53 Interesting Facts About Slovenia

Last updated on April 18th, 2022

Tourists attractions, geographical wonders, famous people, and some fun facts about Slovenia

28. The linden tree and the chamois are two important national symbols of Slovenia.

29. Slovenia is a country dotted with picturesque natural wonders. It has the highest number of caves (more than 10,000) in the world and more than half of the country is covered with forests.

30. Postojna is the biggest at 20,570 m long and the best-known cave system in the world.

31. Slovenia is a heaven of biodiversity. It contains 1% of the world’s organisms on 0.004% of the Earth’s surface area.

32. Slovenia has a total coastline of 46.6 km.

33. Slovenia by some estimate has a winery for every 70 people.

34. The mysterious pile dwellers of the Alps lived in Slovenia during the prehistoric and Neolithic ages.

Slovenia on the map

35. Did you know? Etruscan shrew, weighing at 2 grams, is the lightest mammal in the world. This little known, fascinating creature is found natively in Slovenia.

36. You might wonder why a person swims the entire length of various rivers. The answer is because he is a Slovenian. Martin Strel swam the entire length of Mississippi River (2,414 mi), Yangtze River (2,487 mi), Amazon River (3,273 mi) and the Danube River (1,780 mi). He is the first person to do so.

37. Imagine skiing down the world’s roughest and highest peak, the Mount Everest. No one dared entertain such thought, expect Slovene alpinist Davorin Karničar, who became a record holder for his daredevil stunt. He is also the first man in the world to ski the highest peaks of all seven continents.

38. Ljubljana is a fairy-tale city for kids. Legends have it that a mighty dragon was harassing the townsmen. Prince Jason of ancient Greece happened to be passing by and decided to help. In a classic battle, the young prince slew the dragon.

39. Sadly, the dragon became the de-facto symbol of Ljubljana and not Prince Jason of ancient Greece.

40. Speaking of Dragons, you can find the green statue of the “martyr” dragon at the awesome Dragon Bridge. It represents power, courage and greatness. Yes, Ljubljana is that cool. This bridge is also the finest example of Vienna Secession style architecture.

41. Slovenia has one of the highest per capita GDP in Central Europe.

42. It’s also said that the dragon at the Dragon Bridge wags its tail every time a virgin lady crosses the bridge.

43. Wanna try being a prisoner without committing a crime? Book a room, rather a cell at the Celica Hostel, which happens to be an ex-military prison camp.

44. The grandmother of all European chimneys is the Chimney of the power station in Trbovlje. At 1,180 ft. or 360 m, it is the tallest in Europe.

45. What is the wildest place you can imagine hosting a literary award ceremony? Whatever you can think of Slovenians will beat that. The Vilenica international literary prize is held every year inside a cave.

46. Slovenia is famous for its water tourism. It’s a water paradise with 27,000 km of rivers and streams.

47. Bears and forests are abundant in the country.

48. Slovenia is so small that you can look at two countries while standing in Slovenia. On the right you can spot Italy, while on the left you can find Croatia.

49. The Old Vine in Maribor, Slovenia is at least 400 years old and it is believed to be the oldest vine in the world.

50. “Lake Cerknica” in Slovenia is an intermittent lake. An intermittent lake is the one that disappears seasonally.

51. Slovenia also has one of the oldest stud farm in the world – the Lipica stud farm. 

52. A race run in Slovenia nicknamed as “the hill of death” and “the vertical marathon” is 400 m long. However, the race is sheer vertical climb. The actual name of the thrilling race is “The Red Bull 400.” Watch its video below.

53. As per CIA, there are 477,782 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals in Slovenia (2015 – April 2016).

Slovenia – the country at a glance