Walking in their remarkable footsteps
Slovenia is the birthplace of many exceptional people who put Slovenia in the world spotlight. Think of Ana Roš, one of the world's best chefs, Janja Garnbret, the greatest female sports climber of all time, or standout skiers Tina Maze and Ilka Štuhec. Here, we highlight a few of the remarkable Slovenian women who have left their mark on the country. Come visit, and follow in their footsteps!
Barbara Celjska
Barbara Celjska (in German, von Cilli), of the powerful family of the Counts of Celje, was an unusually beautiful, intelligent woman endowed with a natural talent for politics and diplomacy. She married Sigismund of Luxembourg, the most significant European ruler of the 14th century, becoming one of the most influential women of her time. As Queen of Hungary, Bohemia and Germany, she is the highest crowned head in Slovenian history. Get to know her story by visiting the Old Castle in Celje.
Alma M. Karlin
Alma M. Karlin was a tiny woman of strong will and spirit who set off around the world with only a little money and a typewriter. In the post-World War I era, this was quite unusual for a woman. She described her eight years of exotic adventures in university lectures and in articles and books published in many countries in Europe and beyond. Her works are of great value as unique and comprehensive accounts of the places she visited. Discover her story at the Celje Regional Museum and at her house.
Ita Rina
Ita Rina was the queen of cinema in the 1920s and 1930s. Some put her alongside Greta Garba and Marlene Dietrich. The 20-year-old girl tried her luck in Berlin, then the film metropolis of Europe, and her career skyrocketed. She received numerous offers from Hollywood, but turned them down for love and moved to Belgrade. Explore her story at the Museum of Slovenian Film Actors in Divača.
Ivana Kobilca
Ivana Kobilca was a painter, defied social norms in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and lived by her own rules. She decided to pursue a career in painting at the very early age of 16. Her oeuvre comprises more than 350 works of art. Among her most famous works is Kofetarica (Woman Drinking Coffee), a painting so dear to her that she never sold it. Today, a number of Ivana Kobilca’s works are exhibited at the National Gallery in Ljubljana.
Dr Franja Bojc Bidovec
The lives of many partisans during World War II were saved at Franja Hospital, operated in a narrow gorge in the Cerkno area. It was named after the exceptional Dr Franja Bojc Bidovec, who ran the hospital with great care and dedication. The most famous Slovenian cycling marathon, the Franja Marathon, is also named after her.
Outstanding female mountaineers
Slovenians rank among the world's best mountaineers, including Pavla Jesih and Mira Marko Debelak, considered the pioneers of women's mountaineering in Slovenia, and Marija Štremfelj, the first Slovenian woman to summit Mount Everest. Delve into their stories at the Slovenian Alpine Museum in Mojstrana.
