Slovenia
Slovenia enjoys an excellent geographic location. It is an alpine country in Central Europe bordering the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, so it offers the best of both worlds - summer fun at the seaside and exciting winters in the mountains. It borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the east and south, Austria to the north and Hungary to the northwest.
In Roman times Slovenia was subjugated to the Roman Empire. It was under the control of Austria-Hungary until 1918. It was part of the Republic of Yugoslavia before the latter dissolved, and gained independence in 1991. In 2004 the country entered the European Union. It is also a member of NATO and the Council of Europe.
The territory of present-day Slovenia was settled in the 6th century by Slavic tribes, the ancestors of Slovenians. The Slavic Duchy of Carantania was established a century later. It lost its independence, falling to the powerful empire of the Francs in 745, and many Slavs were converted to Christianity. more