My European souvenir from
SLOVENIJA
Put together with joint force: Maša, Mirjam, Lana, Žiga, Ela, Jasmin, Tilen, Pia Mentor: Vesna Kosmač
A stork.
This is a souvenir from Slovenia. It is a stork statuette made from gypsum. The statuette is very important to me, because it is a gift from my grandmother. She gave it to me when she returned from Moravske toplice spa. It should bring good luck to the owner. Storks return to our country every year from Africa. They are very large and long-legged birds most common for the North East of Slovenia. They are very welcome, because their return signifies the beginning of spring. In our folk tradition it is believed, that storks bring good luck to the place where they nest and it is also believed, that they bring babies in bundles. Picture 1: Foto by V.KosmaÄ? Source of picture 2: http://www.storkljatelegrami.si
Ljubljana dragon
If you visit our capital city, it is a must, to go home with a souvenir, or at least a photo of the famous Ljubljana dragon, that represents strength, courage and might. Some say, that the dragon is the most famous resident of Ljubljana, while the others (the brave ones) claim, that the dragon represents all the mother-in-laws , and that is why, tourists often take pictures of it. The dragon can be found all over the city. Four of them guard the all four sides of the Dragon Bridge (picture 1). It also appears at the top of the castle tower, it is in Ljubljana’s coat of arms, on the flag, river walls, manhole covers, and it is on the crest of the local football team, on car register plates (picture 2). Picture 1: Foto by V.Kosmač Source of picture 2: http://www.ljubljana.si/si/ljubljana/mestni-simboli-praznik/
A wishing bell from Bled.
A wishing bell from Bled is a famous souvenir tourists buy, when they visit Lake Bled. The wishing bell is a miniature copy of the bell tourist can find in the tower of the church located on a small island in the middle of the lake (bottom picture). It is believed, that if you ring the bell, your wishes will come true. The legend says that up in the Bled castle, once lived a young widow. Her husband was killed by bandits who threw his body into the lake. The widow gathered all the silver she had and ordered to make a bell for the chapel on the island. However, the bell never got there. There was a storm and the boat carrying the bell sank with all the boatmen. Sometimes, on a clear night the sound of the bell can be heard from the lake‌ Source of picture 1: http://www.slovenia.info Picture 2: Foto by V.KosmaÄ?
A „lect“ heart.
Products from “Lect” are traditional for the North West part of Slovenia. Making products from “Lect” is an old and renowned traditional handicraft of our country. The decorated pastry is made from honey dough and shaped either with a wooden or a tin mould, or by hand. Handcraft has a long tradition for it goes back to the 16th century. In the past these products were highly regarded as meaningful tokens of love. Today, honey-bread products are precious souvenirs from our country. The good thing about this souvenir is that when you get tired of it, you can simply eat it. It is delicious. In the past, people often decorated Christmas trees with this pastry, for there were no decorations as we know today. Source of picture 1 and 2: http://www.lectar.com/lectar_srcki.html
Easter bundles and eggs.
Decorative Easter bundles are made of different things – flowers, olive tree twigs or coloured wood shavings. People take them to church on a Palm Sunday to be blessed. In some parts of Slovenia, Easter eggs represent real folk art that has its own speech and represents an important part of the local cultural heritage. The egg in the picture is from South East part of Slovenia called Bela Krajina. Making Easter eggs there is a tradition and a true art. To make one of these things you need an egg, bee wax, a special tool to make shapes a candle, red and black colour and a lot of hand skills. Making of the eggs was the domain of the girls. An Easter egg was a traditional gift from a girl to a boy. A girl who was not allowed to tell a boy with words that she loved him could write of her love on the Easter egg. Source of picture 1: http://www.zupnija-dravlje.si Source of picture 2: RTV SLO/Benka Pulko
Prešeren figs.
Dr. France Prešeren figs. If you visit Ljubljana, and its city centre, you will come across the statue of Dr. Prešeren (1800 – 1849), who was the greatest Slovenian poet. When in Ljubljana, you must taste, after him named, top quality confectionary product “Prešeren figs”. In fact these are dry figs dipped either in dark or white chocolate. The anecdote says that the poet often carried dried figs in his coat pockets and children of course knew that. For that reason, they often called after him “Doctor, figs, figs!” hoping, he would give some away. The figs are delicious, but they have a BIG problem. They often don’t last long. It’s hard to keep something so yummy for a long time. Source of picture 1: http://www.agaric-marketing.si Source of picture 2 the figs: Google sites.
Salt from Piran.
For our country salt has always been very important. We have a bit of a coast and there we have our famous Piran saltpans, which still produce salt traditionally. In fact, all our salt is hand-scraped from the saltpans. In the past salt was extremely significant, for it had the same importance as money has today. It is said, that Roman soldiers were paid in salt for their jobs. In the past people left their homes in Piran for six months and moved to the saltpans with entire families. Everybody had to help, for the family budget depended on salt production. If you visit our coast, you should not miss our salt. You can use it for cooking, you can buy chocolate with salt (which is yummy, by the way) or any other product like soap, scrubs‌, Source of picture 1: http://maribor-pohorje.si/piranske-soline.aspx Source of picture 2: http://www.thalasso-lepavida.si/izdelki-lepa-vida/
Klopotec / The rattle
Klopotec or in English, a rattle operated by the wind, is a simple wooden windmill on a very tall wooden pole used in Slovenian vineyards to scare away the sparrows and the starlings, which most enjoy eating grapes. When klopotec works, it creates irregular rattling noises, for at the back it has small wooden hammers, which knock against a wooden board. Basically, this is no more and no less than a ÂťsophisticatedÂŤ scarecrow. In its tail there are tree branches, which help the rattle turn in the wind. Klopotec normally has four mills each made of different kind of wood. They say that klopotec has a special power to protect the vineyards and it does a good job too, since we have them since the 17th century. Each klopotec makes its own sound and vineyard owners. If you visit one of the wine producing areas in East Slovenia, you can not only see the rattle, but can also buy a miniature one to take home. Source of picture 1: http://www.prlekija-on.net/prlekija/etnoloske-znamenitosti.html
A pear in a bottle.
A pear in a bottle is also a souvenir that you can get in Slovenia. Now, you probably have a question how to squeeze a pear in a bottle. Actually it is a procedure everyone can do, but only a few succeed. The process starts soon after pears bloom. Not all blooms stay on the tree, only the pollinated ones. That is the time when you have to put that small pear through the neck of the bottle and fix the bottle in a way, which enables the pear to grow undisturbedly (picture to the right). You also have to protect the bottle from the sun; otherwise it overheats and dies away. In the fall, when the fruit is big and ripe, you part it from the tree, clean it, and add the wanted liquid. Source of picture 1:
http://www.temark.si/sl/darila
Source of picture 2 – pars in a bottle: Google sites.
Idrija bobbin Lace.
This is my favourite souvenir from Slovenia. It is a lace rose flower, made from a very fine white thread, placed on a red velvet cloth. The whole thing is framed so I keep it on my wall. Lace made products are traditional handiwork from Slovenia. The most common are lace from a town in the north west of Slovenia called Idrija. People (mostly women) who make lace spend hours and hours before their products are finished. To make something like that requires time, skilled fingers, good eyesight and lots of patience. Picture by: V. KosmaÄ?
Beehive fronts.
Painted frontal boards of beehives are a Slovene tradition that developed during centuries. It is a folk art, which was used as decoration, as well as criticism and sarcasm of events going on in everyday life. Panels mostly contain religious and secular motifs as well as motifs from history. The most common are motifs of a farmer trying to trick the devil or fight the dragon. Scenes show troubles, sorrows, and other things that made people laugh or cry. Some even show battles of the Austrians against the Turks, the arrival and departure of Napoleon’s army, people collecting taxes, stylishly dressed gentlemen filling their pockets with money, farmers sharpening a woman’s tongue with a mill‌ Wooden panels are 20 to 30 cm wide and 10 to 20 cm high. At the lower side, they have a narrow rectangular opening through which the bees could enter the hive. Source of pictures:
http://www.ljudmila.org/stripcore/stripburger/p_panj.htm
Rogaška crystal.
There is a small place in the south east Slovenia called Rogaška. The place is famous for its thermal spring and the beneficial effects of its water; as well as its glassworks and its production of crystal. People there make glasses, bottles, vases, and all other kinds of things that can be made of crystal. Their products sparkle like diamonds. The tradition of making glass goes back to the medieval glassmaking workshops that made objects for everyday use. Even today, despite the modern technology, lot of their products are handmade and exclusive. They say that some products simply cannot be made by a machine. Glassmakers in Rogaška are true artists. If you decide to go home with one of their products, you better have a thick wallet. Source of pictures: http://www.crystalclassics.com/rogaska/rogaskacrystal.htm
Cave salamander.
Most often visited place in our country is Postojnska jama – Postojna cave. Postojna cave is a system of tunnels, passages, galleries and halls, which show the astonishing diversity of Karst underground features. The most wellknown “resident” of Postojna cave is an aquatic salamander (top picture) in Slovene language called človeška ribica. In the past, people found those strange creatures when heavy rains raised underground waters, and they were washed to the surface. People didn’t know why they look so strange or where they came from. Their conclusion was that the strange creatures were probably the babies of the dragon that lives under the surface. Today we know they were only half right. They do live underground, but they are not the babies of a dragon. However, they are now so popular, that they represent the Postojna cave. If you visit, you better take one of the small plush baby dragons to your home as a souvenir. Source of picture 1: http://www.notranjski-park.si Source of picture 2: http://euparky.eu/Slovenia