Art and culture have a special place in the history of the Slovene people. Like several other peoples of Central Europe, the Slovenes compensated for the lack of their own country and a recognized political existence through their art and culture. The result was a rich cultural life and the development of a network of institutions, organizations, and cultural societies that are comparable to those of developed European countries. Libraries, museum, art galleries, and professional theatres are as numerous and popular in Slovenia as anywhere else. A little less than two decades ago, Slovenia held the European record for the number of new books published per capita. This year, we are celebrating the 450th anniversary of the first book in the Slovene language, and today there are around 150 Slovene publishing houses in operation. Sixty-one percent of the population of Slovenia reads at least one book a year, which ranks Slovenes at the very top in this category. Slovenes regularly attend performances at our two opera and ballet theatres, nine drama theatres, and two puppet theatres. Slovene theatre companies have long been regular guests at the most eminent theatre festivals and meetings in Germany, Italy, France, and South America. From some ninety recognized moviemakers come four to six new full-length Slovene films every year, and Slovene filmmakers have produced altogether almost 130 feature films and several hundred short documentaries and other films. In addition to a long list of top musicians and vocalists, Slovenia boasts five professional orchestras, and the creative work of modern Slovene composers has resounded through concert halls around the world. There are around 200 permanent galleries in Slovenia and more than 800 temporary exhibition sites. Among the most important is the Moderna galerija in Ljubljana, a national museum and central exhibition site for modern art. Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, is itself a unique exhibition site of the work of the most noteworthy Slovene architect Joze Plecnik (1872-1957), a pioneer of modern European and Slovene architecture. Numerous cultural performances that enliven life in Slovenia every year have become traditional and their fame has spread abroad. Certainly foremost is the International Graphics Biennial, which has won renown as one of Europe's major art events. Also highly regarded are the annual Ljubljana Summer Festival, Festival Lent in Maribor, the Exodos Festival of Artistic Dance in Ljubljana, the Borstnik theatre festival and competition in Maribor, the PEN conference in Bled, and the writer's meeting at Vilenica. In May and June of 1997, Ljubljana hosted the European Month of Culture, and this year it will be the scene of one of the most important artistic events in Europe, Manifesta 3-European Biennial of Modern Art. Slovenia also frequently hosts athletes. Every year in Maribor the best women alpine skiers in the world compete for the FIS Golden Fox trophy, while the best men slalom and giant slalom competitors compete for the Vitranc Trophy in Kranjska Gora. There are major international FIS competitions in ski jumping and ski flying at Planica, including the World Cup finals. Bled, which will host the 2000 Chess Olympiad and the 2003 European Youth Olympic Days, is the scene of international rowing regattas and has already hosted three World Championship competitions in rowing, while the Bay of Piran is the venue for international sailboat regattas. Ljubljana has twice hosted World Championship gymnastics competitions, as well as world championships in table tennis, figure skating, men's basketball, bowling, and weightlifting. A World Championship in parachuting has been held in Slovenia as well as seven World Championship ice hockey tournaments.