SLOVENIA'S 5 CORE VALUES

Here I learned the meaning of belonging and respect for people, nature and the stories that are woven into everyday life. I am grateful for that. 

I spent my childhood in Cerklje, went to primary school, sang in the choir and experienced my first love. Every street, every turn and every path has meaning for me. I know the place intimately and I am happy to talk about it wherever I go. I always say where I am from and I say it with pride. When I was 23, I moved away for a few years. I thought that something more, something different, was waiting for me elsewhere. But soon enough, the road led me back. 

I like to go for a walk to the nearby Strmol Castle. This mighty castle, one of the few in Slovenia to have preserved its original furnishings, also carries with it the mysterious and tragic story of its former owners, the Hribar couple. As I walk past, I feel respect for the past and the people who lived here before us. I often visit Krvavec, especially in spring and summer, when the mountains turn green and the air smells of freedom. I have a special place in my memory for the lakes in Češnjevko, where, as children and adolescents, we spent hours on ice skates in winter until the cold drove us away into the darkness. 

Cerklje has also been home to many well-known people - culturists, sportsmen and artists who have made their mark on the wider area. But perhaps even more importantly, it is home to people who know how to come together, say hello on the street and help each other. 

My grandmother Francka immigrated to Cerklje when she was a very young girl because she married the village carpenter. She became a housewife and mother to six children. She always liked to tell us how that was the first time she really felt a sense of belonging. The villagers welcomed her, trusted and respected her, and she gave back to them with warmth, hard work and a willingness to help. The path never took her anywhere else. Cerklje became her home for life. She always liked to speak of these feelings of belonging as something precious that cannot be bought but is built among people. I always listened to her stories with interest.

Today, as her granddaughter, I feel the same. I love living in Cerklje. I have family, friends, relatives and acquaintances here. I am one with the people here. You feel belonging everywhere you go. People love living here and engage in different activities to make life even better. This is my home.

Maja Grošelj, 4. 1. 2026