Making An Exceptionally Clean Country is Not That Difficult!

During this COVID19 pandemic, cleanliness became a top-priority, because now there are many used non-degrading masks lying around, used plastic bottles and so on. This article will be about a promising country, especially in sanitation and clean water. This is not that difficult, all you need is dedication. This country is relatively young, their nation is not even 30 years old. Yet they have a diverse climate, because they have direct access to the sea (therefore, in the west, the climate tends to be Mediterranean), they have mountainous regions (the Julian Alps, its climate is Alpine) and the east is rather continental. With this diverse climate, the abundance of geography, a shortage of history, you could easily decode: this is Slovenia. They are very young and are relatively fresh members of the European Union, they joined in 2004, along with Hungary. Slovenia is a tiny nation, they only occupy a territory of around 20,000 square kilometers and their population is also low, it has just above 2 million people. This small country has been under different control throughout centuries. This area has already been inhabited during prehistoric times, the oldest possible musical instrument (a kind of flute) was found near Cerkno, which is located close to the Italian border. Pile dwellings were discovered near the capital, Ljubljana. This became a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Romans developed the area, they built fortresses and posts, such as Emona, Poetovio or Celeia. How are these cities called today? The first one is Ljubljana, the second is Ptuj, the third is Celje. All worth a visit, as they are calm and preserved their Roman roots.

Slovenians are Slavs. The first unification attempts date back to 622, when King Samo united the Alpine and the Western Slavs against the Avars. However, this union dissolved in 660, because Samo died. The ancestors of Slovenes lived in Carinthia, they formed an independent duchy, called Caranthania and later on, Carniola (another duchy) was formed. They were the first Slavic tribes to accept Christianity. The tribes were incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire as a part of the Duchy of Carinthia in 976. By the 11th century, many Slavic tribes were Germanized (especially in Lower Austria), the Slovenes in the south were isolated. This is how the people were formed. Nowadays, there is a significant Slovene-speaking minority in Styria, Carinthia, Gorizia, Istria and Trieste, as they functioned as border regions. Would you be able to decode what Beljak, Celovec and Trst are in their original form? This last is probably the easiest one to recognize. If you are more linguistic, you will be able to recognize Beljak as well. Celovec will be a little bit harder. This Slovene name refers to the wetlands around the city, a calque from Italian, called l’aquiliu. In fact, there is indeed a lake nearby, the Lake W?rth. Which city is this? This is in neighboring Austria. Exactly, this is Klagenfurt. These two cities are not too far from each other. Beljak is called Villach in German.

In the 14th century, most of present-day Slovenia was controlled by the Habsburgs. They had an important competitor, the counts of Cilli. The latter family has tons of Hungarian connections. Today, their birthplace is called Celje. Their golden era started after the loss at Nicopolis in 1396, when Hermann II of Cilli saved the life of Sigismund Luxembourg, then king of Hungary. As a reward, Hermann received estates in today’s Croatia, including Varazdin (Varasd in Hungarian). The Counts of Cilli started a strong rivalry with the Habsburgs and the Hunyadis (another prominent Hungarian noble family). To make this alliance even stronger, Sigismund married Barbara of Cilli, the daughter of Hermann. Sigismund became the Holy Roman Emperor in 1433 and the Counts became Imperial Princes. The Habsburgs did not like this event and they initiated a war against this family. They reached a mutual compromise in 1443, which granted the right to mutual inheritance. Count Ulrich II of Cilli was the most powerful member of this family. He wanted to become the regent of Hungary, as King Albert died in 1439, and his son, Ladislaus was very young. This is when he got opposed by the Hunyadi family of Hungary. After his unsuccessful claim to the Bosnian crown, he obtained some territories in Croatia and Slavonia and forced Ferdinand III of Habsburg to hand over the still very young Ladislaus to him. He became a regent of Hungary in 1452. When John Hunyadi died in 1456 of plague, Ulrich became the Captain General of Hungary. A plot developed against him by the Hunyadi family and the men of Ladislaus Hunyadi assassinated him, making the counts of Cilli die out. As they died out, all of their possessions were handed back to the Habsburgs. Therefore, the Slovenes were incorporated into the Habsburg Empire and remained there for more than 400 years. At the end of the 19th century, massive emigration started to the United States (for instance, Cleveland and Pittsburgh had significant Slovene populations), Germany and even Argentina. Around 300,000 people left the country. This is also when the Slovenian nationalism started to form and their national anthem was written by France Preseren. At this time, they were striving to form a nation with the Croatians and the Serbs, forming Yugoslavia. The word “jug” means south in Serbian, so this meant “Empire of Southern Slavs”. At the first time, their dream came true after the First World War. In 1918, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was formed. However, Slovenian people outside the current borders were Italianized by the Fascist. The Treaty of Rapallo in 1920 ordered repatriation of about a million Slovenes from Italy, those who remained were assimilated. When Austria was going to the right in politics, everyone was forced to speak German. Yugoslavia was unevenly developed, Slovenia became the most westernized area, as they started to industrialize. Their production was four times greater than Serbia. They grew rapidly until the crisis.

The Second World War gave a light to Partisan movements against the fascist powers occupying Yugoslavia. Unfortunately, civilians also became victims of occasional massacres organized by the Yugoslavian Army. Hundreds of Italians were killed in Istria, and more than 25,000 people had to flee to modern-day Italy. This is called “the foibe”. The word “foiba” means a geographical feature, this is a karst sinkhole. The dead bodies were buried in these holes. Not only Italians were victims of these actions, also anti-communist people. The Yugoslav state was reestablished in the Second World War by these Partisan movements, led by Josip Broz Tito. He became the president of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia. This was a communist state, yet it was much freer than Stalin’s Soviet Union. Slovenia, on the other hand enjoyed a relatively broad autonomy in this federation, their language was co-official with five others. The Slovenian GDP was more than the double of the Yugoslavian average. This period lasted until 1980, when Tito died. This led to the resurrection of nationalist voices, starting from the intellectuals. In 1987, a group of intellectuals set up an independence movement. They demanded democratization. The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights managed to push the communist leaders towards negotiations. Two years later, parliamentary democracy was introduced. In 1990, a referendum voted for independence. The Yugoslavian army did not like this idea and started the Ten-Day War next year. However, Slovenia did not have a significant Serbian minority who could support the units of the all-Serb Yugoslav People’s Army, therefore the YPA did not succeed. Ten days later an agreement was reached and all Yugoslavian army troops left Slovenia, therefore they were not involved in the Yugoslavian Wars. This is how modern Slovenia was born. They joined the EU in 2004 (alongside us) and they adopted Euro as their currency in 2007.

But how are they a great promise of the 21st century? First of all, their geographic location helps them a lot in achieving it. As they are situated well inside the Alps, it gives the green light for crystal-clean waters from the bottom. Even so, more than 90% of the country lies above 200 meters above sea level. In the north, one can find the Julian and the Kamnik Savinja Alps, along the Austrian border. This is where the Karawank chain can be found. To its south, near the coastline of the Adriatic, one can find the limestone mountain called Kras, where the term karst is coming from. This region is full of gorges, underground rivers and caves. The most famous one can be found in Postojna (or Adelsberg in German). These waters are clean and cold, that is why one can find tons of waterfalls around the country. The lakes in the Alps are results of glacial and tectonic activities. There are not only lakes in this country, there are also alpine rivers, for example the Drava, Sava, So?a and so on. These are upper-section rivers, which means they are making ruining work, they make waterfalls and therefore they polish the rocks. These rivers have a distinctive light blue color from above. Given these natural beauties, how to keep them everlasting? Exactly, by keeping them exceptionally clean. Because these waters are as clean as you look through a window. At some point you can see the bottom of them, which can be meters. You will not believe that the depth is a couple of meters. There is no algae, no seaweed either. Last but not least, the surface is not congested with used plastic bottles and bags. Because in Slovenia, littering does not exist (in fact, there are hefty fines to deter you from doing so). How did they become a clean nation? Exactly, by learning. Modern Slovenia is very young, they had to learn how to make themselves a promising future in clean water and sanitation. You have read above that sovereign Slovenia did not exist for centuries, they were controlled by others. Their culture got influence from Austria, Italy, Balkans and Hungary. Slovenes are extremely disciplined and organized people. They know they have to do their part in looking after the world. Where did this dedication come from? Exactly, from their northern neighbor, Austria. You might have read about their way to be a success story. They made a decision after becoming independent in 1991, that is to keep learning from others.

More recently, as mass tourism boosted their GDP, they started to think a step further. Because Slovenia has limited capacity. What efforts can be done to make it sustainable? Exactly, by introducing a national program, called Slovenia Green. It has been revealed that Slovenia has the best drinking water quality of Europe. The national capital, Ljubljana received a European Green Capital Award in 2016. Their green example was a hotel in the city: they built beehives on the top and started to build their own herb garden. They employ 60,000 bees and they produce 25 kilograms of honey. It is healthy and clean, because parks and forests of the capital are not contaminated with pesticides. As you might expect in such diversity, both wine and beer are popular drinks all along Slovenia. Maribor is Slovenia’s second largest city. Nobody wants to believe it, but this is the drinking capital of Slovenia. Because hops are grown locally for beer, grapes can be found in the neighboring hills. Maribor is also home to the world’s oldest vine, called modra kavicna, being more than 400 years old. Slovenia is also an excellent destination for active travelers. The country has endless hiking trails through forests, wild water canals and gorges. When it comes to hiking, it is also worth noting mountain biking. Yes, this country is a mountain biking paradise. A future success story is heavily based on how they can become a sustainable touristic powerhouse. They are on the right track towards this title: no littering, endless opportunities for sustainable tourism and active leisure. Moreover, the National Geographic Traveler Magazine gave this country “The Most Sustainable Country” title. See? It is not that difficult to reach! You have to be open-minded and ready to learn from other countries. It is not shameful.

Sources:

- Kindly read more about Slovenia here

- Why Slovenia has an abundance of geography?

- Why is Slovenia a green destination? Find out more here

- Read the National Geographic Traveler’s article on this title here

Authored, Narrated & Published by Gergely Lázár | Illustrated by O?uz Y?lmazlar | Edited by Lee Vallance | Supported by Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Substack, Twitter & WordPress Publications 

PaleBlue.WhatAreYouStillWaitingFor.Space

? 2020 WAYSWiFt Works

The opinions expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of AAI (AIESEC Alumni International).