The Municipality of Ankaran (; ) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

on the coast of the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

in southwestern Slovenia. Its seat and only settlement is

Ankaran Ankaran (; ) is a town in the Municipality of Ankaran, located near the border with Italy, in the Littoral region of Slovenia. It is less than 5 km from the Italian town of Muggia near Trieste, about 2.5 km from the Italian-Slovenian bo ...

. It was formed in 2011, when it was split from the

Municipality of Koper The Urban Municipality of Koper (; , ) is one of twelve urban municipalities of Slovenia. It is located at the coastline of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Slovenia and was established in 1994. The seat of the municipality is the town of Koper. ...

and is Slovenia's youngest municipality and with a population of just over 3,000, it is one of Slovenia's smallest municipalities. It borders

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

History and establishment

The Municipality of Ankaran was officially established in 2011, when it was split from the

, following several referenda. The initiative began in the late 1990s, with the decisive referendum taking place in 2009, when a majority of the Ankaran residents voted to split from Koper.

Geography and location

The Municipality of Ankaran is a coastal municipality, bordering the

. To the north, it borders

and the

. Close to the Italian border, the municipality is an hour's drive from Slovenia's capital

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

. The area is characterised by a mild

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, greenery,

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s, and

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

groves.

Governance and development

Oriented on development, the Municipality of Ankaran won the 2023 Golden Rock award as Slovenia's most development-oriented municipality. Since it's establishment, the municipality invested in

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

health care Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercion). Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems, or any other entity or ...

, a

police station A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

, and

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

, with the local residents directly deciding how to spend half the

budget A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial plan, financial, for a defined accounting period, period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including tim ...

Tourism

The Municipality of Ankaran is a popular tourist destination due to sunny location, mild climate, and lush vegetation. In the past monks established there the Monastery of St. Nicholas The municipality offers tourists well-maintained beaches, such as Valdoltra, Študent and Debeli rtič, as well as swimming pools, sports fields, and a kilometre-long sandy beach known as San Nicolò.

Community and identity

The Municipality of Ankaran is a

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

community, speaking

Slovenian Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia * Sl ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

References

External links

*
Municipality of Ankaran on GeopediaOfficial site
{{Authority control

2011 establishments in Slovenia