Landscape
Slovenia is a central European country about the size of Wales or Israel.
It borders Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia, and counts 47km of coastline along the Adriatic.
Most of the country is hilly or mountainous and 40% is covered in forest.
Alpine, Mediterranean and continental climates meet in Slovenia.
History in a nutshell
The Slovenian lands were settled in the sixth century by early Slavs, who formed the first Slavic state.
These proto-Slovenes were subjugated in turn by the Franks, the Germans and by the Austrian Hapsburgs, who ruled them until the end of World War 1.
The Slovenes joined with the Serbs and Croats in 1918 to create a new multinational state, which went on to become Yugoslavia in 1929.
At the end of World War 2, Slovenia became a republic of the new socialist (though relatively open) Yugoslavia.
In 1991, dissatisfied with the exercise of power by the majority Serbs, Slovenia declared itself an independent republic, successfully fighting a 10-day war against what was left of Yugoslavia.
Slovenia has been a member of the European Union since 2004.
People
About 82% of the population identify as Slovene, descendants of the early Slavs.
There are small indigenous communities of Hungarians and Italians, as well as ethnic Albanians, Bosnians, Croats and Serbs.
About 58% of Slovenians identify as Roman Catholic.
Marketplace
Slovenia's accession to the European Union in 2004 opened up a vast export market for the country's goods, and it was the first of the 10 new European Union member-nations to adopt the euro as its national currency.
Ljubljana is responsible for as much as 25% of the country's GDP, which is a favourable 18,640 ($NZ38,730) per capita.
Unemployment remains a relatively high 7.8%.
Trademarks
• Skiing
• Prut (air-dried ham from the Karst region)
• Potica (nut-roll cake)
• The electric-blue Soca River
• Three-headed Mount Triglav
• Zlatorog (mythical chamois with the golden horns)
• Lipizzaner horses
Natural beauty
With so much splendour spread across the country, it is nigh on impossible to choose the "best" spots.
The hair-raising Vrsic Pass, the Julian Alps in Triglav National Park, the Skocjan Caves, pristine Logarska Dolina (Logar Valley) in Stajerska and the unique (True) Karst region are all unforgettable.
Traditions
Diners wish one another "Dober tek!" (Bon appetit!) before a meal.
To do so is being priden, an important and much employed term in Slovene meaning "diligent", "industrious", "hard-working" and, tellingly, "well-behaved".
St Martin's Day (November 11), although not a public holiday, is important as the day on which the wine-makers' most (must, or fermenting grape juice) officially becomes wine.
In the evening, families traditionally dine on goose and drink new wine.
On paper
• Deseti Brat (The Tenth Brother) by Josip Jurcic
• Fuzinski Bluz (Fuzine Blues) by Andrej E. Skubic
• Hlapec Jernej in Njegova Pravica (The Bailiff Yerney and His Rights) by Ivan Cankar
• Martin Krpan by Fran Levstik
• Nekropola (Pilgrim among the Shadows) by Boris Pahor
Random facts
According to written references dating to the 17th century, skiing was born on the slopes of the Bloke Plateau in Notranjska province.
The average Slovenian man is called Franc, was born on a Friday in March, got married at age 30.3 and is now 38.7 years old.
The average Slovenian woman is called Marija, got married at 27.3 years, has 1.2 children and is now 42 years old.
Slovenia is the third-smallest literature market in Europe; a fiction "bestseller" in this country means sales of 500 to 800 copies.
The Karst region, a limestone plateau in Primorska province, was the first such area to be described and is therefore called the Classic, Real, True or Original Karst and always spelled with an upper-case "K".
Myths and legends
Slovenian folk tales are rife with fairies, witches and things that go bump in the night.
Among the most common stories, however, are those describing the derring-do of "superheroes", whose strong wills and unusual strength enable them to overcome evil and conquer their brutish enemies.
Peter Klepec sweeps away his enemies with trees he's uprooted with his bare hands along the Kolpa River; Kumprej rules the Upper Savinja Valley in Stajerska with his mighty voice and fearsome blade; and Martin Krpan, of the Bloke Plateau in Notranjska, is a salt smuggler with superhuman strength and a big heart.
Surprises
Slovenes eat two things few other people do: dormouse, a tree-dwelling nocturnal rodent not unlike a squirrel, and horsemeat (especially colt).
Maribor is home to the oldest vine in the world, planted more than four centuries ago and still producing grapes and wine.
Slovenia is one of the few countries in Europe that is not football mad - basketball is the most popular team sport here.
Top festival
Slovenia's most colourful pre-Lenten festival is Laufarija, held at Cerkno in Primorska province.
The festival takes place on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday and again on Shrove Tuesday.
The symbol of winter and the old year, Pust, is put to death by some two dozen other characters representing various crafts and trades (the Baker, the Thatcher, the Woodsman, for example) or certain traits or afflictions, such as the Drunk and his Wife, the Bad Boy, Sneezy and the Sick Man.
The costumes, made of leaves, pine branches, straw or moss stitched onto a burlap (hessian) backing, are quite elaborate and fashioned anew each year.
Essential experiences
• Viewing the Old Town from atop Ljubljana Castle
• Canoeing or rafting down the unspoiled Soca River
• Making your way up snowcapped Mount Triglav
• Swimming or rowing out to the lovely little island with a church in Lake Bled
• Crossing from Gorenjska into Primorska via the hair-raising Vrsic Pass
• Riding a white horse in Lipica
• Dancing with death at the Danse Macabre fresco in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Hrastovlje.
