Zagorje ob Savi
First Slovenian mining license (1755) created coal economy; GDP fell to 50% of national, now €32M Carbon-Free Tech Center leads just transition.
Zagorje ob Savi holds Slovenia's first mining license—issued November 11, 1755, inaugurating coal extraction that transformed the Zasavje region into Yugoslavia's metallurgical heartland. The transition began in the 1990s when Yugoslav markets collapsed. By 2020, population had declined 11%; over 50% of the workforce now commutes to Ljubljana. Regional GDP fell from 80% to 50% of the national average.
The Just Transition Center, founded 2023, coordinates what comes next. The €32 million Carbon-Free Technology Demonstration and Training Centre—the largest project in Zasavje restructuring—brings EU Just Transition Fund investment to Zagorje. The Institute of Chemistry will operate facilities that train workers for post-carbon industries. Forty-two brownfield sites covering 135 hectares await redevelopment—the largest concentration of degraded industrial land in Slovenia.
The pattern is familiar from coal regions worldwide: boom, decline, depopulation, reinvention. Zagorje's advantage is timing—the EU transition framework provides funding that earlier closures lacked. Whether high-tech demonstration centers can replace coal employment remains uncertain; that the attempt is being made distinguishes this generation's response.
By 2026, Zagorje will likely show early results from transition investments while continuing to struggle with the structural challenges that preceded them. The 1755 mining license created the economy; the 2023 Just Transition Center attempts to create its successor.