Author: Tour Europe

Lake Cerknica The largest Slovene karst polje is Cerkniško polje or Lake Cerknica. It is the largest European intermittent lake with a surface of 24 square kilometers. During rainy periods in the autumn and spring, when numerous springs from the edge of the polje and underground streams collecting water under the surrounding plateaus, rash into…

The Goriška Brda A road from Plave leads up a steep hill. Vrhovlje offers a view of the hilly wine region Goriška Brda. Another road to that region comes from Solkan. Although the Goriška Brda is like a tongue stretching into Italy, the villages in the region are completely Slovene. Interestingly, the villages at the…

History Centuries ago, Slovenia was inhabited by Illyrian tribes. Around 400 BC they were joined by the Celtic tribes. In 200 BC they were ruled over by the Romans, who built military fortifications along new roads all the way to the Danube. The Germanic Langhobards only settled in the territory when the power of the…

Ig The Ig area has typical settlements sitting under steep wooded slopes of karst plateaus. Its center is Ig around which archaeologists have found several marsh dwellings. They are now exhibited in the National Museum in Ljubljana. Iški Vintgar is a deep gorge between the Rakitna plateau and Kurešček. It has been carved out by…

Turjak and Velike Lašče The Turjak Castle is one of the mightiest castles in Slovenia, situated near the road linking Škofljica and Kočevje. Its owners have made an important contribution to Slovene history. The original castle was standing already in the 10th century. It is first mentioned in writing in 1220 and its owners, the…

Bela Krajina (White Carniola) It is an undulating plain surrounded by the Kočevski Rog in the west, the Gorjanci in the north, and the Kolpa River in the south and east. The whole plain is eroded, full of sinkholes, and covered with heavy red karst soil. Bela Krajina is at its most beautiful in spring….

Sevnica Where the Sava valley widens lies Sevnica, and a bit further south is Boštanj. The Sava is joined by the Sevnična stream from the north and the Mirna River flowing from among the Dolenjsko hills from the south. The entrance into the Mirna Valley used to be protected by the Tariški grad Castle and…

Brežice Brežice lies at the confluence of the Sava and Krka Rivers. It used to be an important fortification protecting the passage from Pannonia to the sub-Alpine regions. In the 13th century, it had a mint and coined money. In 1515 the castle was taken by the rebelling peasants. At the next uprising in 1573,…

Šentjur Among the first Kozjansko Hills lies the lake Slivniško jezero which is also called the Kozjansko sea. The lake is actually a dam on the Voglajna River, with a depth of 14 m and a surface of 86 hectares. After the dam, the Voglajna flows along the foot of Gradišče ( 441 m )…

Central Slovenia This is the largest Slovene region. It comprises a major part of the Ljubljana basin, a big part of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, the Polhov Gradec Dolomites, part of the territory stretching to Notranjska, and vast Kočevsko forests all the way to the state border with Croatia that runs on the Kolpa River. Ljubljana…

Dolenjska Dolenjska is like the softness of an enchanted song and such are its people, too. Its low hills scattered with castles, country crisscrossed by green rivers, streams, and forests, and facetiousness and hospitality of the locals can be met at every step. Magic birch groves of Bela Krajina sing a different tune. They leave…

Kamnik Kamnik is one of the oldest Slovene towns. The medieval town core is partly preserved. In the 12th century, Kamnik with its castle atop the steep hill was the most influential town in Carniola. But already in the middle of the 13th century, Ljubljana gained supremacy. Over the centuries Kamnik was the town of…

Tourism For such a small country, Slovenia boasts an extremely varied landscape. There is just a short pop from snow-capped mountains and glacial lakes in the Alps to evergreen olive plantations on the coast. And a drive to wine-growing hills, golden wheat-fields, or mysterious karst caves will not take us more than an hour, either….

Grosuplje At the east of the Marshes, the motorway and the railroad ascend past the village of Šmarje-Sap and descend into the Grosuplje basin. Among the undulating green hills to the east lie smaller three basins; the Višnja gora basin, the Stična basin, and the Šentvid basin. The soil is very fertile and the area…

Štajerska ( Styria )  Štajerska is a land of friendly people, noblest wines, and excellent traditional dishes. Numerous thermal springs attract travelers. It abounds in cultural monuments and merry events. Extremely rich cultural and historical heritage can be enjoyed at every step. Numerous castles, manor houses, monasteries, and famous churches greet visitors at every comer….

Dolenjske Toplice In the middle of the wide Krka Valley above Novo Mesto sits Meniška vas and behind the hill lies Dolenjske Toplice ( Municipality in Slovenia ), the oldest thermal spa in Dolenjska. Through the Črmosnjica valley leads a road to Bela Krajina and up the slope of Rog another one to the WW…

The Lower Savinja Valley In 1760 the Novo Celje Castle was built near Petrovče and the Vienna Schonbrun was used as the model. Dobriša vas and Vrbje are also nearby. Before it reaches Prebold and Latkova vas, the Savinja turns northwest. The largest towns in this part of the valley are Šempeter and Žalec, the…

Dobrna In the valley of the tiny Dobrna river, at the village of Lemberg near Strmec, is the Lemberg Castle and further up the valley lies Dobrna. The Dobrna spa was already known by the Romans. Written sources mention it only in 1428 and the tourism did not take off before 1612. Above the spa…

Kočevje Kočevje sits in the middle of a karst polje. Its origins date to the 14th century when the Ortenburgs started to bring German settlers to work the land. At that time they built the manor house in Mahovnik and a settlement developed around it later on. In 1847., coal was discovered at Šalka vas…

Koroška Forests The Koroška forests are a veritable paradise for anyone who appreciates quiet. Holidaying in Koroška offers tranquility and quenches the curiosity the city man constantly seeks and needs. Countless trails are leading from peak to peak. Experiences are so fulfilling that their memories stay alive for a long time. There is nothing like…

Zagorje Several narrow valleys cut into the Zasavje Hills. The first is the valley of the Medija River. In the wider part of the valley, behind the gorge between Vrh ( 679 m ) and Iskranjca ( 672 m ), lies Zagorje, the oldest coal-mining town in Slovenia. Coal has been mined here since 1755….

Ptuj The old part of the town is squeezed between the Drava and Grajski hrib. The Ptuj Castle ( Ptujski grad ) is one of the largest and mightiest in Slovenia. There was a small castle on the same spot already during Roman times. They ’began to build the castle in the first millennium AD…

Bled Solitary hills jutting from the plain and surrounding Lake Bled are typical of the Bled area. The glacial lake fills a basin in the middle of the glacial rubble and has a reputation for being extremely beautiful. It is adorned by the medieval castle perched on top of a high natural cliff-face and by…

Šoštanj Šoštanj lies on the plain by the Paka below the ruins of the Pusti grad castle which used to control the road through the narrow Paka valley. It was first mentioned in writing in 1199, in 1384 it was granted a market charter. At that time it was the center of the Šalek Valley….

Ruše In the lower Drava Valley, the Drava is dammed by the Fala hydropower station dam. The hydropower station at Fala was the first on the Drava river, built-in 1918. From the dam to Maribor the valley bottom is gravely sandwiched between steep wooded slopes of the Pohorje and the Kozjak. At the foot of…

Maribor Maribor is the second-largest Slovene city situated at the mouth of the Drava Valley between the Kozjak range and the Pohorje Massif. To the south of the city stretches the Drava Plain ( Dravsko polje ) and to the northeast the wine-growing Slovenske Gorice. In Maribor, the Drava is crossed by an important road…

Pomurje The extraordinary hospitality of the locals and the mysterious flat landscape is simply enchanting. Excellent traditional dishes and numerous thermal springs attract tourists. It is a land of lazy rivers, mysterious moors, fishponds, and rich in-game. It is a place where hunters and fishermen can still find species that have become rare elsewhere in…

Medvode After Medno, where the road and the railway run through a narrow part of the Sava valley between Grmada ( 676 m ) and the Polhov Gradec Dolomites, at the confluence of the Sava and the Sora, begins the Gorenjska Plain. At the confluence sits the local center Medvode surrounded by smaller settlements. Goricane…

Bovec The Bovec basin is depression among the mountains. During the Ice Age glaciers filled it with enormous amounts of rubble. For a long time, it was filled with water. The Polovnik ridge ( 1471 m ) shuts it off from the south and the Kanin ridge ( 2587 m ) from the north. Kanin…

Slovene cooking Slovene cooking is just as varied as the landscape. Old national dishes have rich traditions. Some of them have been preserved through centuries. In Slovenia, there have around 40 culinary districts, which apart from having very different eating habits also have very different dishes. Soil composition and weather conditions varying from district to…

Kranjska gora Gozd Martuljek is a picturesque tourist alpine village. The Hladnik brook, which springs in the Karavanke, runs through a narrow gorge and then through the village. Another brook running through the village is the Martuljek with its two waterfalls -Zgomji Martuljkov slap which is rather hard to access, and Spodnji Martuljkov slap with…