Živa was above all the goddess of water. In the consciousness of people she represented the concept of life, personified by water. She was their first “goddess”, even before mother Earth, who rules
Read More →It was the Age of Enlightenment. In Austria and in Slovenian lands of the empire, Žiga Zois became the leading patron of the arts and sciences, owner of the largest private library in the Austrian Empire, second only to the State Library of Vienna. It is estimated that the library collection exceeded 2,700 titles in the second decade of the nineteen century.
Read More →Frygian name Zemele means earth in Baltic and Slavic languages, the ground, the world. Its identification with the Greek Gaia has been preserved by Latvians as mother earth Žemyna
Read More →Yuri Venelin (1802-1839) was Russian and the first historian of the Slavic peoples on European territory. He maintained that European history had been written almost exclusively from the Roman or German point of view, ignoring the presence and influence of the Slavic peoples of Europe.
Read More →Many tales of the Water Man are about his loneliness and goodwill towards humans. He sometimes saves or kidnaps young maidens or children, is kind to them and offers them a wonderful life with great treasures to entice them into staying with him.
Read More →There are few traces left of Vodnar, god of waters in Slovenian tradition, but he lives on in the folk tales as the water man, inhabiting the rivers and lakes of Slovenia, and as St. Christopher, the bread-giver.
Read More →God Vodin can be traced back to the Venetic people who had settled in Scandinavia. There are also traces of him elsewhere, particularly in pre-christian Caranthania, as the god
Read More →Vladimir Bartol (1903-1967) published his novel Alamut in 1938. Set in northwestern Persia of 1092, it was intended to be a metaphor for Europe of his own time, providing insight into the rise of totalitarianism.
Read More →Vesna, the goddess of spring is better known in other Slavic traditions. In Slovenian tradition this is expressed in festivity of Palm Sunday, Flower Sunday in Slovenian and symbolized in “butara,” the Easter sheaf.
Read More →In Slavic languages Triglav means the three-headed one. The image of the three-headed god is recorded in the sources on Pomerania, in traditions of Branibor and indirectly of Carantania, where it
Read More →In 1918, at the end of WW I, after disintegration of the Austrian Empire, Slovenes of Primorska region expected to be part of the emerging State of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes…
Read More →The white serpent / bela kača occupies a significant place in Slovenian mythology. Known mostly as the guardian of great hidden treasures, it is a powerful magical being, that can be benevolent towards mankind, rewarding kindness and good deeds.
Read More →In Slovenian folklore there are countless tales of Povodni mož/Water man, sometimes called Gestrin. He is a water spirit, often described as half man, half fish, who can change his appearance on land and may play mischief on humans.
Read More →The three buildings stand on the spot, where Trubar homestead stood, the house where he was born in 1508, with the mill and sawmill. However the present buildings are of more recent date – merely 200 years old.
Read More →The Sečovlje saltpans (Sečoveljske soline) on the Slovenian Mediterranean coast are today a part of…
Read More →Clothes worn by the country people in Slovenian Lands till the start of 20th century…
Read More →
In Slovenian folklore there are countless tales of Povodni mož/Water man, sometimes called Gestrin. He is a water spirit, often described as half man, half fish, who can change his appearance on land and may play mischief on humans.
Maksim Gaspari, (1883 – 1980) Slovenian painter and illustrator has been and continues to be immensely popular in his homeland. His is a priceless cultural legacy to Slovenian people, embedded principally in a huge postcard collection. He had created a unique and distinct style, and a pictorial and artistic corpus of work portraying the people of rural Slovenia in the 19th century.
Tona’s house/Tonina hiša got its name after its last resident, the well-to-do farm owner, Mrs. Antonija Goreli. Some 500 years old building, it is a beautiful example of Istrian rural architecture.
Kralj Matjaž/King Mathias is the mythical king of the Slovenian people. The stories of Kralj Matjaž are many, and can be traced far back to pagan times. He represents a mythical ruler …
A centre of learning, it surpassed for a period of time in influence and standing Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenian territories.
"He is intelligent, listens attentively and understands what he is told to do; in short – he is a perfect sheepdog, afraid of nothing."
God Vodin can be traced back to the Venetic people who had settled in Scandinavia. There are also traces of him elsewhere, particularly in pre-christian Caranthania, as the god
Glagolica was still in common use in parts of Slovenia during the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. In the 16th century Reformation movement and the introduction by Primož Trubar of the Latin …
The World War I started with a shot in Sarajevo on 28 June, 1914. Gavrilo Princip a young Bosnian assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austro-Hungary…
This is the goddess of death and rebirth, that in the mythology of individual nations appears under different names. Her messenger since pre-historic time has been the owl, who is even today still regarded as herald of death.
The architectural legend of Slovenia Joze Plečnik (1872-1957) holds a special place in the history of the Slovene nation. He became one of the leading architects of central Europe, creating innovative work…
The Kavčnik homestead with its central part named “dimnica” (smokehouse) takes us back some 400 years. In this space the family slept, cooked, ate and worked.
Pust of Slovenian tales is a Dyonisian figure, appearing in many folktales as the spirit of merriment and wine. The shrovetide festivity is called “pustovanje,”and it celebrates the winter’s end.
Architect Nande Korpnik (1962) was born in Velenje, a city which is a unique example of Slovenian urban planning. The specifics of his environment in his formative years mixed …
First Bible translator to Latin Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus (347 – 420 AD), aka St. Hieronymus or St Jerome in English, was a Roman, born in the town of Stridon near Emona in…
The writer of the oppressed This year Boris Pahor, Slovenian writer living in Trieste (Italy) has celebrated his 105th birthday. An extraordinarily long life that spanned two world wars, major social upheavals,…
In 1918, at the end of WW I, after disintegration of the Austrian Empire, Slovenes of Primorska region expected to be part of the emerging State of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes…
Dominkova Homestead is today more than a museum. Medicinal herbs are growing in the garden. In front of the house they still sow corn, plant garlic and other produce …
Slovenian translator and polymath Herman of Carinthia was most probably born in Carinthia, the ancient Slovenian land, circa 1110. He is variously referred to as Herman of Carinthia, Herman Sclavus (Herman the…
His knowledge of and interest in diverse disciplines may have impinged on his development in any one field, inhibiting its growth.
Belin is an ancient deity. He succeeded the Great Spirit of the Age of Hunters and appeared as the highest god in the Age of Shepherds and Tillers. He manifested as
The fluidly shifting relationship between surface and underground waters adds to the magic of the area.
There are more than forty distinct cuisines in a country, whose main distinguishing feature is a great variety of land formation, climate, and history.
The three buildings stand on the spot, where Trubar homestead stood, the house where he was born in 1508, with the mill and sawmill. However the present buildings are of more recent date – merely 200 years old.
There are few traces left of Vodnar, god of waters in Slovenian tradition, but he lives on in the folk tales as the water man, inhabiting the rivers and lakes of Slovenia, and as St. Christopher, the bread-giver.
Vladimir Bartol (1903-1967) published his novel Alamut in 1938. Set in northwestern Persia of 1092, it was intended to be a metaphor for Europe of his own time, providing insight into the rise of totalitarianism.
Architect Nande Korpnik (1962) was born in Velenje, a city which is a unique example of Slovenian urban planning. The specifics of his environment in his formative years mixed …
Tales about rivers have a special place in Slovenian tradition. They reflect the fondness the Slovenian people have towards their major rivers and express the gratitude and appreciation for the prosperity they bring to their land.
Like Slovenian literature, Impressionism took its place as a contributory force in the cultural development of the Slovenian nation.
These are widely known Slovenian folk tales; "Tale about Drava River" is an account how rye and wheat grain came to Slovenian lands. The "Drava, Sava and Soča" compares the character of the three rivers…
In search of a better wor(l)d Profile: Architect Nande Korpnik (1962) was born in Velenje, a city which is a unique example of Slovenian urban planning. The specifics of his environment in…
Nomination for the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage On October 26, 2018, The evaluation committee of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Conference nominated Lacemaking in Slovenia for the UNESCO’s representative list…
Bobbin lace-making is a unique phenomenon in Slovenia. It has developed most intensively in the Idrija area, although the skill has always been practiced in other parts of the country …
Dance macabre – a rare, well preserved, and complete example of one of the most famous images of medieval iconography.
The white serpent / bela kača occupies a significant place in Slovenian mythology. Known mostly as the guardian of great hidden treasures, it is a powerful magical being, that can be benevolent towards mankind, rewarding kindness and good deeds.
Čatež as described in Slovenian legends is identical with Greek Pan, and his double Roman Silvanus. In common with these deities Čatež is half man half goat, and has horns.
In the rich Slovenian folk tale tradition there are many different types of tales. Very significant, attractive and often humourous are the tales of how things came to be. We are presenting the tale of how the rocky Kras region of Slovenia, and the Vilenica cave.
Maya, goddess of nature, greenery and flowers gave the name to the month May. Its visible symbol is maypole (orig. Sl. mlaj), also also called may or maya, which is the focal point of 1st May festivities
Kresnik appears to be the fire god, the son of the sun god, or in later tradition a powerful hero with magic powers. The word Kresnik derives from kres/bonfire and the bonfires of midsummer solstice.
The name Kresnik is reflected in the word “kres” (bonfire), that derives from the word “iskra” (spark). The original meaning of all these names is ultimately fire, symbolic representation of the Sun.
In Slavic languages Triglav means the three-headed one. The image of the three-headed god is recorded in the sources on Pomerania, in traditions of Branibor and indirectly of Carantania, where it
Živa was above all the goddess of water. In the consciousness of people she represented the concept of life, personified by water. She was their first “goddess”, even before mother Earth, who rules
In his article Perceptions of Landscapes, Zmago Šmitek speaks of wealth and diversity in the Slovenian folk tradition, of the imagined, dream, fantastic, utopian, fairy-tale places …
The painter initiated a temporal and socially organic continuity of Slovene art which permeated the sphere of national consciousness.
It was the Age of Enlightenment. In Austria and in Slovenian lands of the empire, Žiga Zois became the leading patron of the arts and sciences, owner of the largest private library in the Austrian Empire, second only to the State Library of Vienna. It is estimated that the library collection exceeded 2,700 titles in the second decade of the nineteen century.
The worship of Svetovid or Svantevid has been established among Baltic Slavs, Rugians and Pomeranians, and Carantanians in the Alpine region. We encounter him only in Middle Europe.
Vile are mythological beings in south Slavic folklore, incarnation of beauty and power, benevolent friends of sufferers, the dwellers of forests and rivers. Shared by most Slavic cultures …
The homestead is typical of the lower Pannonian region, built of beams coated on both sides with clay. It is a distinctive regional building style called locally cimprača …
They were bred to selected imported mares and the local Karst horses, which were white in colour, small, slow to mature and extremely tough.
One of the most significant contributions to Slovenian education was made by Anton Martin Slomšek, a prominent Slovenian of the time. Born in 26 November 1800, the same year as France Prešeren, he was to be appointed to an exalted position as the Bishop of Lavant, but the work into which he put all his energy and undoubtedly great ability was Slovenian language education.
Christ’s birthday is celebrated in the Catholic Europe, and particularly in Central and Western Europe by a stage setting of the place of Christ’s birth – a crib with the newly born…
The third defining event in Slovenian history is the emergence of reformation and its guiding spirit – Primož Trubar, a priest and disciple of Martin Luther. Trubar argued for Slovenian …
In the eighteenth century the amphibian, proteus anginus, inhabitant of subterranean waters, was considered to be progeny of the dragon.
Man and the Carniolan bee are interconnected in Slovenian lands. Beekeeping (čebelarstvo) was exceptionally developed in Slovenia…
"It is the motion of an appointed moment which will last as long as the material substance of the painting lasts”.
Slovenian space travel pioneer When Herman Potočnik, a retired captain and construction engineer in the Austro-Hungarian army published his book The Problem of Space Travel – The Rocket Motor, he did it under…
Anton Janša: "Among all of God’s creatures there is none as industrious and as useful, and needing less care, nourishment, or costing less than the bee".
Liznjek house highlights the well established residential culture of country houses in the Upper Sava Valley during the first half of the 17th century. In the centre of Kranjska gora …
Breathtakingly luminous and unsurpassed in conveying the Arcadian character of Slovenian countryside.
Frygian name Zemele means earth in Baltic and Slavic languages, the ground, the world. Its identification with the Greek Gaia has been preserved by Latvians as mother earth Žemyna
Clothes worn by the country people in Slovenian Lands till the start of 20th century Mankind had discovered weaving far back in the history of mankind. Embroidery and embellishment of clothes with…
A symbol of Slovenian national identity, Potica is traditionally prepared for Christmas and Easter, as well as special festivities such as weddings.
The triad of gods Perun, Veles, and Mokoš are narrowly linked to the characteristics of Slav landscapes. Perun was linked with sky and high mountains, Veles was god of the underground …
The eye is assailed by a plethora of images and warm, rich colours, every space and surface aglow with familiar images of Christian iconography
Yuri Venelin (1802-1839) was Russian and the first historian of the Slavic peoples on European territory. He maintained that European history had been written almost exclusively from the Roman or German point of view, ignoring the presence and influence of the Slavic peoples of Europe.
The legend of Goldenhorn/Zlatorog, the white steinbock with golden horns, is one of the best known Slovenian tales. His realm are the heights of Slovenia’s legendary mountain, Triglav, where tended by White women or Vile (fairies), he guards great treasures.
Characteristically baroque traits are dynamism, ornamentation, sharp contrast, individualism, but most of all, affective representation.
World heritage site The Škocjan Caves is a natural phenomenon of global significance, ranking side by side with the Grand Canyon, the Galapagos Islands, and the Mammoth Cave system.
Many tales of the Water Man are about his loneliness and goodwill towards humans. He sometimes saves or kidnaps young maidens or children, is kind to them and offers them a wonderful life with great treasures to entice them into staying with him.
Emancipation of form Profile: In the decade after his graduation from the Faculty of Architecture in Ljubljana in 1990, architect Jože Peterkoč (1962) was still highly influenced by prevailing architectural thought in…
At that time, and some time after, no other country could boast of such a publication. In this work he describes Carniola, the central Slovenian region.
Škratelj House in Divača was built in the 17th century. An important stopover hostelry, it served all traffic until the construction of the railroad between Vienna and Trieste …
In its central European space, Slovenia has maintained a powerful sense of national identity, evident in a highly diversified cultural life, and cultural forms nurtured with long traditions …
The underground is the domain of the dwarfs, who guard its treasures. They can lead to great riches, but never willingly. They must be tricked to reveal the hidden treasures of the earth. In their contact with humanity, they are mischievous and love to play tricks.
Dogana, the goddess of morning, also called Zora (dawn) personified the morning light. She represented the start of the working day, and the end of winter when days begin to lengthen. Her feast was Candlemas.
Vesna, the goddess of spring is better known in other Slavic traditions. In Slovenian tradition this is expressed in festivity of Palm Sunday, Flower Sunday in Slovenian and symbolized in “butara,” the Easter sheaf.
An eminent diplomat of the Habsburg Empire in the 16th century, Sigismund (Žiga) von Herberstein (1486-1566) was the first to make use of his knowledge of Slovenian language in his diplomatic career and in research.
The fighting and survival strengths of Slovenian people were tested to their limits. They emerged as a self-aware people with a literary language. Protestantism was a watershed …
In its conception and as a linguistic tool, glagolica was an amazing achievement – a tool to give power of written word to half the Europe. It was invented to accommodate the complex sound …
Architecture of Abiro established by architects Miloš Florjaničič (1955) and Matej Blenkuš (1971) significantly marked the space of Slovenian contemporary architecture …
In the frescoes of Hrastovlje he discovered the representation of an ancient pre-Christian religion of the Goddess, which existed in a matriarchal world order later to be displaced …
Carantanians believed that there was a world where the departed dead go, deep underground. There is also an upper world, a beautiful garden, in the mountains, a metaphor for paradise.
Topic: The Freising Manuscripts (in Slovenian Brižinski spomeniki or Brižinski rokopisi)
Topic: JV Valvasor on transport in The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola
Topic: JV Valvasor on viticulture in The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola
Idrija located in the western Primorska region, is the oldest mining town in Slovenia, renowned for the second largest mercury mine in the world, and elegant white lace.
Slovenian literary tradition is long in tales, myths and legends. A world is shown, populated by magical beings, such as fairies, water sprites and other magical creatures. The tales reflect Slovenian national character and depict their view of the world and experience of life.
Webclassroom is a resource point of new cultural and language materials and references for students and teachers of Slovenian as a foreign language…
Poučevanje slovenščine/Teaching Slovenian language in Melbourne, Australia. Articles on Slovenian language as optional subject in the Victorian School of Languages, secondary year levels 7 to 12….
Institute for Slovenian Studies of Victoria: The articles, the majority in Slovenian, a few in English, were written with the aim of informing Slovenian community, about the ISSV projects and initiatives, and about the advantages of learning Slovenian, stimulating interest in the study of Slovenian language, and informing about courses and conditions.
Poučevanje slovenščine/Teaching Slovenian language in Melbourne, Australia. Articles on Slovenian studies and the 25th anniversary of teaching Slovenian in Melbourne and Slovenian student exchange …
Poučevanje slovenščine/Teaching Slovenian language in Melbourne, Australia. Articles on Slovenian studies…
Poučevanje slovenščine/Teaching Slovenian language in Melbourne, Australia. Articles on Slovenian studies…
Slovenian Teachers Association: Articles, the majority in Slovenian, were written with the aim of stimulating interest in the study of Slovenian language, and informing about courses and conditions, and the advantages of learning the language.
This site was made possible with the grant of Government's Office for Slovenians AbroadFrom 1984 – 2013 Institute for Slovenian Studies of Victoria publications, materials for Slovenian language learning, teaching and Slovenian culture studies…
