Partner Country of the Month: Slovenia

Slovenia, not to be confused with Slovakia, lies south of Austria and in between Italy and Croatia. This small country impresses with its natural beauty, from the alpine north with its clear mountain lakes to the karst landscape riddled with thousands of caves. The wild rivers are excellent for kayaking and white water rafting - there's no shortage of nature adventures to be had. And in our partner city Ljubljana you can even meet dragons ... or just relax in the cosy cafés by the riverside.

With the "Partner Country of the Month" campaign, we want to shine a spotlight on the countries, regions and partner universities of TU Dresden that aren’t necessarily the first to come to our students' minds when thinking about a semester abroad.

General facts and figures about Slovenia

Capital: Ljubljana
Population: 2.1 million (2022)
Official language: Slovenian, regionally also Italian and Hungarian
National holiday: June 25^th, Day of Independence from Yugoslavia
Currency: Euro

You can find further facts and figures on Wikipedia, on slovenia.info, or e.g. on wikivoyage.

Small language excursion:

Good day - Dober dan
Hello - Živijo
What's your name? - Kako ti je ime?
See you later - Se vidimo
Excuse me - Oprosti
Can you help me? - Mi lahko pomagate?
Thank you - Hvala

As a South Slavic language, Slovenian (Slovenščina) is most closely related to Croatian and Serbian. Some additional letters were adopted from Czech into the Slovenian alphabet: č (ch), š (sh) and ž (zh). Loanwords from other languages are spelled in the Slovenian way, so manager becomes menedžer.

A special feature of Slovenian is the existence of the dual form, besides singular and plural. It specifically counts two things, making it easy to distinguish between "us two" or "all of us", for example.

Historically, German was an influential language in Slovenia, as both the Holy Roman Empire and later Austria-Hungary ruled the country for a long time. As a result, many dialects still have words of German origin, while standard Slovenian favours words of Slavic origin. Nowadays, German is a frequent second foreign language - after English, of course, which younger Slovenes generally speak well.

For studying at our partner university in Ljubljana, English language skills are sufficient. Please check the language proficiency requirements before applying. You can join a course at TUDIAS to brush up your English, e.g. the preparation course for a period abroad.

However, learning Slovenian will certainly help you in making friends and getting to know the culture. You can learn Slovenian online for free at slonline.si, a course that was co-developed by our partner university's Department for Slovene Studies. The department also offers language courses on site, including an intensive course for Erasmus+ students.

Did you know that ....?

in Ljubljana, the summer heat is alleviated by homemade rain? In the "Area with Ljubljana's Own Weather", hidden water sprinklers installed by artist Zmago Modic provide an opportunity for cooling off every summer.
it was once believed that dragons live in Slovenia, hidden in the numerous caves riddling the karst landscape in the south-east of the country? In winter, dragon's breath can be seen escaping from crevices in the rocks (actually a haze caused by the higher temperatures inside the cave). Small pink baby dragons flushed out at high tide hint at larger parents in the depths of the cave. The supposed baby dragons are actually olms. This amphibian species lives in a permanent larval stage and impresses with its extreme longevity. Even if there is not much truth to the legend, dragons are omnipresent as symbols in Slovenia.
there are vending machines for fresh milk in Slovenia? The so-called mlekomats (mleko = milk) can be found all over the country, often located on town squares. They are operated directly by local dairy farms. Besides untreated raw milk from the tap, dairy products such as yoghurt and fresh cheese are also available at the mlekomats.
the most successful Slovenian TV series to date revolves around star-crossed lovers from rival winegrowing dynasties? It makes sense that Usodno Vino (Deadly Wine) places Romeo and Juliet in a winemaking environment. Viticulture is an important Slovenian industry, with about 28,000 wineries and countless employees.
the shepherds of the Slovenian Alps used cheese as the symbol of love? Over the summer, they stayed up on the pastures with their animals. When a shepherd longed for a sweetheart down in the valley, he made her a special cheese decorated with patterns. This Trnič cheese was always made in pairs, and in autumn the shepherd offered one to his beloved. If she accepted the cheese, it meant that she returned the feelings.
Slovenia has one of Europe's largest bear populations? More than 1,000 brown bears live in this small country, mostly in the vast, unspoilt forests of Kočevsko in the south of the country. Many other species also find their habitat there, including both wolves and lynxes. Bear attacks are very rare - they are shy of people and only attack when driven into a corner.

Cooperation with TU Dresden

You can find an overview of all cooperations of TU Dresden that you can use for your exchange in our database. It is also often worth your time to ask professors in your own faculty who might have direct contacts to your partner university of choice.

Our Slovenian partner university via Erasmus+: Univerza v Ljubljani

Courses of study
- Landscape Architecture
- Forest Sciences
- Mechanical Engineering (Faculty)
- Geosciences
- International Relations
- Sociology
- Physics
- Business Administration and Economics
- Mathematics
- Psychology
- Social Pedagogy
- Medicine
- Architecture
- Dental Medicine
The University of Ljubljana is considered Slovenia's oldest and best university. With around 40,000 students, its size is on a similar scale as TU Dresden. You can find more helpful information in this guide for exchange students.

Don't miss...

People dressed up as fur monsters dancing

Kurentovanje Pust. In February, the town of Ptuj is transformed into a haunt of monsters. The furry, horned Kurenti chase away winter by jumping and dancing through the streets, making as much noise as possible with their cowbells. Besides marvelling at the elaborate costumes, you can eat your fill of donuts, sample homemade schnapps and, of course, join in the dancing. The festival is an ancient tradition and one of Slovenia's biggest cultural events - so book your accommodation well in advance.

turquoise green pond in the woods with a waterfall

the Julian Alps. Triglav National Park, named after the country's highest mountain, covers almost all of Slovenia's share of the Alps and is wonderful for hiking. On its eastern edge lies Lake Bled, probably Slovenia's most photographed place. Nearby, you can take a hike through the turquoise-blue Vintgar Gorge. Trenta Valley, source of the wild Soča River, and the area around Lake Bohinj are also particularly beautiful.

Predjamski Grad and Postojna. Predjama Castle rises halfway out of a mountainside cave and was once considered impregnable. According to legend, the local robber baron could only be defeated by treachery when sitting in the toilet house - which promptly became a cannon target. When under siege, the castle could be supplied with provisions through a connection to the Postojna cave system. These dripstone caves are among the largest, most beautiful, and most biologically diverse in the world. There is a combined ticket for both castle and caves.

In Škocjan the river Reka formed an underground canyon. Including a small bridge over the abyss, the Škocjan caves seem to come straight from Middle Earth (fortunately, this bridge has railings). You can also discover travertine terraces and limestone pools, dripstone formations and even underground waterfalls. The caves are accessible by a footpath from the nearby town of Divača and can be visited via a 90-minute tour.

Piran is a small coastal town full of winding alleys and Mediterranean flair. From the 13th to the 18th century, it formed part of the Republic of Venice. The Venetian influence clearly shows in Piran's architecture (which can be enjoyed without Venice's crowds of tourists). You can learn more about Piran's maritime history at the Maritime Museum. Don't forget to explore the nearby Strunjan Nature Park with its picturesque cliffs and salt pans, where salt is still extracted in the traditional way.

Let's get cooking...

Slovenia's cuisine is regionally different, with similarities to the neighbouring countries of Austria, Italy, Hungary and Croatia. The alpine north has a lot of cheese and dairy products, pastries, honey and sausages. The Mediterranean coast offers fish, olive oil, dried meats and wine. The east is famous for pumpkin seed oil, which is used in many ways and can even be a part of desserts. As the capital, Ljubljana has an international and diverse cuisine. There is even an unexpected similarity to Germany: Döner Kebab is a very popular fast food in Slovenia, too.

Eating a plant-based diet can be difficult in typical Slovenian restaurants. But the great local vegetable markets make cooking for yourself a pleasure. In the countryside, you can often find boxes of fresh garden vegetables for sale on the wayside.

Potica with walnut or hazelnut filling

The delicious rolled pastry Potica is Slovenia's number one festive dish and is essential for Easter, Christmas and many other important occasions. Potica is made from yeast dough and a variety of fillings. More than 80 sweet or savoury fillings are officially known, with walnuts (as in our recipe) being the most typical one. Hazelnut, tarragon, poppy seed or quark fillings are also classics. So, if you can't find ground walnuts anywhere and don't have a blender, simply use hazelnuts. Potica is traditionally baked in a special ring pan, but you can also bake it in a loaf tin or directly in the oven.

Heads up: The dough has to rise several times, so the recipe needs a lot of time. If you don't have the patience for it, you will just have to try Potica on the spot in Slovenia ;)

Ingredients

For the dough:

1 kg flour
30 g yeast
3 egg yolks
300 ml lukewarm milk
120 g butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
Grease for the baking tin

For the filling:

700 g walnuts or hazelnuts, ground or finely chopped
200 g liquid honey
50 g sugar
100 ml milk
1 egg
cinnamon to taste
some rum (flavouring)

Preparation

Dough:

1. Put the flour in a bowl and mix in the salt.

2. In a separate bowl, mix the yeast with a teaspoon of sugar, two tablespoons of flour and 50 ml of lukewarm water or milk. Leave to rise in a warm place for about 10 minutes.

3. Add the three egg yolks, yeast mixture, melted butter and sugar to the flour. Mix it all together, gradually adding the lukewarm milk. Stir the dough until it comes away from the bowl.

4. Sprinkle the dough with a little flour and cover it with a kitchen towel. Leave the dough to rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size (about one hour).

Filling:

1. Heat up the milk on low heat, stirring frequently. Add in the sugar. 2. When the milk is boiling hot, pour it over the chopped walnuts. Mix in the honey and cinnamon.

2. Allow the filling to cool, then add in an egg and stir.

Assembly:

1. Roll out the dough to a thickness of half a centimetre. Spread the filling on top and then roll the dough up tightly. If using a baking tin: Grease the baking tin and place the roll of dough in the baking tin.

2. Leave the potica to rise (inside the baking tin) for another hour.

3. Bake in the oven at 160°C for one hour. Then leave the potica to cool for 15 minutes before taking it out of the baking tin. Dober tek!

(Many thanks to slovenia.info!)

Contact and further contact persons

Have you had great experiences in Slovenia? Do you have tips for places and things that should not be missed? We would be happy to share your experiences either here, on Facebook or, if you want, in an online information event for other TUD students. Get in touch with us: