Explains where Slovenia Europe is located and why, because of its location and historical background, it is culturally diverse.
Slovenia is a culturally diverse country due to its south central European location. Bordered by Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Croatia, influences from these countries have helped to shape the art, literature, language, cuisine and music of this small, yet proud Slavic nation.
Art and culture in Slovenia are reflected in the many organizations, universities, galleries, museums, orchestras, and numerous other local events that exist to promote Slovenia's historic background and modern-day existence. Additionally, many of Slovenia's cities reflect a cultural style of their own, which is present in unique regional architecture, language dialects, and local music and foods. For example, Maribor, which is located approximately 10 miles south of Austria in a region called Stajerska, boasts many drinking and dining establishments whose cuisine is influenced greatly by the Austrian kitchen. Popular dishes include wiener schnitzel, hrenovka, which are sausages similar to frankfurters, dumplings and strudels. Meanwhile, in cities closer to the Italian border such as Koper, the country's largest port, foods such as fresh fish and mussels, and kraski prsut (prosciutto) vie for culinary attention along with spaghetti bolognese. Throughout all of Slovenia there also exists very strong culinary cultural influences from the countries of Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia to the south. You will find many restaurants here that cater to a southern European cooking style whose emphasis is on using sheep meat in many of their dishes. Popular entrees include cevapcici (ground meat rolled into a cigar-like shape, then fried) and lepinja (friend ground meat patties served in a pita-like bread). These are but a few of the various types of cuisine found in Slovenia that are influenced by regional cultural variations.
Slovenia also possesses unique regional folklore. Many stories have been passed down from generation to generation and date back to the early habitation of the area. Ptuj, the oldest town in Slovenia, is famous for its legend of the kurent. The kurent is an unusual-looking creature with antlers, a long pointed nose, and a red tongue. Every year the residents of Ptuj dress in kurent costumes and parade through Ptuj and nearby villages and towns to chase away the spirit of the winter. This tradition precedes Ptuj's own recent history, even pre-dating the city when it was ruled by the Roman Empire and called Poetovio.
Because of Slovenia's location and historical background, its cultural diversity is vast. The country offers a rich heritage to its citizens and the best of many worlds to a visitor.
