Portorož, Slovenia 25-27 June 2014

Portorož, Slovenia 25-27 June 2014
Academic networking and Slovenian attractions
Piran
Piran is the best preserved cultural monument of Slovenian Istria and the closest neighbour of Portorož,
the luxurious city of flowers. Each time one looks at Piran from a distance or from the air, one is overcome by
feeling of surprise. Loved by the eyes of the people and by the eye of the camera,
its image is known all over the world. When you visit Piran, you should take a
closer look at its architecture, influenced by the Venetian Republic, which left
its mark on most Istrian towns.
Throughout time, Piran maintained the
clustered medieval structure narrow
winding streets; houses huddled close
together, rising in cascades, the contact
with the sea, numerous squares and
churches. Tartini Square is the gem
found in the very centre of Piran. It was named after the famous violinist and
composer Giuseppe Tartini, who made the
town world-famous. His statue is located in
the centre of the square. The city is
surrounded by a circular wall. Piran is a
City walls
member of the European Walled Cities
Association. The city of Piran is a national historical monument. People earn
their living mainly by tourism. The Church of. St. George, the patron saint of
Piran, rises above the town. From its lookout tower you have a wonderful view
of Piran and its surroundings and all the way across the sea to the Croatian and
Italian Coast.
Venetian house
Piran is easily covered on foot, although a hike up to the cathedral and
further on to the remaining section of the old town wall is enough to leave us in need of a cold beer and a siesta,
especially during the summer. Also be aware that many of the museums and galleries. Numerous events take place all
year round in the open and in magnificent buildings named after famous people from Piran.
Portorož
Sea, wind, salt, Mediterranean aromas, palm trees, roses and evergreens, relaxation, fun and friendliness are
the words that best describe Portorož, a coastal town at the heart of Europe. The interplay of different cultures and
music, natural setting, gastronomic delights, and chequered history make for an atmosphere that makes us put our
daily worries aside and just relax. Leisurely strolls by the sea, refreshing
jogging on the beach, swimming in pools and the sea, beauty and health care
programmes at thermal spas, sports and recreation revitalise the body and soul.
When healing properties of the saltpans natural elements were
discovered as early as the 19th century, Portorož got its first hotels and
thermal centres. Today Portorož is popular
place to work, relax and have fun. After all,
Portorož boasts a large number of comfortable hotels with modern pools, a wide
range of restaurants with different varieties of cuisine, and popular events. The
town is also a well-known convention centre. There are casinos too, where many
Hotel Palace
try their luck with bouncing roulette balls, rustling playing cards and clanking slot
machines.
Near Portorož are two of Slovenia's must see tourist attractions: the still-functioning salt pans in the
Sečovlje nature reserve and Forma Viva, a large sculpture park in the hills south of the city.
Portorož, Slovenia 25-27 June 2014
Academic networking and Slovenian attractions
Slovenia lies in the heart of Europe, where the Alps meet the Mediterranean and the Pannonian Plain
meets the Karst. This small green country measures 20,273 km2, and is home to sincere, hospitable people of great
diligence. It has an exceptional number of top athletes, and a wealth of cultural creativity. It’s member of Europe
Union, the currency is EURO.
Slovenia has a population of two million, of whom the vast majority are ethnic Slovenes. People hailing
from the other former Yugoslav republics make up a significant minority, albeit less than 10% of the total population.
The Italian and Hungarian ethnic communities have protected minority status, despite their small size.
Slovenes are also very thorough in learning foreign languages to make them understood. Even primary school
students can speak foreign languages. The majority of people can speak good English, while most have a good grasp
of German. A large share of the population can communicate in the languages of the old Yugoslavia, while there are
many fluent Italian speakers in the areas bordering Italy.
The collision of four major European geographical units has created a very invigorating landscape, much of
it thickly forested. More than a third of the country’s area is protected.
The most mountainous region is the north, where the Alps begin. The
Triglav National Park is the only
Slovenian national park. The park was
named after Triglav, the highest
mountain in the heart of the park. There
are gentler hills in the south-east and
Triglav national park
east, where the vine flourishes, while
plains and basins populate the areas between the hills. The Ljubljana region
lies in the largest basin. Not only is the land surface very invigorating, there
are also wonders underground: some of the country’s 9,000 karstic caves are
among the most beautiful in the world.
Ljubljana
The coastline of Slovenian is 43 kilometers long and has numerous peninsulas and bays such as Piran
peninsula and Gulf of Piran, Gulf of Koper and Ankaran peninsula on which is at the same time one of only two
nature reserves on Slovenian coast, the other one being the Strunjan reserve. In the Strunjan reserve lays the only
coastal cliff in Slovenia.
Vorma Viva, Portorož
Bled
Salt pans in Sečovlje
Portorož, Slovenia 25-27 June 2014
Academic networking and Slovenian attractions
Škocjan Caves - UNESCO’s world heritage
The Škocjan Caves are a unique
natural phenomenon, the creation of
the Reka River. The Reka River springs
from below the Snežnik plateau and flows
some fifty-five kilometres on the surface.
After reaching the Karst, that is the
limestone surface, the river not only
deepens its riverbed through erosion, but also by means of corrosion – it dissolves the limestone. In the first part of its
course on the limestone, the Reka still flows on the surface, along an approximately four-kilometre-long gorge that
ends with a magnificent wall under
which it disappears underground. The
Reka River blind valley is the largest in
Slovenia. In the distant past, probably in
the Early Pleistocene, that is a few
hundred thousand years ago, the ceiling
of the cave collapsed some 200 metres
from the sinks; as a result, the Velika
dolina (up to 165 metres deep) and Mala
dolina (120 metres) were created,
separated by a natural bridge, a remnant
of the original cave ceiling. Above the
caves, between the wall above the sink
and the walls of Mala dolina, lies the
village of Škocjan.
At the bottom of Velika dolina,
The Great Hall is the largest hall in the Silent Cave.
the Reka River finally disappears
underground and resurfaces again thirty-four kilometres away at the springs of the Timava River, not far from the
Adriatic coast. The length of all cave
passages totals approximately 6
kilometres, while
the vertical
difference between the highest
entrance (Okroglica abyss) and the
lowest point in the caves reached by
man, that is the siphon, is 205 metres.
At some places, the gorge extends
Cross-section of the Škocjan Caves
into underground chambers. The largest of them, Martel's Chamber, is
308 metres long, 89 metres wide on average (reaching a maximum of
123 metres) and 106 metres high, with the highest point of the ceiling
at 146 metres above the Reka River bed . The largest cross-section
measures 12,000 square metres, thus giving this chamber a volume of
2.2 million cubic metres.
Proteus anguinus
Portorož, Slovenia 25-27 June 2014
Academic networking and Slovenian attractions
The exceptional volume of the underground canyon is
what distinguishes the Škocjan Caves from other caves and places
them among the most famous underground features in the
world. The river flowing through the underground canyon turns
north-west before the Cerkvenik Bridge and continues its course
along the Hankejev kanal (Hanke's Channel). This underground
channel, first explored at the end of the 19th century, is
approximately 3.5 kilometres long, 10 to 60 metres wide and over
140 metres high. At some points, it expands into huge
underground chambers. The largest of these is the Martelova
Cerkvenik Bridge
dvorana (Martel's Chamber); with a volume of 2.2 million cubic metres, it is considered the largest discovered
underground chamber in Slovenia and one of the largest in the world. It is interesting to note that an underground
canyon of such dimensions ends with a relatively small siphon: one that cannot deal with the enormous volume of
water that pours into the cave after heavy rainfall, causing major flooding, during which water levels can rise by more
than one hundred metres.