With First Lady Melania Trump back in the White House, there is renewed hope of more tourists in Sevnica, the town where she grew up when Slovenia was part of communist Yugoslavia.
“I think it would be nice if we could promote it a bit more,” says Sandi Gorišek, author of Melania Trump, the Slovenian Side of the Story. “It’s a good opportunity for a small country and it’s not going to happen again.”
Politics aside, there are plenty of good reasons to visit Sevnica. The small town (population about 5,000) is in the Posavje region. The Sava River Valley and surrounding hills offer an abundance of history and nature in a less-visited part of Slovenia near the Croatian border.
View from Sevnica castle of the charming town on the Sava River, where Melania Trump grew up. What you won’t see here are images of the First Lady, due to legal efforts to protect her name and likeness.
Discover Sevnica
In this post we’ll discover a few Sevnica sites with a connection to Melania Trump. We’ll also taste the Melania cake, named in honor of the town’s most famous daughter. You can buy First Lady-themed souvenirs and even try a Trump burger. But first, explore Sevnica in this video:
Sevnica Castle
Sevnica Castle has stood watch over the town’s turbulent history since the 12th century. You can find the opening times on Google maps, here. It’s usually closed on weekdays during the winter, but the town made an exception for President Trump’s second Inauguration Day on January 20, 2025. A party at the castle featured Melania-themed desserts and Trump burgers. And, of course, the local wine.
The Sevnica castle you see today was the residence of an Austrian countess, but in previous centuries it was fortified to protect the town from invading Turks.
The main reason to visit Sevnica Castle is the 360-degree view of the Sava River valley and surrounding hills. Inside, there’s a gift shop selling First Lady souvenirs. Night tours of the castle, with an actress portraying the last Austrian countess to live there, are available by appointment.
Melania Trump’s Childhood in Slovenia
The future first lady was born on April 26, 1970 in the region’s largest city, Novo Mesto. Growing up in Sevnica, she was known by her maiden name, Melanija Knavs. (Pronounced K-naus.)
Melania Trump was a student at Savo Kladnik elementary school, named after a local leader of the partisans who fought the Nazis in World War II.
Her mom worked at the Jutranjka factory, which made children’s clothing. Melania was among the local girls who modeled the designs made there. The factory has since closed but Lisca, a leading lingerie and swimwear brand, is still operating here.
“It was a planned economy,” says Gorišek, who grew up in a similar Slovenian town under communism. “It took some courage to stand out in that system. When your mother was working in the clothes factory, you were maybe a bit better dressed. Maybe you get the idea to stand out like a model should.”
Young Melania, second from right in the foreground, was among the local girls who modeled the locally-made children’s clothing designs. Photo credit: Mura Fashion Arhiv via Facebook.
Her dad sold cars and was a member of the Communist Party, which was expected of businessmen during the Yugoslavia times. The family prospered and eventually moved from apartment housing to a home in an upscale neighborhood overlooking the river.
Melania Leaves Sevnica Behind
Like many students from towns too small to support a specialized high school, Melania left Sevnica to enroll in a design and architecture program in Ljubljana. You can see the school in Križanke, the former monastery renovated by the great architect Jože Plečnik, on a walking tour of Ljubljana. She already was being noticed by modeling agents and dropped out of university studies to pursue the modeling career that would eventually take her to the United States.
Melania Trump’s family lived in this upscale home in a neighborhood overlooking the Sava River.
One Thing You Won’t Find in Sevnica
On a day trip to Sevnica ahead of President Trump’s second inauguration in 2025, I didn’t see a single image of the woman who is perhaps the world’s most famous Slovenian –besides NBA basketball star Luka Dončič, Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar and other sports figures.
There’s a reason for that. The First Lady hired one of Slovenia’s best known attorneys to protect her name and likeness. Anyone putting a picture of Melania Trump on a product risks getting slapped with a lawsuit. The lawyer, Nataša Pirc-Musar, was elected president of Slovenia in 2022, a largely ceremonial role in the country’s parliamentary democracy today.
Where to Taste Melania Cake in Sevnica
In the center of town, the busy Julija bakery and coffee shop offers visitors an elegant Melania cake. It’s a delicious combination of nuts and white chocolate mousse, with gold-dusted slivers of white chocolate on top. Down the street, the Rondo restaurant is serving a Trump burger topped with plenty of golden cheese and an American flag. The “Tramp” burger on the menu is a phoenetic translation of “Trump” in Slovenian language.
Melania Trump Statue in Slovenia
A controversial Melania Trump statue appeared in a field outside of town in 2019. It was criticized as too ugly. Vandals burned it down in 2020, making way for the bronze statue that you see here today.
Planning Your Visit to Sevnica
Sevnica is a great day trip from Ljubljana. You can get here by train from the capital city. Check the train schedule here. Taking the train or driving here from Ljubljana in a rental car takes just over an hour.
Slovenia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Today it is a member state of the European Union. It’s in the Schengen Zone of borderless travel in Europe, where Americans can stay without a visa for up to three months. Slovenia uses the euro as its currency and English is widely spoken. Read more about planning a trip to Slovenia here.
Where to Stay in Sevnica and Nearby
Of course, you could spend more time in Sevnica. The town didn’t even have a hotel until 2018, when the Hotel Ajdovec opened on the main square. “Ajdov” is a reference to the buckwheat raised on local farms as a staple of Slovenian cuisine. Tourist farms and guesthouses are other options in the surrounding countryside.
Slovenian-American Connection
Visitors can expect a friendly reception in Sevnica. And as a Slovenian-American dual citizen with roots in an even smaller town on the Sava River, I felt a personal connection to this place. Read more about searching for Slovenian ancestors here. Still, I encountered mixed feelings about Melania Trump in the town she left behind.
“She did a good thing for herself,” Sandi Gorišek said, when I asked what Slovenians might be thinking as Melania’s husband takes the oath for his second term. “She’s a strong, independent woman who could do it. And what I see is that she has really good fashion style so that is something to be proud of. You have a well-dressed First Lady, let’s put it that way.”
Meeting Slovenian author Sandi Gorišek in Ljubljana to discuss what small town life in Slovenia was like when Melania Trump was a child in Sevnica during the Yugoslavia times.
Get a free download of “Melania Trump: The Slovenian Side of the Story” at this link. A paperback edition is also available.
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