On Saturday, 17 October, the Tourist Association of Slovenia (TZS) announced this year’s award winners in the ‘My Country – Beautiful and Hospitable’ (Moja dežela – lepa in gostoljubna) campaign for the 29th year running. The nationwide campaign, organised by TZS, was held under the honorary patronage of Prime Minister Janez Janša, and the expert panel carried out its assessment from 1 August to mid-September.
Cerklje na Gorenjskem is the most beautiful small town in the ‘My Country – Beautiful and Hospitable’ campaign! It finished ahead of Radlje ob Dravi and Šentjur pri Celju. Cerklje na Gorenjskem has been an award-winning municipality for many years, and this year, too, it is the big winner among the smaller towns. There is never a shortage of new things in Cerklje, wrote the members of the assessment panel. Worth mentioning are the new roundabout with bees, the new health centre, the planting and greening of the whole of Cerklje, the rest areas and more. Cerklje offers countless opportunities for spending leisure time actively, in the heart of picturesque fields and mountain ridges with sweeping views. Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport at Brnik and Krvavec are also important. Another hallmark of Cerklje is the lush and truly beautiful floral decoration of the whole town, with flowers on the lamp posts throughout the municipality. The centre of Cerklje is dominated by the Baroque parish Church of the Assumption of Mary, and next to the church stands the monument to the composer and conductor Davorin Jenko. Many well-known Slovenians were born in Cerklje or lived here (among them Ignacij Borštnik, Ivan Hribar, …).
In the category of larger towns, Velenje won ahead of Celje, with Kranj in third place, while among medium-sized towns first place went to Slovenj Gradec, ahead of Ptuj and Nova Gorica. The most beautiful village centre is in Šmartno in Goriška Brda, the second most beautiful in Stara Fužina and the third in Adergas, which is notable above all for its former monastery, a popular stop for pilgrims from near and far, and its parish Church of the Annunciation. Among tourist destinations, first place in this year’s selection went to Bovec, among excursion destinations to the Kope Mountain Tourism Centre, and among spa towns to Laško. The best campsite is once again Kamp Danica in Bohinjska Bistrica.
Owing to the restrictive measures in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s ‘My Country – Beautiful and Hospitable’ closing event took place as a special television programme on Planet TV on Saturday evening, during which the award recipients were announced; it was hosted by presenter Jerca Zajc Šušteršič. This year’s competition included 37 excursion destinations, 39 towns, 13 tourist destinations, 13 spa towns, seven youth hostels, 19 campsites and glamping sites, 16 themed trails and quite a few Petrol service stations.
Text and photo: Janez Kuhar
