Slovenia: Political System
According to COMPUTERMINUS.COM, Slovenia is a parliamentary republic. The constitution dates from 1991. The head of state is the president, who is elected by the people for five years. The executive power lies with the government, which is led by the Prime Minister. The parliament is elected for four years. 38 MPs are directly elected, 50 MPs by an electoral commission, there is also a representative of the Italian minority and one of the Hungarian minority. Citizens aged 18 and over are entitled to vote. See AbbreviationFinder for more information about Slovenia politics, and acronyms as well.
The leftist candidate and former UN official Danilo Türk (born 1952) is the incumbent President of Slovenia. In the runoff election on Sunday, November 11, 2007, 68.26 percent of the voters voted for him. His conservative rival Lojze Peterle received 31.74 percent. Türk took office on December 23, 2007. He is the third president of the country after Milan Kuan and Janez Drnovšek. Milan Kuan held the office from 1991 to 2002 and Janez Drnovšek from 2002 to December 22, 2007. The prime minister, i.e. the head of government, has been Janez Janez Janša (born 1958) since November 2004.
The official name of the country is:
| Republika Slovenija Republic of Slovenia |
National anthem
The Slovenian national anthem was written by France Prešeren in 1844 and set to music by Stanko Premrl (1880-1965). It was designated the national anthem on September 27, 1989 by the then Slovenian parliament.
In German the hymn is called drinking song
| In Slovak | In the English translation |
| Prijatli! obrodileso trte vince nam sladkó,
ki nam oživlja žile, srce razjásni in oko, ki utopi vse skrbi, v potrtih prsih up budi!Komú narpred veselo zdravljico, bratje! cmo zapét ‘! Bog našo nam deželo, Bog živi ves slovenski svet, brate vse, kar nas je sinov slovece matere!V sovražnike ‘z oblakov rodú naj naš’ga treši gróm prost, ko je bil ocakov, najprej naj bo Slovencov dom; naj zdrobé njih roké si spone, ki jih še težé!Edinost, sreca, sprava k nam naj nazaj se vrnejo; otrók, kar ima Slava, vsi naj si v róke sežejo de oblast in z njo cast, ko préd, spet naša boste last!Bog žívi vas Slovenke prelepe, žlahtne rožice; ni take je mladenke, ko naše je krvi dekle; naj sinóv zarod nov iz vas bo strah sovražnikov! Mladenci, zdaj se pije zdravljica vaše, vi naš up; ljubezni domacije noben naj vam ne usmrti strup; ker zdaj vas kakor nas, jo srcno bránit klice cas! Živé naj vsi naródi ki hrepené docakat ‘dan, da koder sonce hodi, prepir iz svéta bo pregnan, da rojak prost bo vsak, ne vrag, le sosed bo mejak! Nazadnje še, prijatlji, kozarce zase vzdignimo, ki smo zato se zbratli, ker dobro v srcu mislimo; dókaj dninaj živí vsak, kar nas dobrih je ljudi! |
The vine has now brought backthe sweet refreshment drink that lifts
our pulses, clears our hearts and eyes; who drowns what hurts, who brings hope into our chests.To whom be the first, happy toast, friends! probably brought? The home, the beloved, her true God’s holy power; then here you guys , sons of Slovenia for and for!Lightning may strike the enemy from high clouds, for our fatherland is free as it was from now on; and shatters and displaces the fetters that it still constrains.Reconciliation, happiness and unity are coming, turn to us anew, children, you of glory, all, oh, reach out your hands faithfully; that power awakens anew, with it honor ‘as ever’ laughs at us.God preserve yourselves, you noble Slovenian roses, beautiful and fine; there are no like you, you wonderful maidens! Sons of bold may you draw the enemy to fright, yourselves to gain. Cheers to you young men, you our hope, our lust; no poison should ever kill the love of your home in your breast. be ready where you are to protect the land the time calls! Goodbye to the peoples who longingly look to the day on which the discord is driven out of space; where freedom seems to the friend and where the enemy becomes a neighbor. Finally, let us drink to our well-being the liquid embers, to us whom we fraternized, because we are faithful and good in our hearts; many years, clear as day! to any good of our crowd |
National flag
The national flag (national flag) of Slovenia was officially adopted in its current form on October 20, 1994. Based on flag descriptions by Countryaah.com, like the flag of Russia, it consists of three horizontal stripes of equal size: white above, blue in the middle and red below.
- Check top-mba-universities for public holidays, sports events, UNESCO world heritage sites and major places to visit in Slovenia.
To distinguish it, Slovenia has its coat of arms in the upper left part of the flag. It consists of a blue shield with a red border on the two lower sides. The sign shows over two waves, which symbolize the Adriatic Sea, the three-pointed peak of Triglav, which is the highest mountain in the country with a height of 2,864 m, and the three gold-colored stars from the coat of arms of the Counts of Cilli Celje).
Slovenia: Known People
Architects and builders
Jože Plečnik) (1872-1957), internationally famous architect. Among other things, he built the national and university library and the “Three Bridges” in Lubljana.
Visual artist
Ivana Kobilca (1861-1926), painter of realism.
Rihard Jakopie (1869-1943), impressionist painter and art theorist. He is the founder of the Ljubljana Art Academy.
Marko Pogacnik (born 1944), sculptor. He was best known for his conceptual art.
Igor Skalé (born 1948), modern painter.
Musician
Jacobus Gallus (1550-1591), composer. He wrote 16 masses and he set liturgical and biblical texts to 374 motets.
Natural scientist
Herman Potoènik (1892 – 1929), is considered a pioneer of modern space travel. He discovered the geostationary synchronous orbit, which ensures the optimal transmission of radio waves and is the essential basis of modern satellite and communication technology.
Baron Jurij Vega (1754-1802), mathematician and soldier. He did research especially in the field of logarithms. Today his portrait adorns the 50 tolar bill.
Politicians and rulers
Milan Kuèan (born 1941), first President of Slovenia from 1991 to 2002.
Andrei Bajuk (born 1943), Prime Minister in 2000.
Lojze Peterle (born 1948), politician. He contributed significantly to Slovenia becoming independent from Yugoslavia. He was also Prime Minister from 1990 to 1992. In 1991 he proclaimed Slovenia’s independence from Yugoslavia.
Janez Drnovšek (born 1950), President of Slovenia since 2002.
Janez Janša (born 1958), Prime Minister of Slovenia since 2004.
Janez Potoènik (born 1958), EU Commissioner for Science and Research since 2004.
Writer and poet
France Prešeren (1800 – 1849), is considered the national poet of Slovenia. His works include “The Baptism on the Savica” and “Poetry”.
Simon Jenko (1835-1869), poet. Among other things, Simon Jenko wrote the text of the old Slovenian national anthem.
France Bevk (1890-1970), writer. His works include “Toni his unusual adventures”, “A difficult path” and “Little Weisen”.
Ivan Cankar (1876-1918), one of the most important Slovenian writers. He wrote, among other things, “Literary Szizzen from Vienna”, “Pavlicek’s Crown” and “From Foreign Life”.
Juš Kozak (1892-1964), writer. He wrote “Mask? and “Woheiner Pastorale ?.
Prežihov Voranc (1893-1950), writer. He wrote the book “The Left Skirt Pocket”.
Louis Adamic (1899-1951), journalist and writer. Among other things he wrote the work “Dynamite – History of the Class Struggle in the USA”.
Edvard Kocbek (1904-1981), writer. He wrote, among other things, “The Dialectic” and “The Black Sea”.
Anton Ingoliè (1907-1992), writer. His works include “Die Gymnasiastin” and “Durst”.
Miško Kranjcec (1908-1983), writer. His works include, among others, “Herr auf Eigengrund” and “Leap into the world”.
Ciril Kosmaè (1910-1980), writer. His books include “For Body and Soul” and “Die Raupe”.
Alojz Rebula (born 1924), writer. He wrote the books “Farewell in the year of wormwood”, “Hermagoras” and “Nokturno for the coastal country”.
Lojze Kovaèiè (1928-2004), writer. One of his works is “Die Zugereisten ?.
Dane Zajc (1929-2005), poet and playwright. He wrote the volume of poetry “Earth Language” and the book “Behind the Transitions”.
Žarko Petan (born 1929), writer. Among other things, he wrote the books “Beyond the Edge of the World” and “Life Story”.
Kajetan Koviè (born 1931), poet. Among other things he brought out the books “Kater Murr” and the children’s book “My friend Piki Jakob”.
Sonja Porle (born 1960), writer. One of her works is “The color of black chocolate”.
Aleš Debeljak (born 1961), writer. He wrote, among other things, the books “Fall of Idols” and “In Search of Paradise Lost”.
Actors, directors
Stanislav Ledinek (1920-1969), actor. He played in the films “Liebesnächte in der Taiga” and “Der Zinker”.
Tomaž Pandur (born 1963), internationally known theater director.
Theologians and philosophers
Primož Trubar (1508 – 1586), Protestant and founder of Slovenian theology. In 1550 he wrote the first book in Slovene. He is considered to be the founder of Slovenian literature.
Anton Martin Slomšek (1800 – 1862), clergyman and writer. In 1999 he was beatified by Pope John Paul II.
Fran Saleški Finžgar (1871-1962), Roman Catholic priest and writer. Among other things he wrote “Ecce homo! The Noturno of a Sick “and” Boy, you don’t understand! “.
Franc Ksaver Meško (1874-1964) priest and writer. Among other things, he wrote “The Law of Old Matthias”.
Slavoj Žižek (born 1949), philosopher. His works include “The parallactic view of communism” and “Philosophy and Actuality. A dispute ”.
Athlete
Milan Vidmar (1885 – 1962), internationally known chess master.
Leon Stukelj (1898-1999), important gymnast and gold medalist.
Bruno Parma (born 1941), internationally known chess master.
Albin Planinc (born 1944), internationally known chess player.
Aleksander Knavs (born 1975), football player. Knavs played over 50 times for the Slovenian national team.
Robert Kranjec (born 1981), ski jumper. At the World Cup ski jumping 2005/2006 he won first place.
Rok Benkovic (born 1986), ski jumper. He won the gold medal at the 2005 World Ski Championships.
Others
Franc Miklošic (1813-1891), philologist. He is considered to be one of the founders of scientific Slavic studies. He was born in what is now Slovenia and died in Vienna, where he was both dean and rector of the university.
Johann Weichard Freiherr von Valvasor (1641 – 1693), universal scholar. His most important work is called “The Honor of the Duchy of Crain. Valvasor is shown on the Slovenian 20 tolar note.
Slovenia: animals
Mammals
Red deer, roe deer, wild boar, various species of martens and foxes live in the forests of Slovenia. Chamois, mouflons, marmots and ibex can be found in the higher elevations. The latter used to be heavily hunted for the meat and especially for their horns. The horn, ground into powder, was considered an aphrodisiac. Today they are under strict nature protection.
Mouflons are also known as European wild sheep. They were introduced from Sardinia and Corsica and live mainly in closed forest areas. They reach a size of 65 to 90 cm and live on average 8 to 10 years. Typical are the gray to yellowish colored saddle spots on the brown fur and the horns of the males, which grow throughout life and can reach a length of 0.45 m. The horns of the females are much shorter or nonexistent. The mouflons have a well-developed sense of hearing and smell, but the sense of sight is best developed. Their diet includes grasses, herbs and woody plants, but also mushrooms and fruits.
The carnivores of Slovenia include wolves, numerous lynxes, wild cats and around 600 brown bears. These belong to the family of the real bears and are found all over the northern hemisphere. However, there are also numerous subspecies of the brown bear. The European brown bear, which occurs in Slovenia, lives in the Alps, the Pyrenees, in Eastern and Southern Europe and in Scandinavia. They inhabit mountain regions and areas with little or no trees. The predator is omnivorous, with the vegetable part being the predominant part. This includes ripe berries, fruits and roots.
Insects, ground-nesting birds, small rodents, ungulates and also carrion make up the animal part of their diet. The brown bear hibernates between October and April. This is also the time when the young are born. A fully grown male can reach a height of 2.30 m and a weight of 350 kg. The brown bear can be dangerous to humans if it is surprised or if the mother animal has the feeling that it has to defend its cub.
Often you can also watch the otter.
Reptiles, amphibians
Many reptiles live especially near the coast. These include geckos, lizards such as the wall lizard, blindworms and the day and nocturnal European pond turtle. Although this is widespread, its existence is strongly declining and therefore endangered. They can be found in bodies of water with a good population of aquatic plants and a muddy bottom, but you will rarely see them as these animals are very shy. The flat and oval shell can grow up to 36 cm long, and this turtle has a fairly long tail. Their diet is predominantly animal. It consists of fish, newts, tadpoles, crabs and water snails. In winter, the turtle buries itself in the bottom mud and bridges the cold season in a frozen state. One finds the poisonous one hereAdder.
A special feature is the cave olm, which lives in underground caves and belongs to the amphibians. The tailed amphibian from the Olme family is up to 30 cm long and has reduced extremities, which is why it externally resembles an eel. Its skin is not pigmented and has a yellowish to pinkish-whitish color. Since he constantly lives in the dark, his eyes are overgrown with thin skin, which makes him blind. The red tufts of gills on both sides of the head are striking. The grotto olm is the only olm found in Europe and was previously thought to be a young dragon.
Poisonous animals
What may surprise some people that there are also scorpions in Slovenia.
The animals belong to the arachnids.
They are nocturnal and hide during the day. On average, scorpions reach a body length of 5 – 10 cm, although there are exceptions both upwards and downwards. The large claws are used to dig earth passages and caves as well as to catch and hold on to the prey. Insects, spiders and also smaller snakes serve as prey, which are killed with the poison sting thrown forward. The poison it contains is usually harmless to large vertebrates. But here, too, there are exceptions whose poison can be harmful or even fatal. But this is only true in a few ways. The ones in Slovenialiving species tend to be harmless as they are weakly poisonous and can only cause local effects. They are mainly found in rocky terrain.
On the drier high plateaus one can encounter the tarantula, named after the Italian city of Taranto. It is one of the wolf spiders, grows 3 to 5 cm tall and is light brown in color with dark markings on its back. The nocturnal spider lives in caves and tree crevices. It is interesting that it does not catch its prey in the net, but rather actively hunts. Lizards and smaller rodents are then on the menu. The poison sting can also be dangerous for humans, with the symptoms almost always expressing themselves locally after a bite. There may be moderate to mild pain and local inflammation with redness, itching and swelling. The tarantula is widespread in the Mediterranean region, the tropics, subtropics and southern Europe.
The 1 cm large, gray-brown thorn finger spider is the most dangerous species of spider in Central Europe. It belongs to the sac spiders and has two very distinctive yellow-red jaw claws. After a bite, the injected venom will cause the area to become bluish-red, swelling, and painful. You may also experience nausea, vomiting, headache, and a mild fever.
And as mentioned, there are also the adder in Slovenia.
Birds
Eastern Slovenia belongs to the storks and gray herons. Other bird species are black grouse and capercaillie, ravens and the shy golden eagle, which you rarely see. The eagle owl can often be heard in the woods.
Another species of bird is the griffon vulture. It belongs to the Old World vulture family, is 97-104 cm tall and has a wingspan of around 2.50 m. The plumage is sand-colored except for the white head and neck. The yellowish-white ruff is characteristic. The griffon vulture feeds exclusively on carrion and never attacks animals that are still alive. In addition to Slovenia, it occurs in Morocco, Algeria, Spain, Sardinia, Greece and Turkey.
Migratory birds include wild ducks, wild geese, plovers, snipes and terns.
Buzzards, falcons and hawks also live in the country.
There are also numerous species of songbirds, as well as pigeons and crows.
Plants in Slovenia
Trees
In the north of the country there are predominantly mixed forests with oaks, beeches and firs. In the south, on the other hand, linden and maquis grow, the latter especially along the coast. These include strawberry trees and the tree heather. Cypresses, pines, olive trees, oleanders and even palm trees also grow on the coast. The southern Alpine areas are dominated by larches and laying pines. In addition to beeches and oaks, birch trees also grow in the east.
Crops
The main crops are corn and wheat. Wine and rapeseed are also grown here. There are also fruit trees here. But Slovenia is not a country with a larger agriculture.
Medicinal plants
The endemic yellow gentian is well known as a medicinal plant. It grows up to 1 m high and has golden-yellow flowers.
Only the roots of the herbaceous mountain plant that grows in the Alps at an altitude of 1000-2000 m are used medicinally. As it stimulates the secretion of saliva and gastric juice, it is used, among other things, for loss of appetite, indigestion and flatulence. The sea fennel is not a distinctly medicinal plant, but it is increasingly used in the cosmetics industry.
Poisonous plants
The 5 to 50 cm large pasque flower from the buttercup family blooms from April to May with a light purple flower. The whole plant is poisonous because of the anemonine. Consumption of parts of plants can lead to circulatory or respiratory paralysis.
In Slovenia, the Pasque Flower has the southernmost limit of its range.
The oleander from the dog poison family is also poisonous. It grows both as a tree and as a shrub and reaches a size of up to 5 m. it has leathery evergreen leaves and white or pink flowers. All parts of the plant are poisonous, but especially the fresh leaves. After consumption, stomach pain, nausea and diarrhea can occur. In severe poisoning, cardiac arrhythmias can also be among the symptoms. In very bad cases, death from respiratory paralysis can even result. Skin contact can cause itching and reddening of the affected area.
More plants
The alpine flora includes many endemic species (only occurring in Slovenia) such as the Blagay daphne, the single-headed piglet, the Julian poppy and the dolomite cinquefoil.
The Carniolan primrose and the yellow gentian are also endemic plants.
The zois bellflower and zois violet are indigenous, but also grow on the border with Austria and Italy. The blue herald of the sky is also a typical alpine flower. The alpine poppy, alpine toadflax and dolomite carnation have specialized on scree slopes of the high mountains. The triglav rose also grows between rock crevices in the high mountains.
Other known plants are auricle, gentian and edelweiss. The latter immigrated from the Himalayas during the Ice Ages. The edelweiss belongs to the daisy family and grows on sunny, calcareous lawn slopes, on stony meadows, on limestone cliffs and in crevices in mountains up to 2500 m. The plant grows to a height of 3 – 20 cm and has a characteristic flower consisting of 5 – 6 small yellow flower heads surrounded by white star-shaped leaves. The edelweiss is common in the Pyrenees, Alps, Carpathians and Central Asia.
Juniper bushes are also represented in Slovenia.
The salt pans in the bay of Piran are a specialty. Numerous salt plants such as samphire, narrow-leaved sand carnation and sea fennel grow here.
