Discover your Slovene roots

Questions to ask the older generation

Memories fade faster than photos. Ask these over a meal or a phone call, and write the answers down.

1. Which town or region of Slovenia did our family come from? Was it near Maribor, Celje, Kranj?
2. Who was the first in the family to leave Slovenia, when, and why?
3. Which dishes from Slovenia were cooked at home? Did anyone make Potica or Carniolan sausage?
4. Does anyone in the family still speak Slovene, or use a few words of it?
5. Were there songs, prayers, games or holidays from Slovenia that the family kept?
6. Are there old photos, letters or documents from Slovenia? Who has them?
7. If you could visit Slovenia together, where would you go first?

A short history of Slovenia

Slovenia's story runs from prehistoric pile dwellings and a Roman town, through the Slavic principality of Carantania and more than five centuries of Habsburg rule, to Yugoslavia and independence in 1991.

1. 3150 BC

   The oldest known wooden wheel

   People living in pile dwellings in the Ljubljana Marsh made a wooden wheel that was found in 2002. Radiocarbon dating shows it is roughly 5,100 to 5,350 years old, the oldest wooden wheel yet discovered.

2. AD 658

   The principality of Carantania

   After the death of the Slavic king Samo in 658, the Slavic principality of Carantania emerged in the eastern Alps. Its dukes were installed in a ritual held in Slovene at the Prince's Stone, a custom last performed in 1414.

3. 1335

   Habsburg rule begins

   When Henry of Gorizia died without a male heir, Carinthia and Carniola passed to Duke Albert II of Austria. Most of today's Slovenia became a hereditary land of the Habsburgs, who ruled it until 1918.

4. 1550

   The first books in Slovene

   The Protestant preacher Primož Trubar wrote the first two books in Slovene, Catechismus and Abecedarium, printed in 1550 in Germany. He is seen as a founder of the Slovene written language.

5. 1915

   The Soča Front

   From June 1915 to November 1917, Italy and Austria-Hungary fought twelve battles along the Soča river, mostly on land that is now in Slovenia. More than 30,000 Slovene soldiers died in the First World War.

6. 1945

   A republic of Yugoslavia

   After the Second World War, when Slovenia had been divided mainly between Germany, Italy and Hungary, Slovenia became one of the six republics of socialist Yugoslavia led by Josip Broz Tito.

7. 1991

   Independence and the Ten-Day War

   Slovenia declared independence on 25 June 1991. Two days later the Yugoslav army moved in, and a short war followed until the Brioni Agreement was signed on 7 July.

8. 2007

   The euro replaces the tolar

   On 1 January 2007 Slovenia became the first of the countries that joined the EU in 2004 to adopt the euro, replacing the tolar, which had been its currency since 1991.

Family recipes to cook together

Potica 3 h · serves 12Buckwheat žganci 45 min · serves 4Štruklji 1 h 30 min · serves 4Jota 2 h · serves 6Browned flour soup 25 min · serves 4

Slovene words to teach the grandchildren

Towns and regions

• Ljubljana, Central Slovenia: The Triple Bridge and Dragon Bridge, Ljubljana Castle and its funicular.
• Maribor, Styria (Drava): The Old Vine, more than 400 years old, The Lent Festival every June.
• Celje, Styria (Savinja): Upper Celje Castle, The Counts of Celje and their three stars.
• Kranj, Upper Carniola: The Kokra river canyon, France Prešeren.
• Koper, Slovenian Istria: The Port of Koper, The Praetorian Palace.
• Piran, Slovenian Istria: Tartini Square, Venetian-style old town.
• Ptuj, Styria (Drava): Kurentovanje, the carnival where kurents chase away winter, Ptuj Castle above the town.
• Novo Mesto, Lower Carniola: The Krka river, Iron Age situlas.
• Nova Gorica, Slovenian Littoral: European Capital of Culture 2025, Its twin town Gorizia, just across the border in Italy.
• Bled, Upper Carniola: Lake Bled and its island church, Bled Castle.
• Postojna, Inner Carniola: Postojna Cave, Predjama Castle nearby.
• Idrija, Slovenian Littoral: The mercury mine, a UNESCO site, Idrija lace.