Nova Gorica

Introducing Nova Gorica

Nova Gorica is a green university town straddling the Italian border and an easy entry and exit point from the rest of the EU to the west.

When the town of Gorica, capital of the former Slovenian province of Goriška, was awarded to the Italians under the postwar Treaty of Paris in 1947 and became Gorizia, the new socialist government in Yugoslavia set about building a model town on the eastern side of the border. They called it ‘New Gorica’ and erected a chain-link barrier between the two towns.

This ‘mini-Berlin Wall’ was finally pulled down to great fanfare on 30 April 2004 after Slovenia joined the EU, leaving Piazza Transalpina (Trg z Mozaikom) straddling the border right behind Nova Gorica train station. With no barrier remaining there’s really nothing to stop you wandering across to the Italian side, where the Italian bus 1 will whisk you to Gorizia train station. However, this is still not a legal border crossing and won’t become one until Slovenia joins the Schengen Convention (October 2007).

With Italy behind them and a couple of flashy casino-hotels dominating the place, most people arrive here to try their luck or move on. But Nova Gorica is worth a pause. Its immediate surrounds – the Franciscan monastery at Kostanjevica and Gorico to the south and the ancient settlement of Solkan in the north – offer some startling contrasts.

Last updated: Apr 17, 2009