Slovenia - Ljubljana (3)

LJUBLJANA
The capital of Slovenia.

Sent by Karmen from Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Slovenia - Kamnik

 

SLOVENIA 

Kamnik 

Sent by Karmen from Kamnik, Slovenia.

Kamnik is the town in northern Slovenia. It is the central settlement of theMunicipality of Kamnik. It encompasses a large part of the Kamnik Alps and the surrounding area. The town of Kamnik has ruins of two castles as well as many examples of historical architecture.

The name Kamnik was first mentioned in the 11th century. The first time it was mentioned as a town was in 1229, when it was an important trading post on the road between Ljubljana and Celje. This makes the town one of the oldest in Slovenia. In the Middle Ages, Kamnik had its own mint and some aristocratic families among its residents. The town was among the most influential centers of power for the Bavarian counts of Andechs in the region of Carniola at the time. The only remnant of the Bavarian nobility are the two ruined castles which are both strategically built on high ground near the town center. The Franciscan monastery built in the town itself is a testament to its importance. The building is well preserved and has undergone extensive renovation in recent years.

Most of the old town center is built in an Austro-Hungarian style. Most of the facades have been renovated in recent years but the process is still ongoing.

Slovenia - Mapcard (2)

Multiviews of Slovenia.

Sent by Jože, a postcrosser from Nova Gorica in Slovenia.

Slovenia - Slovenian Caves

Multiviews of Slovenian Caves (include Škocjan Caves, a UNESCO WHS).

Sent by Veronika, a postcrosser from Slovenia.
 

Slovenia - Triglav National Park - Edelweiss

Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum).

Sent by Leonardo, a postcrosser from Slovenia.

Slovenia - Ljubljana (2)

LJUBLJANA SLOVENIA
Belltowers of the Franciscan church and the cathedral.

Sent by anasie, a postcrosser from Slovenia.

Slovenia - Postojna Cave

Proteus or olm (Proteus anguinus) lives in Postojna Cave.

Sent by Emil, a postcrosser from eastern SLovenia.

This is from Wikipedia : Postojna Cave (Slovene: Postojnska jama; German: Adelsberger Grotte; Italian: Grotte di Postumia) is a 20,570 m long Karst cave system near Postojna, Slovenia. It is the longest cave system in the country as well as one of its top tourism sites.

The caves were created by the Pivka River.

The cave was first described in the 17th century by Johann Weichard Valvasor (Slovene: Janez Vajkard Valvasor), and a new area of the cave was discovered accidentally in 1818 by local Luka Čeč, when he was preparing the hitherto known parts of the cave for a visit by Francis I, the first Emperor of Austria. In 1819, the caves were opened to the public, and Čeč went on to become the first official tourist guide for the caves. Electric lighting was added in 1884, preceding even Ljubljana, the capital of Carniola, the Austro-Hungarian province the cave was part of at the time, and further enhancing the cave system's popularity. In 1872 rails were laid in the cave along with first cave train for tourists. At first, these were pushed along by the guides themselves, later at the beginning of the 20th century a gas locomotive was introduced. After 1945, the gas locomotive was replaced by an electric one. 5.3 km of the caves are open to the public, the longest publicly accessible depth of any cave system in the world.

The caves are also home to the endemic olm, the largest trogloditic amphibian in the world. The tour through the caves includes an aquarium with some olms in it.

Slovenia - Piran (2)

View of Piran.

Sent by Dolores, a postcrosser from Slovenia.

Slovenia - Water Tower of Maribor

MARIBOR
Water Tower, 1555
From the book "Maribor - Along the Routes of Old Art".

Sent by Daniela, a postcrosser from Slovenia.

This is from Wikipedia : The Water Tower (Slovene: Vodni stolp ) is a medieval fortified tower in the city of Maribor, Slovenia. The tower directly abuts the river Drava, and dates from 1555. A late-renaissance fortification, it consists of massive stone blocks interspersed with embrasures. It was built to secure the southeast part of the city walls from the direction of the river.

Before the mid-16th century, the southern part of the Maribor city walls was guarded by two round defensive towers, the predecessor of the current Jewish Tower and the predecessor of the Water Tower, known as the Gunpowder Tower (Slovene: Smodniški stolp), mentioned as of 1529. Around 1555, a decision was made to extend the city's defensive fortifications against Turkish raids to include the municipal port. Italian master builders erected two bastions on the Drava, a tower that came to be known as Mariborske Benetke ("Mariborian Venice") to the west and the Water Tower to the east. The city gates once stood between Benetke Tower and the Judgement Tower.

A site called Pristan ("quay") or Lent had earlier developed outside the walls, serving as the mercantile center of old Maribor. Until the construction of the Carinthian railway between Maribor and Klagenfurt in 1863, the Benetke port building saw annual eastward-bound traffic of up to 800 šajke (characteristic local barges) and 1200 rafts.

During the 1960s, the Drava was dammed at Melje for the Zlatoličje hydroelectric plant, causing the water levels to rise. Much of the old urban core of Maribor was due to be submerged in the resultant accumulation lake, including the Water Tower, which was originally slated for demolition so as not to pose a hazard to navigation.

Between 1966 - 1967, the Benetke Tower and many medieval houses on the riverbanks were torn down, but the position of the Water Tower made it a better prospect for salvageability. The tower was saved by the efforts of builder Jože Požauk (1908–1995), who directed a project to raise the 1500 t mass by 2.6 metres over seven months in 1967 and 1968.

At present, the Water Tower houses a wine shop which specializes in top-quality Slovenian wines. It is Slovenia's oldest wine cellar, and is situated in what is now the center of Maribor. The shop is on the ground floor. The top floor of the tower contains a large, round hall with a high ceiling, reminiscent of a medieval banquet hall, which is dedicated entirely to wine tasting. The world's oldest grapevine is located on the side of a building a few hundred m away.

Slovenia - Julijske Alpe

Kanjaves and Vršac from the southern slopes of Mojstrovka.

Sent by Anita from Slovenia.

Slovenia - Mapcard

A mapcard of Slovenia.

Sent by Karmen, a postcrosser from Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Slovenia - Škocjan Caves

The Škocjan Caves.

Sent by Jože, a postcrosser from Slovenia.

This is from UNESCO : The Škocjan Caves lie in the north-east section of Kraski Landscape Park. The protected area extends over 200 ha and includes four deep and picturesque chasms, Sokolak in the south, Globocak in the west, Sapen dol and Lisicina in the north. They are components of the cave system and are alike floristically. The site also includes the Mahorcic cave which has several underground lakes and five cascades.

The system of subterranean passages, fashioned by the Reka River, constitutes a dramatic example of large-scale karst drainage. An underground system of passages runs from the Reka's source to Timavo on the Gulf of Trieste in Italy. In places the surfaces of the galleries at several levels have collapsed and give the appearance of deep chasms. The river enters the Škocjan grotto in an underground passage 350 m long, reappearing in the bottom of a 150 m deep and 300 m long chasm, before disappearing into a passage 2 km long. There are five galleries and a canal. A gallery of stalactites and stalagmites leads to the surface. In total there are 25 cascades along the river.

Archeological excavations have revealed that the site has been occupied for more than 10,000 years. Archaeological finds point to continuous settlement from the middle Stone Age to the Iron Age, when a fort was constructed where Škocjan stands today. The Romans erected another fortification in the same place, and during the Middle Ages a fortified rural settlement was established. Documentary references exist since the time of Posidinuis (135-50 BC). It has frequently been written about, with important descriptive works appearing in 1599 and 1689.

A mixture of habitats is represented corresponding to the floras of Central Europe, the Mediterranean, Submediterranean, Ilyrian and Alpine, all of which are present side by side in the Great Valley. The rare endemic Campanula justiniana grows here at its type locality.

The system of grottos is rich in speleofauna. The underground galleries hold five species of wintering bat in large numbers.

Ever since the first scientific studies were carried out in the 19th century, the grotto system has been considered important karst phenomena in Europe and all organizations responsible for it have maintained it intact. The caves were first explored by Svetina in 1839, who descended 100 m into the Reka. Speleological research began in 1851 (and continues to date), research on the water system in 1893 and in 1894 the famous speleologist Martel published the work Les abimes.

The total population of 400 is present in three villages (Škocjan pri Divaci, Matavan and Betanja) within this area.

Slovenia - Ljubljana (1)

LJUBLJANA
The view of Ljubljana. At the top of the hill is the Ljubljana Castle.

Sent by Lili, a postcrosser from Slovenia.

This is from Wikipedia : Ljubljana ([lʲubˈlʲana]; German: Laibach, Italian: Lubiana, Latin: Labacum) is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 280,000 inhabitants. Throughout its history, it has been influenced by its geographic position at the crossroads of Germanic, Latin and Slavic cultures.

For centuries, Ljubljana was the capital of the historical region of Carniola, and in the 20th century it became the cultural, scientific, economic, political and administrative centre of Slovenia, independent since 1991. Its transport connections, concentration of industry, scientific and research institutions and cultural tradition are contributing factors to its leading position.

Slovenia - Piran (1)

View of Piran town in Slovenia.

Sent by Aleksandra from Maribor.

This is from Wikipedia : Piran (Italian: Pirano) is a town and municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. The origin of the name is uncertain, with some scholars favouring derivation from the Celtic "bior-dun" (settlement on the hill), while others prefer the Greek word "pyr" (fire), a reference to the lighthouse on the tip of the peninsula.

The town resembles a large open-air museum, with medieval architecture and a rich cultural heritage. Narrow streets and compact houses give the town its special charm. Piran is the administrative centre of the local area and one of Slovenia's major tourist attractions.

Slovenia - Ptuj

Sent by Rok, a Facebook friend from Maribor in Slovenia. This postcard shows Ptuj, the oldest town in Slovenia with 2000 years of history.

This is from Wikipedia : Ptuj (German: Pettau; Latin: Poetovio) is a city and one of 11 urban municipalities in Slovenia. It is situated in Lower Styria (northeastern Slovenia), and has about 23,000 inhabitants.

It is a colorful city with a diverse nightlife. There are many parks and public spaces inside and outside of the city. The nearest airports are Ptuj Sport Airfield (Moškanjci), which is seven kilometers away, and Maribor Edvard Rusjan Airport, which is eighteen kilometers away.

Slovenia - Maribor (2)

Another postcard from Maribor in Slovenia. This one was sent by Rok, a Facebook's friend from Slovenia.

Slovenia - Maribor (1)

Sent by Aleksandra from Maribor in Slovenia. This postcard shows the city of Maribor, the second biggest city in SLovenia.

This is from Wikipedia : Maribor (German: Marburg an der Drau) is the second largest city in Slovenia, with 106,308 inhabitants as of 2008.[1] Maribor lies on the river Drava at the meeting point of the Pohorje mountain, the Drava Valley, the Drava Plain, and the Kozjak and Slovenske gorice hill ranges. Maribor's coat of arms features a white dove flying downwards above a white castle with two towers and a portcullis on a red shield.

Maribor is also the seat of the Municipality of Maribor, which has 119,071 inhabitants as of 2007 [2], and the center of the Slovenian region of Lower Styria and its largest city. Maribor Airport is the second largest international airport in Slovenia.

Slovenia - Slap Savica

This is the first postcard received from Slovenia. Sent by Anja. This one shows a Savica Waterfall.

Lip pozdraw iz Slovenije!