ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to set out author's experience as a young pilgrim in the former Yugoslavia, placing it in the context of the country's complex past, which may assist in reaching a better understanding of the religious background. During the Second World War, the State was occupied by Germans, Italians and Hungarians and subsequently became part of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia until 1991 when Slovenia declared full sovereignty. Pilgrimages were also held every seven years from Slovenia for those travelling to the shrines of Charlemagne and the Three Kings at Cologne, respectively at Aachen and Cologne and these proved extremely popular. This article explores the ways in which pilgrimage in Slovenia and beyond its frontiers was affected by political factors. The deep-rooted character of the pilgrimage tradition in Slovenia is demonstrated by the scores of thousands who flocked to pilgrimage sites when the situation eased in the 1960s.
