Country Info | Slovene History in brief

500 to 1900 1900 to 1945 1945 to 1991 1991 to the present

End of 6th century
Slavs begin settling the valleys of the Sava, Drava and Mura rivers, and under pressure from the Avars, reach the shores of the Black Sea, Friuli plains, the Danube, Adriatic Sea and Lake Balaton.

7th century
Western Slavic tribes form an alliance with the Slavic Duchy of Carantania with its centre in present day Austrian Carinthia.

745
Carantania becomes a part of the Frankish empire. The Slavs convert to Christianity and gradually lose their independence.

869 to 874
Prince Kocelj briefly establishes an independent state of Slovenes in Lower Pannonia.

9th century
Alongside the growing influence of Christianity the Slovene language is increasingly used in religious services. The Freising Manuscripts, the oldest written records in the Slovene language, originate from this period.

14th to 16th century
The Habsburg monarchy was the first to include all of the Slovene regions.

1551
Protestant minister Primoz Trubar publishes Katekizem, the first book written in the Slovene language.

1584
Jurij Dalmatin translates the Bible into Slovene. Adam Bohoric writes a grammar book for Slovenes.

1693
Academia Operosorum Labacensium is founded in Ljubljana

1701
Academia Philharmonicorum Labacensis (the forerunner of today's Philharmonia) is established in Ljubljana.

1848
Slovene intellectuals issue the first political programme for a United Slovenia.

1860
First political groupings begin to appear, which develop into political parties within a few decades.