One of the southern Slav groups, the Slovenes occupied what is now Slovenia and the land to the north of this region in the 6th century AD. Subdued by the Bavarians around the year 743, they were later incorporated into the Frankish Empire of the Carolingians.
With the division of the Empire in the 9th century, the region was given to the Germans. The Slovenes were reduced to serfdom and the region north of the Drava River was completely dominated by the Germans.
The Slovene people preserved their cultural identity because of the educational efforts of their native intelligentsia who were mostly Catholic monks and priests. The House of Austria gradually established itself in the region, from the latter part of the 13th century onwards.
Between the 15th and 16th centuries, the Slovenes participated in several peasant revolts - some, like the 1573 revolt, in conjunction with the Croats - leading the Hapsburgs to improve the system of land tenure.
After 1809, a large part of Slovene territory fell within the Napoleonic Empire’s Illyrian provinces. After Napoleon’s defeat in 1814, Hapsburg (House of Austria) rule was restored within the region. With the 1848 Revolution, the Slovenes called for the creation of a united Slovene province within the Austrian Empire. The first glimmer of hope for a union of southern Slavs (Slavs, Serbs and Croats) emerged in the 1870s. Greek guide greece rhodes rhodos kos holidays vacation guides rhodos cos hotels rhodes hotel holiday vacations
In the 1890s, the Slovene People’s Party (Catholic), and the Progressive (Liberal) and Socialist parties were formed. Members of the Catholic clergy also promoted a large-scale organization of peasants and artisans into cooperatives.


In 1917 the Austrian Parliament, representing Slovenes and other southern Slav peoples, defended the unification of these territories into a single autonomous political entity, within the Hapsburg realm.
At the end of World War I, amid widespread enthusiasm over the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Slovene leaders supported the creation of a kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In 1919, the new state adopted the name Yugoslavia (land of the southern Slavs). Nevertheless at the Paris Peace Conference the victorious powers handed Gorica to Italy despite the presence of a large Slovene population.
The St Germain Treaty, signed between the victorious powers and Austria, gave Yugoslavia only a small part of southern Carintia. Two plebiscites were announced, to define the future of the rest of Carintia. However, when the southern region opted to join Austria in 1920, the second plebiscite was not held, and both regions remained part of Austria.
Serbian hegemony within the Yugoslav kingdom gave rise to a certain resentment among Slovenes. This feeling never reached the extremes that characterized Croat feelings and which led to a strong anti-Serbian movement there.
In World War II, Slovenia was partitioned between Italy (the southwest), Germany (the northeast) and Hungary (a small area north of the Mura River). The most prominent group within the Slovene resistance movement was the Liberation Front, led by the Communists.
The communist guerrillas fought on two fronts at the same time: against the foreign invaders and against their internal enemies (especially groups belonging to the Slovene People’s Party). The occupiers, in turn, organized anti-communist military units, with the participation of the local population. After the defeat of the Axis (Germany, Italy and Japan), the major part of old Slovenia was returned to Yugoslavia.
Upon the foundation of the Federated People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, in 1945, Slovenia became one of the Federation’s six republics, with its own governing and legislative bodies. Legislative power was made up of a republican council, elected by all citizens, and the council of producers, elected from among Slovenian industrial workers and officials. Greek guide greece rhodes rhodos kos holidays vacation guides rhodos cos hotels rhodes hotel holiday vacations
Although such entities did not add up to an autonomous government, Slovenia managed to maintain a high degree of cultural and economic independence through this self-management brand of socialism (led by the Yugoslav League of Communists). In 1974, changes in the Yugoslavian federal constitution made Slovenia a Socialist Republic.
Slovenia became one of the most industrialized of the Federation’s republics, especially in the area of steel production and the production of heavy equipment. Yugoslavia’s first nuclear power plant was completed in 1981 in Krsko, with the assistance of a private US firm.
During the socialist period, Slovenia was first or second among the Yugoslav republics with regard to family income, leading the table for economically active population outside the rural sector. Slovenia also produced both agricultural produce and cattle.
In the late 1980s, influenced by the changes in Eastern Europe, Slovenia evolved toward a multiparty political system. In January 1989, the Slovene League of Social Democrats was founded, the country’s first legal opposition party, and in October Slovenia’s National Assembly approved a constitutional amendment permitting Slovenia to secede from Yugoslavia.
The Slovene League of Communists left the Yugoslav League in January 1990, becoming the Democratic Renewal Party. In April, in the first multiparty elections to be held in Yugoslavia since World War II, the Demos coalition came out victorious. This coalition’s members represented a broad political spectrum - including several communists - united in their aim of achieving Slovenian separation from the federation.
Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence on June 25, 1991. In the hours which followed, central government tanks flocked to Slovenia’s Austrian, Hungarian and Italian borders; 20,000 federal troops stationed within the republic were mobilized. After fierce fighting and the bombing of the Ljubljana airport, Belgrade announced that it controlled the federation’s borders.


A cease-fire went into effect on July 7 1991, following negotiations held on the Yugoslav island of Brioni between federal and Slovene authorities, with the mediation of the European Community. The agreement resulting from the negotiations reaffirmed the sovereignty of Yugoslav peoples and postponed Slovenian independence for a three-month period. At the same time, the federal president’s authority over the army was recognized, and the Slovene police authority over Slovenia’s borders.
According to the Brioni compromise, customs tariffs along Slovenia’s borders remained in the hands of Slovene police, although the income generated was to go into a joint account belonging to the various Yugoslav republics. The federal army was to remain in the green area (free of border controls) during the three-month period established for jurisdiction to be turned over to Slovene authorities.
In order for the cease-fire to be enforced, the agreement established an unconditional return of federal army units to army barracks, and the demobilization of the Slovene territorial defense forces. Likewise, directives were established for clearing the highways and freeing prisoners on both sides.
Within the following three months, Slovenia strengthened its separatist resolve, while federal troops gradually withdrew from the territory. Only hours before the three-month period was to expire, Slovene authorities announced the creation of a new national currency, the tolar, which was to replace the Yugoslavian dinar. On October 8 1991, Slovenia’s declaration of independence went into effect.
When it was part of Yugoslavia, the population of Slovenia was only 8 per cent of the total (approx. 1.9 million inhabitants). Yet its industrial production accounted for 25 per cent. Greek guide greece rhodes rhodos kos holidays vacation guides rhodos cos hotels rhodes hotel holiday vacations
Between 1991 and January 1992, the EC countries recognized Slovenia and Croatia as independent states, although civil war continued in the latter. The EC threatened to apply economic sanctions to Belgrade unless fighting stopped. The homogeneity of the Slovenian population made its secession the least painful in the Yugoslavian dissolution process.
Slovenia’s recognition was also one of the most clear-cut cases for the international community, as it controlled its own borders, maintained its own armed forces, and had already issued its own currency. After the withdrawal of Yugoslavian troops, the Government, headed by Milan Kucan, undertook the task of economic reconstruction, with practically no interference from the former Yugoslav government.
In April 1992, the center candidate Janez Drnovsek was appointed Prime Minister. In the December elections, the majority was taken by the Liberal Democratic Party, led by Drnovsek, which formed a coalition government with the Democratic Christians, the second biggest political force in the nation. Greek guide greece rhodes rhodos kos holidays vacation guides rhodos cos hotels rhodes hotel holiday vacations greek greece rhodes rhodos kos rodos holidays vacation
Slovenia began to define itself as a «European, not Balkan» State in 1993. Good trade relations with the European Union (EU) and the Slovenian authorities’ willingness to open up markets led the country to seek association into the EU. The growth of tourism and the tolar’s stability - convertible since September 1995 - enabled Slovenia’s exports and gross domestic product to increase.
Italy opposed Slovenia’s association with the EU. Italian authorities demanded compensation for the nationalization of property belonging to 150,000 Italians between 1945 and 1972. The Catholic Church also demanded the return of property which had been nationalized by the communist regime.
The European Commission approved Slovenia’s request in May 1995 but Italian opposition continued. In late 1995, Croatia and Slovenia had not reached an agreement regarding the sovereignty of the waters of Piran bay. The destination of Croatian funds deposited in Slovenia’s main bank, the Ljubljanska Banka, prior to the break-up of former Yugoslavia, was also discussed.
In June 1996 Slovenia signed an association agreement with the EU as a formal step prior to its incorporation as a full member in 2001. One condition set out by the EU - urged by Italy in particular - in order to achieve the agreement was the incorporation of a provision in the Slovenian constitution allowing foreigners to acquire property in the country. Economic policies took into consideration new EU demands, specially with respect to the budget.
In September 1998, the Slovenian economy was considered by many Western European countries to be one of the most suitable for incorporation into the EU. Later in November, however, a European Commission report stated that the country had slowed its preparations to become a fully-fledged member of the EU - a comment which surprised the Slovenians.Greek guide greece rhodes rhodos kos holidays vacation guides rhodos cos hotels rhodes hotel holiday vacations

Slovenia is a coastal Alpine country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy on the west, the Adriatic Sea on the southwest, Croatia on the south and east, Hungary on the northeast, and Austria on the north. The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana.
In Slovenia, you can experience amazing contrasts in the same day: a morning swim in the Adriatic, followed two hours later by skiing below Alpine peaks, then an adventurous discovery of Karst subterranean phenomena and an invigorating bath in a thermal spring; an encounter with history in a lively mediaeval city and, not far away, a more solitary stroll through primeval forests or undulating, winegrowing hills.

Ljubljana is a city of culture and rich historical legacy.Ljubljana is a very special city full of pleasant picturesque places where a visitor can expect many nice little surprises. Greek guide greece rhodes rhodos kos holidays vacation guides rhodos cos hotels rhodes hotel holiday vacations