Slovenia
The Region Slovenia
[slOvE'nEu]
Slovenia, Slovene Slovenija, officially Republic of Slovenia, republic (1995 est. pop. 2,052,000), 7,817 sq mi (20,246 sq km). It is bounded in the north by Austria, in the northeast by Hungary, in the southeast by Croatia, and in the west by Italy. It has a small strip of seacoast on the Adriatic. Ljubljana is the capital.
Geography
Slovenia occupies an area about the size of the state of Massachusetts. It is largely a mountainous republic and almost half of the land is forested, with hilly plains spread across the central and eastern regions. Mount Triglav, the highest peak, rises to 9,393 ft. (2,864 m).
Cultural Artifact of Slovenia
The locals call the national costume of Slovenia "Narodna nosa". It was established and unified in the 19th century. Until then, there were many regional Slovenia costumes with their unique features. Some areas used their folk clothing until World War II. But nevertheless, today, Gorenjska (Upper Carniola) folk costume is considered the national dress of Slovenia. And Slovenians around the whole country use it.
Slovenian traditional clothing was worn mostly for special occasions and holidays in the 18th - 19th century. Nowadays, it is used by folklore singers and dancers, or for ethnic festivals, celebrations, to entertain tourists, etc. Very seldom, these outfits are worn by ordinary people in every day life - mainly, in the rural area.
Regional Fun Fact
Sranga (The Obstacle) - In the rural areas of Slovenia, it is still a tradition for the groom to pick up the bride from her house on their wedding day. On the way to her house, the local young men prepare Sranga (a wooden obstacle), to block the road and stop the groom from getting to his bride. When he arrives at the obstacle, he is given two options. He can either pay the local men or saw through the Sranga. Once he makes his way through, the young men try to trick him again. At the bride's house, they dress an older person in the wedding dress, and they try to pass him/her off as the bride. Again, the groom has to pay in order to get the bride and to get married.