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All across the globe Unesco World Heritage Sites are wildly popular with visitors. And with good reason as every one has been carefully chosen using ten stringent criteria, both natural and cultural. Slovenia’s Skocjan Caves and the Primeval Beech Forests are deemed natural sites, while the country’s remaining trio are designated cultural sites. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization recognise these five World Heritage Sites spread across Slovenia, with more tentative ones in the pipeline. Each is worth a visit in its own right and grouping a few of them together makes for a thrilling way to explore the country. You visit safe in the knowledge too that a Unesco listing means that development of each site is carefully monitored to help preserve it for future generations to enjoy and continue to learn from.
1. The Skocjan Caves
This epic cave system was the first Slovenian site to be added by Unesco in 1986. The word ‘karst’ comes from the Slovenian name for its region with distinctive limestone scenery. One of the world’s largest underground river canyons – the explored section of the caves runs for over 6km – passes through the massive caves here, which feel like they have been sculpted as a James Bond villain’s secret lair. Eking through them on an illuminating guided tour is one of Slovenia’s great travel experiences and much more rugged and rewarding than the touristy Postojna Caves, with their tourist train. The usual guided tour takes around three hours and ventures 5km deep into the cave system, with myriad highlights including crossing the Cerkvenik bridge (which is suspended 50m above the Reka River) and witnessing the force of the water as it surges through the system.
Read more: The world’s most beautiful Unesco World Heritage Sites
2. The prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps
This is a transnational site that Slovenia shares with Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, spreading its Unesco tentacles across over 100 locations that all have prehistoric pile-dwelling settlements. A brace are recognised in Slovenia. They are split between a northern group (kolisca na Igu, severna skupina), and a southern grouping (kolisca na Igu, juzna skupina), which together shine valuable light on life in Neolithic and Bronze Age Alpine Europe. Both sites are tucked south of Ljubljana on the Ljubljansko Barje (Ljubljana Marshes). The oldest of the wooden settlements – named as they were built on piles driven into the marshes or the water – dates back to the Mesolithic era around 5,000BC, with further remnants dotted around this archaeologically rich landscape. The world’s oldest wheel, a remarkable 5,200 years old, was found at the Ljubljana Marshes in 2002 and is now on display in the City Museum of Ljubljana, so it gives you an idea if you are short on time.
Read more: These are the best towns and cities to visit in Slovenia
3. Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija
Idrija in Slovenia is one half part of this transnational entry along with Almaden in Spain. Idrija sports the largest mercury mine in the world after Almaden, with mercury first discovered in the hills here as far back as 1490. No mere ruin, the mine still stands and you can delve deep down into it as a visitor, an engaging experience as you literally step in the working footsteps of the miners. As well as the more modern mine, the detritus of centuries of mining comprises an invaluable and irreplaceable record of how mercury mining developed and also commemorates the links between here and the Americas. The Idrija Mine Museum has, for example, over 800 different samples of ore and mineral from the local mercury ore deposits. There are exhibits that delve into traditional and more modern techniques used to extract the highly dangerous mercury.
Read more: The best European river cruises, from the enchanting Rhine to the magical Danube
4. The Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany
The Slovenian part of this transnational site is found around the Krokar and Sneznik–Zdrocle Virgin Forests, which were added to the Unesco designation in 2017 alongside forests in another 17 European countries. It is a life-affirming joy wandering in these deeply atmospheric ancient forests. Sneznik–Zdrocle constitutes Slovenia’s largest Forest Reserve, carved around 1,796m-high Mount Sneznik, the highest peak of the karstic northwestern Dinaric Mountains. A variety of trails allow you to witness the ancient, unspoilt forest. The Krokar Forest Reserve is located in the northern portion of the Dinaric Mountains, where fir and beech forests predominate, leading to the inclusion with Unesco. The 2km-long circular Krokar Primeval Forest Trail is the ideal way of getting into the midst of the beech forest and appreciating its beauty without damaging it.
Read more: The resort town where you can find Maldives-like winter sun closer to home
5. The works of Joze Plecnik
This newest Slovenian Unesco World Heritage site was added as recently as 2021. It focuses on the capital city of Ljubljana, where seminal Slovenian architect Joze Plecnik totally transformed the city in the 20th century. He reimagined the banks of the Ljubljanica River and made huge improvements to public spaces and public institutions, weaving them into a cohesive urban whole. Included in the Unesco designation are his aesthetically pleasing flood defence works on the Ljubljanica River and the ornate Italianate Triple Bridge that crosses it in the centre, the striking Roman Walls in Mirje, the grand Zale Cemetery and the ‘Green Promenade’. Perhaps his finest building is the National and University Library, much visited by students of architecture from across the world. Guided tours operate of Plecnik’s Ljubljana. Take one as they really reveal Plecnik’s genius in all its architectural glory. This is man who managed to conjure concrete into beauty and use other unfashionable and cheaper materials in his impressively grand designs.
Read more: This is the sophisticated way to go drinking in the French Alps
Tentative Unesco World Heritage list – sites put forward by Slovenia for future Unesco World Heritage inclusion
- Fuzina hills in Bohinj: For the heritage of its alpine pasture cattle raising.
- Franja Partisan Hospital: Brilliant World War Two partisan hospital that makes for a poignant and moving visit. A unique window into Slovenia during World War Two and the struggle against the occupying German forces.
- Classic Karst: Focused on Slovenia’s renowned karst landscapes. This is the country, after all, that gave the world the word karst.
- The Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic – Heritage of the First World War: A site that swirls around the scenes of the fighting during World War Two around the Soca Valley. How humans managed to do battle for so long in such an unforgiving wildscape is remarkable and adding this site to the list would ensure that history is protected.
Read more: The best lesser-known European beach destinations for sun without the crowds
