In the city of Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia

 “In recent years, I have made it a habit to visit on the Feast of Corpus Christi ... Despite the nice, warm weather of early summer, it seemed as fresh snow had fallen, as the green slopes looked as if covered by sugar ... Multitudes of white daffodils covered all the mountain meadows. -- Julius Kugy

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(in one of Europe's greenest and most liveable capitals) Ljubljana, the economic, political, and cultural center of Slovenia, is located on the Ljubljanica River. The city lies in central Slovenia in a natural depression surrounded by high peaks of the Julian Alps. In summer, cafes set up terrace seating along the river; it almost feels like a nightly street party.

+ Cut through the gardens of Tivoli Park to the National Museum of Contemporary History for a history of modern Slovenia.

+ Slovenia, wedged between Austria and Italy, has always been proud of its unique heritage. The capital, Ljubljana (shown here), is a great example of this blend of German, Mediterranean, and Slovenian culture. The Old Town is a blend of Baroque, Renaissance, and Art Nouveau buildings, watched over by a medieval castle.

(in one of Europe's greenest and most liveable capitals) Ljubljana, the economic, political, and cultural center of Slovenia, is located on the Ljubljanica River. The city lies in central Slovenia in a natural depression surrounded by high peaks of the Julian Alps. In summer, cafes set up terrace seating along the river; (it almost feels like a nightly street party).

+ Cut through the gardens of Tivoli Park to the National Museum of Contemporary History for a lesson on modern Slovenia. A walled Roman encampment was built here in the mid-1st century BCE by Roman legionnaires and developed into the settlement of Emona (Iulia Aemona), though the area had been settled earlier by the Veneti, the Illyrians, and the Celts, beginning about 1000 BCE. Sitting on the route to Pannonia and commanding the Ljubljana Gap, the strategically located city was destroyed by Attila in the mid-5th century. The Slovene Slavic tribes, migrating westward, rebuilt it in the 12th century, when its name was recorded first as Laibach (1144) and then as Luvigana (1146).

+ In the late 13th century, rule passed to the Habsburgs, and in 1335 Ljubljana became the capital of the Habsburg-Austrian province of Carniola. From 1461 Ljubljana was the seat of a bishop. Taken by the French in 1809, it became the government seat of the Illyrian Provinces. The completion of the southern (Vienna-Trieste) railway line in 1849 stimulated the cultural growth of this city, which became a center of Slovene nationalism under Austrian rule.

+ Foreign rule ended in 1918, when Ljubljana and Slovenia became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia). In 1941 Italian troops occupied the city. After World War II, Ljubljana underwent significant industrialization and modernization. In 1991, when Slovenia gained its independence, Ljubljana became the national capital.