Slovenia, Land of Diversity Trivia Quiz

Answer: Adriatic Sea

Slovenia has land borders with Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia, and a coastline on the Gulf of Venice, a gulf at the northern end of the Adriatic Sea, which is iteslf a branch of the Mediterranean Sea which separates Italy from the Balkans. The coastal city of Piran, known for its medieval architecture, is a popular tourist resort.

It was the birthplace of the Italian composer Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770), and includes several monuments to him. Nearby Portoroz has been a summer holiday spot since at least the middle of the 19th century, and holds a number of annual events to attract tourists, including the WTA Slovenian Open tennis tournament and a Festival of Slovenian Film.

Answer: Mongol Empire

While the Mongol Empire was large, at its greatest extent in 1279 CE it did not quite reach as far west as Slovenia. Prehistoric Slovenia was settled around 250,000 years ago, and the region became part of the Roman Empire in the first century. During the Middle Ages it became part of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Hapsburgs took over during the 14th century.

After World War I, the Slovenes attempted to establish their first autonomous state, the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, but it gained no international recognition before merging with the kingdom of Serbia (which had already merged with Montenegro, Kosovo, Vojvodina and Macedonia) to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, more commonly called Yugoslavia. During World War II the various parts of the area were annexed by Germany, Italy, Hungary and Croatia; after the War, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was established, including the same regions as the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Agitation for the establishment of an independent Slovene country grew after the death of Tito in 1980, and Slovenia declared independence on 25 June 1991.

The county became a member of the United Nations in May 1992.

Answer: Musical instrument

The flute discovered in Divje Cave dates from the latest ice age, called the Wurm glacial age in the Alpine region. It had its largest extent between 24,000 and 10,000 years ago, when the region would have been inhabited by Neanderthals.

Cerkno is a popular ski resort, as well as hosting a spring celebration called the Laufarija Carnival, which features carved wooden masks. It was the birthplace of many famous Slovenes, including the writer France Bevk (1890-1970).

Answer: Bucket-shaped archeological artefact

A situla (whose name comes from the Latin word for bucket) is an elaborately-decorated bucket, usually with a handle, dating from any time between the Iron Age and the Middle Ages. Novo Mesto is an important site for the discovery of 19 situlae dating from the early Iron Age Hallstatt culture (roughly between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE).

The culture is named for the Austrian village where the first typical site was discovered. The culture appears to have been linked with proto-Celtic people in the western half, and with pre-Illyrians in the eastern half, which includes Slovenia.

Answer: The western end of the Himalayas lies in Slovenia

The westernmost part of the Himalayas is in Pakistan, well to the east of Slovenia. Slovenia's four major landscape types are those formed by the Alps in the north, the Dinarides in the south, the Pannonian Basin in the east, and the Mediterranean climactic region along the coast.

This diversity of geography has led to a wide variety of native flora and fauna, of which Slovenians are very proud. Slovenia has over 250 Natura 2000-designated protected areas, over one third of its land area being so designated. Over half of the country is covered by forests, which is logged, but with great care to preserve the habitats of native flora and fauna, and for the preservation of the natural beauty as a benefit for the tourist industry.

Answer: Karst Plateau

The Karst Plateau is found in the coastal part of Slovenia, although a portion extends north into Italy. It is considered the typical example of a karst landscape, formed when water dissolves the underlying bedrock, which may be limestone as in the Karst, or dolomite, or some other soluble mineral.

The landscape and its method of formation were first clearly identified by Jovan Cvijić at the end of the 19th century, following studies in the Karst Plateau. Karst landscape typically includes sinkholes (pits caused by the surface collapsing into a hollow formed when the rock underneath it has dissolved, exposing the groundwater below as a pool), which are also called cenotes, dolines and sinks.

Many karst landscapes also have underground caves.

The Skocjan Caves, a UNESCO-listed site, have been a tourist attraction since at least 1819, when the first visitors' book was established. They were famed well before that, being marked on maps of the area dating from several centuries BCE.

They follow the course of the Reka River as it runs underground for 34 km (20 mi) between the village of Skocjan and Monfalcone, where it becomes known as the Timavo River, and flows into Italy. The river canyon is surrounded by caves, including one of the largest in the world, Martel's Chamber.

Answer: Triglav

Triglav, called Tricorno in Italian and Terglau in German, is a part of the Julian Alps located in the northwestern part of Slovenia. When viewed from the right direction, its triple peak is a distinctive feature. The name, however, is probably due to it having been named after the Slavic god Triglav. Triglav was described as being formed by the fusion of three other gods, but the details of these subsumed deities varies regionally. They are generally considered to represent they sky, the earth and the underworld. He is depicted either as a three-headed man or as a man with the heads of three goats.

Mount Triglav stands at the centre of Triglav National Park, which covers an area of 838 sq km (324 sq mi) and features a number of scenic lakes and waterfalls. There is still a remnant of the Triglav Glacier near the summit, but it shrank from covering 15 hectares (37 acres) n 1946 to a mere 1.08 hectares (2.67 acres) in 2008, and is likely to disappear completely within a decade. On the day when Slovenian Independence was declared, the new national flag was flown from the summit of Triglav, which had formerly been the highest point in the Yugoslav Republic.

Answer: Slavic

Slovene, the official language of Slovenia, is classed as belonging to the western group of the South Slavic branch of the Slavic (or Slavonic) languages. Around 90% of Slovenians speak Slovene as their native language, making it one of the most linguistically homogeneous countries in the European Union. However, that statement overlooks the fact that there are 46 different dialects! As well as Slovene, Hungarian and Italian are considered semi-official languages, especially in the border regions. Romani is also a legally protected language, spoken mostly by the widely-spread members of the Roma community. Before World War II, German was a significant minority language, but it is now spoken only by a few hundred people, a pattern followed by Czech. Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Montenegrin, Albanian, and Macedonian all have a significant number of speakers.

Austronesian languages are found in Australia and the South Pacific; Sino-Tibetan languages are spoken in China and the Himalayas; Dravidian languages are found in the southern part of India.

Answer: Lipica

You may be more familiar with the Italian form of Lipica's name, Lipizzan. In the 16th century Emperor Maximilian II set up a court stud at Kladrub, now in the Czech Republic, to breed heavy carriage horses; his brother Archduke Charles II set one up in Lipica to breed riding and light carriage horses. Starting with Andalusians imported from Spain, cross breeding with Barbs and Arabians, as well as other breeds of Italian and Spanish descent produced the now famous Lipizzan horse. Since 1920, the Piber Federal Stud near Graz, Austria, has been the official stud farm for the horses used in Vienna.

The Spanish Riding School gets its name from the Spanish origins of the horses when it was first founded in 1572.

Answer: Dormouse

The edible dormouse got its name because the Romans considered it a delicacy, and that tradition continues in 21st century Slovenia. While the Romans raised their dormice in pits or terra cotta pots, the Slovenians prefer to trap wild dormice in the central beech forests of the country, and consider its flesh a delicacy. The largest of all dormice, the edible dormouse can be up to 20 cm (8 in) long, and have a mass up to 300 g (10 oz) when it is ready for hibernation. It looks rather like a squirrel, with grayish fur and a paler underbelly. As well as being eaten, dormice are valued for their fur, and their fat is used medicinally.

Only the dormouse fell asleep in the teacup, which precludes the other answers. The March Hare might find itself hunted if it were to travel to Slovenia, but Alice and the Hatter, being human, are not members of hunted species.