Slovenia's museums, and the ones I would not skip

Ljubljana’s museums, where to start

If you visit only one museum on the whole trip, make it the National Museum of Slovenia. The tourist board singles out a Neanderthal flute of around 60,000 years, presented as the world’s oldest musical instrument, the Vače situla, gold appliqués from the 13th or 12th century BC found in Lake Bled and a dugout canoe from the Ljubljana Marshes. It is European prehistory told from a corner most people overlook.

Around it there is plenty more. The National Gallery has the largest collection of Slovenian art from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, the Ethnographic Museum lets you try traditional crafts, and MAO, in a small castle by the Ljubljanica, covers architecture and design. I have put them in order in my guide to Ljubljana’s museums, along with Plečnik’s house and smaller ones such as computer history and chocolate.

Mines you can tour, and a submarine

The Velenje Coal Mining Museum goes 160 m down into a former mine in one of the richest lignite seams in the world, complete with an underground dining room. In Mežica, in Koroška, the lead and zinc mine can be explored on foot, by bike or by kayak. And in Pivka, the Park of Military History has a submarine you can climb through, not what you expect in inland Notranjska.

Which museums justify a detour from the capital?

The Kobarid Museum is the one I find most compelling. It tells the story of the Isonzo Front and its 12th battle, one of the largest mountain battles in history, in the very valley where it was fought, and it is part of the Walk of Peace. After it, you look at the Soča Valley differently.

The Idrija mercury mine is World Heritage alongside Almadén in Spain. UNESCO says mercury was found there in 1490, and the tourist board calls Anthony’s Main Road the oldest preserved mine entrance in Europe. Gewerkenegg Castle rounds it off with the town museum and Idrija lace.

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A regional museum for every area

Every region has its museum and most occupy buildings worth the ticket on their own. In Celje, the counts’ mansion keeps Roman remains and a 30,000-year-old sewing needle. Ptuj Castle has a Roman double flute from the 2nd or 3rd century. In Koper, the Belgramoni Tacco Palace, built around 1600, houses the regional museum. In Kranj, Khislstein Castle brings together over 1,300 exhibits on Gorenjska.

The oddities, for when you have seen the rest

This is my favourite category. The Noordung Centre in Vitanje celebrates Herman Potočnik, who imagined a space station with artificial gravity. Vransko has 140 motorcycles dating from the early 20th century, Žalec an eco-museum of hop-growing with a beer fountain in the town centre, and Domžale a museum of straw hats. At Vrtojba, an eight-metre guard tower claims the title of smallest museum in the country.

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