12 fun facts about Slovenia
A small country with a lot of surprises. Here are my favourites to drop at dinner.
1. It's about 60% forest
Slovenia is one of the greenest countries in Europe. Drive anywhere for ten minutes and you'll be among trees.
2. There's love in its name
Look closely: S-LOVE-nia. Locals will happily remind you, and the tourist board built a whole slogan around it.
3. Almost everyone knows a beekeeper
Slovenia has more than 10,000 beekeepers, nearly 5 for every 1,000 people, the most in the EU. The native Carniolan bee is one of the most common bees in the world.
4. Bees got their own UN day because of Slovenia
The United Nations declared 20 May World Bee Day at Slovenia's initiative. The date is the birthday of Anton Janša, an 18th-century Slovenian beekeeping pioneer.
5. The world's oldest vine is in Maribor
The Old Vine on the Drava riverfront is over 400 years old and still produces grapes every autumn.
6. "Karst" is a Slovenian word
Geologists everywhere describe limestone landscapes full of caves and sinkholes as karst. The name comes from Kras, the plateau in western Slovenia where scientists first studied them.
7. A "baby dragon" lives in the caves
The olm, a blind pale salamander, lives only in dark underground waters. Locals once thought they were dragon babies washed out of the caves, and scientists believe they can live for around a century.
8. The famous white horses come from here
Lipizzaners, the horses of Vienna's Spanish Riding School, are named after Lipica in the Karst, where the stud farm was founded in 1580.
9. A dragon guards the capital
Ljubljana's coat of arms shows a dragon, and four of them watch over the Dragon Bridge. Legend says Jason and the Argonauts fought one here.
10. Slovenian has a special form for "two"
Besides singular and plural, the language has the dual, used for exactly two of something. Two people, two beers, two hearts: all get their own word endings.
11. Ski in the morning, sea in the afternoon
The coast is only about 47 km long, but the Alps are close. In early spring you can genuinely do both in one day.
12. One cake, 12 million slices
Bled's cream cake, kremšnita, was first served in 1953. Almost 12 million were sold in its first 61 years. (More in my post on Slovenian desserts.)
Want to see the Slovenia behind these facts, not just read about it? That's what the trails are for.