Holidays in Slovenia: Piran salt spa

Holidays in Slovenia: Piran salt spa

A little old town of Piran, located on the Adriatic coast in Slovenia, for many decades attracts tourists from all over the world. And not only because Piran is an amazingly beautiful city, which absorbed the best features of Italian and Slovenian culture (both languages here are official), but due to the fact that here live extremely friendly and kind people, who love their city and are able to demonstrate this.

In Piran are always held different cultural events, from historical reconstructions and folk festivals to international culinary competitions. On 7 and 8 of May in the city will be held such event - The Festival of salt. The fact is that all 46 kilometers of Slovenian Istria are rich in salt-works, as tradition of salt mining there has more than one and a half thousand years. And the most important center for salt sales is little Piran.

In 923 the city signed a commercial treaty with Venice and since then the surrounding salt marshes become the main source of salt for the "City on the water". And so it happened that salt, which was highly valued in those days, allowed the town to prosper. In addition, being under Venice protection, Piran didn’t experienced capture and destruction during many medieval wars. Due to this fact to the present days the town can boast of perfectly preserved architectural monuments, and there still reigns Middle Age atmosphere.

That's why people in Piran each year hold the festival of salt. On this festive day on the Tartini town central square is arranged grand "Fair of home crafts and gifts of nature", where are also held performances of ethnic groups, both Italian and Slovenian. On the second day near the town hall will be held charity auction "Goodwill is the salt of life", organized by the International Red Cross and UNICEF.

In addition, everyone will be able to go to the sea to the Secovlje salt mines, which is located the largest in Slovenia coastal salt lake of an area about 850 hectares, where the Museum of Salt is also located.

Ilya Kozlovskiy

Date: 28/04/2011