THE GREEN SCHEME OF SLOVENIAN TOURISM
RREPORT ON THE SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS OF THE TOURIST DESTINATION
Slovenj Gradec has been included in the Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism since 2016. As part of the re-evaluation of the acquisition of the Slovenia Green Destination label, we analyzed and collected data on the current situation in the destination in 2022, which will be briefly summarized below.
The municipality of Slovenj Gradec had 16,716 inhabitants on 1 January 2022, which represented 0.79 % of the population of Slovenia as a whole (29th place among municipalities). At 96.2 inhabitants/km², the population density is lower than in Slovenia (103.9 inhabitants/km²). The municipality covers an area of 174 km2.
As much as a fifth of the area of the entire municipality (20.61 %) is under the protection of Natura 2000, which represents the European network of special nature protected areas covering Europe's most valuable and threatened species and habitats.
Various forest habitats cover 62 % of the area, which is higher than the Slovenian average.
There are 290 buildings registered in the Register of Immovable Cultural Heritage for the area, including three monuments of national importance (Trška gora Partisan Hospital, the Church of the Holy Spirit and the ruins of Vodriž Castle), 136 monuments of local importance and 24 archaeological sites.
In addition to public cultural institutions (the Carinthian Gallery of Fine Arts, the Carinthian Regional Museum, Hugo Wolf's Birthhouse …), the area of municipality is filled with an amateur culture, which operates in 23 societies and clubs connected in the Association of Cultural Societies and the Public Fund for Cultural activities.
In the Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage, there are quite a few units registered which are also beind done in our area (potica baking, Three Kings caroling, St. Nicholas' Day, apitherapy, beekeeping, knocking, shingle making, gregork dropping, braiding, making Palm Sunday butars, folk music...) , and we also have one holder registered - the family company Perger 1757 for the unit of honey bread making.
In 2021, 1,989,800 kg of mixed municipal waste, 295,100 kg of biodegradable waste and 925,000 kg of plastic and metal packaging waste were collected in the Municipality of Slovenj Gradec.
A total of 12,026 residents are connected to the public sewage system and thus to the central sewage treatment plant, which represents 72.5 % of the population. The amount of treated wastewater in 2021 was 1,876,866 m3.
In the destination, in 2022, the tourist farm Ravnjak once again received the internationally recognized sustainability label Green Key, on the basis of which it also obtained the Slovenia Green Accommodation label for the first time.
In November 2022, the Municipality of Slovenj Gradec was awarded the title Breastfeeding Friendly City, and we also received certifikation in the My Country is beautiful and hospitable campaign organized by the Tourist Association of Slovenia, second place in the category of medium-sized cities and urban centers. The destination received a special award "voice of the people" in the category of medium-sized cities.
The destination is promoted as sustainable and green with an emphasis on culture and activities in nature.
