Slovenia

Discover Slovenia

Fun Foods

Kranjska Klobasa, Žlikrofi, Štruklji, Žganci, Potica, Bled Cream Cake, Prekmurska Gibanica

Deep in the caves of Slovenia lives a creature that people once believed was a baby dragon.

It's called an olm. It has pale pink skin, no working eyes, a long body, and four tiny legs.

For centuries, when heavy rains washed these strange animals out of the caves, people were sure they were baby dragons that lived in the dark below.

They aren't dragons, but they're almost as amazing. Olms are blind salamanders that can live for about 100 years and go years without eating a single meal.

You can still see them swimming in an aquarium deep inside Postojna Cave, one of the only places on Earth where they live.

Slovenia loves its dragons. A dragon is even the symbol of the capital city, Ljubljana, where stone dragons guard a famous bridge.

This small country in the heart of Europe has been ruled by many powers over the centuries, including the Roman Empire long ago and the Austrian monarchy for hundreds of years. After World War I, Slovenia joined with its neighbors to form a country that became known as Yugoslavia.

The hardest years came during World War II, when Nazi Germany, Italy, and Hungary invaded and split Slovenia among themselves. Many Slovenes fought back as hidden resistance fighters.

After the war, Slovenia became part of a new communist Yugoslavia, controlled from far away.

Finally, in 1991, Slovenia declared independence. The Yugoslav army tried to stop it, but the fighting lasted only ten days and ended quickly. Slovenia became its own country and later joined the European Union.

The most beautiful spot in Slovenia might be Lake Bled, an emerald-green lake with a tiny island in the middle. You can ride a wooden boat out to the island, climb 99 steps to a little church, and ring its wishing bell.

High on a cliff above the water sits a medieval castle with views over the whole valley.

For food, try potica, a sweet cake of rolled-up dough filled with nuts and honey. Save room for Bled cream cake, a famous square of vanilla custard and whipped cream stacked between layers of crispy pastry.

And for something savory, there's kranjska klobasa, a smoky Slovenian sausage.