovenian alive over the centuries of relentless Germanization from the north. As a result Slovenian survived in its unique form different than Serbo-Croatian to the south. However, as a result it borrows many idiomatic phrases from German. Much of both the countryside and city architecture shares a lot in common with neighboring Austria, including countless roadside shrines and pretty baroque steeples, giving the interior of the nation a truly alpine favor. One could easily mistake parts of mountainous Slovenia for Tyrol, Salzburg or Bavaria. In modern times, industrial band Laibach (see box) has served to put Slovenia on the map. In the decades before them, Slavko Avsenik and his Oberkrainer did the same.