The Municipality of Koper
Koper, one of the oldest towns in Slovenia, was once an island in north-west Istria. Today’s city centre is limited to the old island, while its present appearance is the result of 2000 years of continuous development that began in Roman times.
According to tradition, the first bishop of Koper was St Nazarius. He was born between 470 and 480 in the Istrian village of Elpidium – Boste – Boršt. St Nazarius was consecrated Bishop of Koper in 524. The year 524 is therefore also associated with the founding of the city of Koper.
In 2024, Koper celebrates its 1500th anniversary. Koper is therefore considered one of the oldest Slovenian cities.
Verdijeva ulica 10
6000 Koper – Capodistria
T: +386 5 664 61 00
F: +386 5 627 16 02
E: obcina@koper.si
https://www.koper.si
Science and Research Centre Koper (Slovenia)
The Science and Research Centre Koper (ZRS Koper) works on an interdisciplinary basis, involving humanities, social and natural sciences, with special emphasis given to the research in the specific environments of the Mediterranean and the upper Adriatic region.
The main activities are: basic and applied research,production of professional expertise and counseling,education,organisation of scientific meetings,publishing and editorial activities, librarianship.
ZRS Koper is actively integrating in international scientific cooperation and is connecting with many similar organisations worldwide. Researchers are also actively involved in academic process at all three Slovene public universities, thus ensuring the transfer of research results into the educational sphere.
Garibaldijeva 1
SI – 6000 Koper
Slovenia
+386 5 663 77 00
+386 5 663 77 10 fax
info@zrs-kp.si
INSTITUTE FOR OLIVECULTURE
Institute for Oliveculture at the ZRS Koper was established as a result of numerous aspirations for teamwork and representation of research and professional work in the field of olive-growing with the aim of transferring knowledge from the research sphere to the users. From 1995 to 2016, research and development work of the Institute for Oliveculture was based primarily on project work. The foundations for the sustainable development of olive industry, and thus the establishment of the Institute for Oliveculture, was enabled in 2016 by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia when a decision was adopted to establish a public research institute, the Science and Research Centre Koper, as the newly established institute was entrusted with the tasks of public services in the field of Mediterranean agriculture with an emphasis on olive growing, all within its registered activities.
The vision of the Institute is to lay the foundations for the sustainable development of olive culture and to provide transfer of knowledge to growers, food industry, small and medium-sized enterprises, students, local communities and general public while at the same time to strengthen scientific excellence in the field of food quality, food safety and agro technology connected with national and international organizations and public agencies and bodies involved in olive-growing, metrology, health protection, food quality and agriculture.
Head: Maja Podgornik, PhD, Research Associate
E-mail: info.izo@zrs-kp.si
Phone: +386 5 663 77 74
https://www.zrs-kp.si/index.php/en/institutes-units/ifo/
LABORATORY OF THE INSTITUTE FOR OLIVECULTURE
PRESENTATION
The Laboratory of the Institute for Oliveculture is a highly specialized infrastructure unit, which has been well known in the international arena for years. The excellence and high specialty of the laboratory are reconfirmed every year after successful completion of laboratory testing in two international inter-laboratory comparisons (IOC and BIPEA). Based on the results of comparisons, showing its proficiency, the laboratory has been included every year on the list of chemical testing and sensory testing laboratories recognized by the International Olive Council (IOC) since its establishment. The laboratory personnel implement new testing methods, monitors the innovations in the field of quality assessment and fraud detection of olive oil, participates in expert committees of international organizations, and transfers knowledge from the international to the Slovenian research area.
Publications:
https://www.zrs-kp.si/index.php/en/institutes-units/ifo/#1606828883224-d5d8c87f-ec84
https://www.zrs-kp.si/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ABC-PDO-2015.pdf
https://www.zrs-kp.si/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ABC-o-istrski-belici-2014-pomanjsano.pdf
https://www.zrs-kp.si/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ABC-o-istrski-belici-2014-pomanjsano.pdf
https://www.zrs-kp.si/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Olive-oil_olives-and-organoleptic-assessment-pomanjsana.pdf
Events:
● Table Olive Festival
The Table Olive Festival has been taking place for 5 years and it has been upgraded at the Institute for Oliveculture (IZO) of the Scientific Research Centre (ZRS) Koper with the SOLJKE project. “The goal of the project is to develop new products from olives, olive oil, salt and spices together with olive growers, while maintaining the tradition of investing in olives,” said the project manager and head of IZO ZRS Koper dr. Maja Podgornik. The project was acquired by the Institute of Oliveculture ZRS Koper and the Soline company within the tender of the Istrian LAG. It was financed by the European Union from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Republic of Slovenia within the framework of the rural development program.
9 June 2021
● Festival of the Golden Oil Twig
The traditional competition, now has thirty-one editions and has allowed to raise the quality of Slovenian oil, in particular Istrian, to the world leaders. This year’s competition was held in collaboration with the Scientific Research Centre of Koper (ZRS). For better transparency and easier understanding of the results, all oils competed for the winner in a single category.
For this year’s competition, 71 growers submitted 86 oil samples. The oils were evaluated by an internationally accredited national panel at the Institute for Olive Growing ZRS Koper according to international olive oil evaluation standards.
24 April 2023