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External Links to: Pictures from Russia |
Using this link to Slovenian Culture Center, You Shall See:
Beautiful Pictures of Slovenia
Slovenian Landmark Images, Slovenian Catholic Mission and More
www.slovenian-center.org
/sys-tmpl
/usefullinks
These Pictures are the Property of the European Commission
Spectacular Pictures are brought to
you by:
europa.eu.int/comm
/enlargement/slovenia
/pictures/slovenia_
pictures.htm
Slovenia
Pictures of the Cave Castle
members.tripod.com
/logbone
/slovenia.html
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External Links to: Slovenian History from Webster's
Online Dictionary: |
One of the most informative sites on the
Web: History of Slovenian People - Ancient and Modern
www.euroamericans.net
/slovene.htm
Another Very Informative Site: Slovenians, Origin of Slovenians, History,
Slovenians in Europe, in Austria-Hungry, in Italy, in the German Army, in the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia and More www.wordiq.com/definition
/Slovenes#The_origin_of
_Slovenians
Another Very Informative Site: Portals to the
World
Slovenia
Facts About Slovenia
Foreign Policy
Slovenian National Insignia
www.un.int/slovenia
/facts.html
Slovenia - The Story of Viniculture in Slovenia
www.winedine.co.uk
/page.php?pid=331
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External Links to: Slovenian Language Courses |
Basic
Slovenian Alphabet www.ijs.si/slo-chset.html
Basic Slovenian Language Course:
www.maps2anywhere.com
/Languages/Slovene
_language.htm
Slovenian Language Site University of Pittsburgh
Slovenian Reference Grammar
Slovenian Language Site University of Pittsburgh
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Slovenians Around the World
External Links to: |
Slovenians in America
www.euroamericans.net
/slovene.htm
Early History of Slovenian
National Home
www.angelfire.com
/wa/gorsha/Maple
HtsHistory.html
Slovenians in Canada
collections.ic.gc.ca
/albertans/people
/slovenian.html
The Canadian Slovenians Historical Society
www.slovenian
historical.ca
/About%20the%
20Society.htm
Slovenians Abroad:
Australia, Germany, Canada, & The United States www3.sympatico.ca
/ideabank/ksk
/Sponsors/slo_svet
_index.html
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External Links to: Slovenian Born or of Slovenian Descent - Great Men and Women: |
Famous Slovenians
www.un.int/slovenia
/famous.html
Famous People
www.trebnje.si/znane1.htm
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For Tourist to Slovenia
January 13, 2005
COUNTRY DESCRIPTION: Slovenia operates under a parliamentary democracy. In May 2004,
Slovenia became a member of the European Union. Slovenia is a mountainous country, half of
which is covered by forests, with 29 miles of coastline along the Adriatic Sea. Tourist
facilities are widely available throughout the country. For additional information read
the
Department of State's
Background Notes on Slovenia: http://www.state.gov/
r/pa/ei/bgn/ 3407.htm.
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Slovenia
"The Slovene lands were
part of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria until 1918 when the Slovenes joined the Serbs
and Croats in forming a new nation, renamed Yugoslavia in 1929. After World War II,
Slovenia became a republic of the renewed Yugoslavia, which though Communist, distanced
itself from Moscow's rule. Dissatisfied with the exercise of power of the majority Serbs,
the Slovenes succeeded in establishing their independence in 1991. Historical ties to
Western Europe, a strong economy, and a stable democracy made Slovenia a leading candidate
for future membership in the EU and NATO. "
-- CIA
World Factbook
Slovenia joined the NATO alliance in 2004.
Slovenia is a member of the European Union since May of 2004.
Slovenia
Location: Southeastern Europe, eastern Alps bordering
the Adriatic Sea, between Austria and Croatia
Map references:Europe
Area: total: 20,273 sq km
water: 122 sq km
land: 20,151 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than New Jersey
Land boundaries: total:1,334 k
border countries: Austria 330 km, Croatia 670 km, Italy 232 km, Hungary 102
km
Coastline: 46.6 km
Climate: Mediterranean climate on the coast, continental climate
with mild to hot summers and cold winters in the plateaus and valleys to the east
Terrain: a short coastal strip on the Adriatic, an alpine mountain
region adjacent to Italy, mixed mountain and valleys with numerous rivers to the east>
Natural Resources: lignite coal, lead, zinc, mercury, uranium,
silver
Industries: ferrous metallurgy and rolling mill products,
aluminum reduction and rolled products, lead and zinc smelting, electronics (including
military electronics), trucks, electric power equipment, wood products, textiles,
chemicals, machine tools
Agricultural Products: potatoes, hops, wheat, sugar beets, corn,
grapes; cattle, sheep, poultry
Population: 1,927,593 (July 2000 est.)
Nationality: noun: Slovene(s)
adjective: Slovenian
Ethnic groups: Slovene 88%, Croat 3%, Serb 2%, Bosniak 1%, Yugoslav 0.6%,
Hungarian 0.4%, other 5% (1991)
Religions: Roman Catholic 70.8% (including Uniate 2%), Lutheran 1%, Muslim 1%,
atheist 4.3%, other 22.9%
Languages: Slovenian 91%, Serbo-Croatian 6%, other 3%
Literacy: 99%
Government type: parliamentary democratic republic
Currency: 1 tolar (SlT) = 100 stotins
-- CIA World Factbook
Economy:
Slovenia, with its historical ties to
Western Europe, enjoys a GDP per capita substantially higher than that of the other
transitioning economies of Central Europe. In March 2004, Slovenia became the first
transition country to graduate from borrower status to donor partner at the World Bank.
Privatization of the economy proceeded at an accelerated pace in 2002-3, and the budget
deficit dropped from 3.0% of GDP in 2002 to 1.6% in 2003. Despite the economic slowdown in
Europe in 2001-03, Slovenia maintained 3% growth. Structural reforms to improve the
business environment allow for greater foreign participation in Slovenia's economy and
help to lower unemployment. Further measures to curb inflation are also needed. Corruption
and the high degree of coordination between government, business, and central bank policy
are issues of concern in the run-up to Slovenia's scheduled 1 May 2004 accession to the
European Union. --
CIA World Factbook
GDP: purchasing
power parity- $36.89 billion (2003 est.)
Labor force: 876,100
(2003)
Labor force-by occupation agriculture
NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Budget: revenues: $9.9
billion expenditures: $10.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(2003 est.)
Industries: ferrous
metallurgy and aluminum products, lead and zinc smelting, electronics (including military
electronics), trucks, electric power equipment, wood products, textiles, chemicals,
machine tools
CIA World Factbook
Disclaimer
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A Little of Slavic and Slovenian
History
Origin
of the Slavs
"Little is known of the origins of Slavs. Philologists and
archaeologists theorize that the Slavs settled very early in the Carpathian Mountains or
in the area of present-day Belarus. By A.D. 600, they had split linguistically into
southern, western, and eastern branches. The East Slavs settled along the Dnepr
River in what is now Ukraine; then they spread northward to the northern Volga River
valley, east of modern-day Moscow, and westward to the basins of the northern Dnestr and
the western Bug rivers, in present-day Moldova and southern Ukraine. "
-- The Library of Congress Country Studies
Early History of Slovenes "The Slovenes, a Slavic people,
migrated southwestward across present-day Romania in about the sixth century A.D., and
settled in the Julian Alps. They apparently enjoyed broad autonomy in the seventh century,
after escaping Avar domination. The Franks overran the Slovenes in the late eighth
century; during the rule of the Frankish king Charlemagne, German nobles began enserfing
the Slovenes and German missionaries baptized them in the Latin rite. Emperor Otto I
incorporated most of the Slovenian lands into the duchy of Carantania in 952; later rulers
split the duchy into Carinthia, Carniola, and Styria (see fig. 2). In 1278 the Slovenian
lands fell to the Austrian Habsburgs, who controlled them until 1918. "
Slovenia
"Throughout the postwar period, Slovenia
was by far the richest per capita, the most ethnically homogeneous, and the most open to
political experimentation of the Yugoslav republics. In centuries of close contact with
Austria, Italy, and France, it had absorbed much from Western political and economic
thought (see The Slovenes
, ch. 1). Preservation of hard-won economic advantages was a primary consideration in Slovenia's
political posture, especially after the 1974 Constitution prescribed new federal budgeting
procedures. Slovenes had always objected to federal levies used to support underdeveloped
economies in other republics. By the mid-1980s, Slovenes were highly critical of federal
(Serbian-dominated) financial policy, especially when the new procedures failed to reduce
their payments for support of a deteriorating economy in Kosovo, and when rising inflation
hurt their economy (see Structure of
the Economy , ch. 3).
The
combination of Western intellectual influence and increasing pressure for independent
solution of economic problems led to formation of many official and unofficial
noncommunist political groups in Slovenia, which became the center of a major
political controversy in the late 1980s. Several politically significant acts by official
and unofficial Slovenian groups posed a clear threat that the republic's
substantial industrial, financial, and agricultural resources might be withdrawn from the
federation. While loudly opposing the Serbian thrust for centralization and dominance of
Kosovo, the Slovenes liberalized their own political system by adding multiple-candidate
elections, open media discussion of all issues, and noncommunist political groups. In 1989
the Slovenian League of Communists endorsed multiparty elections, and in 1990 it
renamed itself the Party of Democratic Renewal.
Although party president Milan Kucan had led a substantial bloc of
moderates as late as 1989, the momentum of new party formation and the failure of
compromise with Serbia brought controversial change that threatened to carry the Slovenes
farther from the center of the federation. Among amendments added to the Slovenian
constitution in late 1989 were provisions limiting the emergency intervention power of the
Yugoslav government in Slovenia, and affirming Slovenia's right to secede
from the federation if "national self-determination" were not guaranteed in the
next round of constitutional changes. Those amendments were viewed as an alarming
precedent by nearly all non-Slovenian political groups, and they were declared at
variance with the national constitution by an advisory decision of the Constitutional
Court of Yugoslavia a few months after passage.
As economic success and political reform progressed at home, the
Slovenes increasingly perceived Serbian nationalism as a major danger. For Slovenes,
Serbian nationalism threatened to reinstate external control of economic resources and
political processes. At the time of the Fourteenth Party Congress in early 1990, the
federal government and the LCY were split between proSerbian and pro-Slovenian
factions. Slovenian party officials condemned Serbian oppression in Kosovo and the
Serbian demand for a one man-one vote national decision--making system, which would allow
Serbia to dominate because of its large population. In 1989 the Front for Independent Slovenia
appeared with demands for total independence. Slovenia was the first Yugoslav
republic ever to hold multiparty elections, in early 1990. At the time of the elections,
the Slovenian Social Democratic Alliance was one of only two Yugoslav noncommunist
parties to have expanded past republican borders. That group was part of a coalition
called Demos, which easily won the first (parliamentary) phase of elections, defeating
Kucan's former communists with a platform that included secession from Yugoslavia. In the
presidential runoff, the popular reformist Kucan won, making him the first freely elected
communist head of government in Eastern Europe, and creating a mixed republican government
in Slovenia .
--The Library
of Congress/Country Studies
Line Reference Sources:
The Library of Congress Country Studies
The CIA World Factbook 2002 and The Library of Congress
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