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Dark tourism has a very long heritage. Compared to the rest of the world, dark tourism in Slovenia is very poorly developed. The theme is therefore a novelty in Slovenia as well as in the Slovenian professional and scientific literature. The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe dark stories of two small cities – Brežice and Krško – in Slovenia.

The paper brings ethnographical approach based on the in-depth literature analysis, existing documentation in museums (old newspapers articles, photographs) and fieldwork in Brežice and Krško which contained the method of unstructured interviews with four curators in The Posavje Museum Brežice, The City Museum of Krško and The National Museum of Contemporary History – Brestanica Branch as well as the method of observation with participation in a guided tour of Posavje “witches” in The City Museum of Krško and The Brežice Cemetery. The information for the research was also obtained by conducting ten unstructured interviews with the residents who live nearby “dark places” or are still connected to them.

The paper provides practical results as 14 dark stories related to the castles, wars, accidents, murders, paranormal activities and witchcraft were found. These stories could be incorporated into dark tourism.

Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability. The results refer to a particular area of research.

The paper includes implications for the development of a new dark tourism product on a basis of dark stories found in the research area.

The paper fulfills need to identify and study dark stories that can be integrated in dark tourism in Slovenia.

Slovenia lies at the crossroads of the Alpine, Mediterranean and Pannonian regions, and this variety of geographical landscapes is reflected in its diverse and rich culinary heritage. Down the centuries, the diverse culinary heritage developed as part of everyday life and the festive calendar in close correlation to whatever nature provided and to the standard of living.

In 2006 Slovenia adopted the Gastronomic Strategy of Slovenia, which includes a culinary pyramid with 24 gastronomic regions and over 360 distinct dishes with a local character. Posavje with Bizeljsko represents one of the gastronomic regions of Slovenia. The National Gastronomic Strategy lists the following dishes and wines for the Posavje Region: pofaláča, bizeljski ajdov kolač (Bizeljsko buckwheat cake), koruzna prga (corn cake), pleteno srce (plaited-dough heart), bizeljska mlinčevka (Bizeljsko flat cake tart) and white and red wine Bizeljčan. These dishes and wines represent the foundation of the distinct culinary identity of the Posavje and Bizeljsko Region.

The aim of this chapter is to define the culinary heritage of the Posavje Region and identify its special and characteristic taste. A mix of methods including qualitative research, field research, expert groups and workshops was applied to identify dishes, recipes and ingredients in everyday and festive cuisine as well as cuisine related to different jobs and tasks. A gastronomic pyramid of the Posavje Region was developed and culinary workshops were conducted to introduce regional gastronomy to tourism. Challenges identified in the project exposed the need for the establishment of local supply chains, good cooperation among stakeholders in tourism, quality assurance, branding and other issues related to local tourism and gastronomic development.