Slovenia
History
Slovene territory was inhabited in prehistoric times and there is evidence of human habitation around 250,000 years ago. Perhaps the most important find is a flute, allegedly the oldest known musical instrument in the world, discovered in Divje Babe cave near Cerkno, dating from the Würm glacial age when the area was inhabited by Neanderthals.[27] In the transition period between the Bronze age to the Iron age, the Urnfield culture flourished. Numerous archeological remains dating from the Hallstatt period have been found in Slovenia. Novo Mesto, one of the most important archeological sites of the Hallstatt culture, has been nicknamed the “City of Situlas” after numerous situlas found in the area.[28]
In the Iron Age, present-day Slovenia was inhabited by Illyrian and Celtic tribes until the 1st century BC, when the Romans conquered the region establishing the provinces of Pannonia and Noricum. What is now western Slovenia was included directly under Roman Italia as part of the X region Venetia et Histria. The Romans established posts at Emona (Ljubljana), Poetovio (Ptuj) and Celeia (Celje) and constructed trade and military roads that ran across Slovene territory from Italy to Pannonia. In the 5th and 6th centuries, the area was exposed to invasions by the Huns and Germanic tribes during their incursions into Italy. After the departure of the last Germanic tribe – the Lombards – to Italy in 568 CE, the Slavs from the East began to dominate the area. After the successful resistance against the nomadic Asian Avars (from 623 to 626 CE), the Slavic people united with King Samo’s tribal confederation. The confederation fell apart in 658 and the Slavic people, located in present-day Carinthia, formed the independent duchy of Carantania.[29]
Geography
Slovenia is situated in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. It lies between latutudes 45° and 47° N, and longitudes 13° and 17° E. The 15th meridian east almost corresponds to the middle line of the country in the direction west-east.[47] The geographical centre of Slovenia is at the coordinates 46°07’11.8″ N and 14°48’55.2″ E. It lies in Spodnja Slivna near Vače. Slovenia’s highest peak is Triglav (2,864 m/9,396 ft); the country’s average height above sea level is 557 m (1,827 ft).
Four major European geographic regions meet in Slovenia: the Alps, the Dinarides, the Pannonian Plain, and the Mediterranean. Although on the shore of the Adriatic Sea, near the Mediterranean, most of Slovenia is in the Black Sea drainage basin. The Alps—including the Julian Alps, the Kamnik-Savinja Alps and the Karavanke chain, as well as the Pohorje massif—dominate Northern Slovenia along its long border with Austria. Slovenia’s Adriatic coastline stretches approximately 47 km (29 mi)[48] from Italy to Croatia. The term “Karst topography” refers to that of southwestern Slovenia’s Kras Plateau, a limestone region of underground rivers, gorges, and caves, between Ljubljana and the Mediterranean. On the Pannonian plain to the East and Northeast, toward the Croatian and Hungarian borders, the landscape is essentially flat. However, the majority of Slovenian terrain is hilly or mountainous, with around 90% of the surface 200 m (656 ft) or more above sea level.
Over half of the country (10,124 km2/3,909 sq mi) is covered by forests. This makes Slovenia the third most forested country in Europe, after Finland and Sweden. The areas are covered mostly by beech, fir-beech and beech-oak forests and have a relatively high production capacity.[49] Remnants of primeval forests are still to be found, the largest in the Kočevje area. Grassland covers 5,593 km2 (2,159 sq mi) and fields and gardens (954 km2/368 sq mi). There are 363 km2 (140 sq mi) of orchards and 216 km2 (83 sq mi) of vineyards.
Climate
Various geography and location between different regions also reflect the country’s climate. In the Northeast, the continental climate type with greatest difference between winter and summer temperatures prevails. In the coastal region, there is sub-Mediterranean climate. The effect of the sea on the temperature rates is visible also up the Soča valley, while a severe Alpine climate is present in the high mountain regions. There is a strong interaction between these three climatic systems across most of the country.[50] Precipitation varies across the country as well, with over 3500 mm in some Western regions and dropping down to 800 mm in Prekmurje. Snow is quite frequent in winter and the record snow cover in Ljubljana was recorded in 1952 at 146 cm. Strong winds are not very frequent in Slovenia with exception of the Littoral region where the wind burja (bora) can reach velocity up to 45 m/s in gusts.[50]
Natural regions
The first regionalisations of Slovenia were made by geographers Anton Melik (1935–1936) and Svetozar Ilešič (1968). The newer regionalisation by Ivan Gams divides Slovenia in the following macroregions:
- the Alps (visokogorske Alpe)
- the Prealpine Hills (predalpsko hribovje)
- the Ljubljana Basin (Ljubljanska kotlina)
- Submediterranean (Littoral) Slovenia (submediteranska – primorska Slovenija)
- the Dinaric Karst of inner Slovenia (dinarski kras notranje Slovenije)
- Subpannonian Slovenia (subpanonska Slovenija)
According to a newer natural geographic regionalisation, the country consists of four macroregions. These are the Alpine, the Mediterranean, the Dinaric, and the Pannonian landscapes. Macroregions are defined according to major relief units (the Alps, the Pannonian plain, the Dinaric mountains) and climate types (submediterranean, temperate continental, mountain climate).[51] These are often quite interwoven.
Protected areas of Slovenia include national parks, regional parks, and nature parks, the largest of which being Triglav National Park. There are 286 Natura 2000 designated protected areas, which comprise 36% of the country’s land area, the largest percentage among European Union states.[52]
June 08 2011 03:37 am | Europe