Melania Trump’s departure from the White House marks the end of an era for her Slovenian hometown
Unless President Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election come to fruition, First Lady Melania Trump will no longer be the nation’s first lady on Jan. 21. Residents in Sevnica, Slovenia are wondering if that means a return to the humdrum for her hometown too.
“Sevnica is not a traditional tourist destination,” Mayor Srecko Ocvirk conceded to the BBC. “But what happened four years ago had a very good effect on the recognition of the town.”
He said people in the 5,000 person town were galvanized by being put on the map by Melania’s fame and he hopes tourists continue coming to see the place where she learned to be best.
Ocvirk told the Guardian in 2017 that he went to school with Melania, but doesn’t remember her.
Patisserie owner Nusa Vidmar created a cake to honor the first lady, which she says tourists come to sample while in town. The sweet homage to the MAGA Queen is called the Torta Melanija. It’s made from white chocolate mousse, has a gold topping and is packed with nuts.
“It was a big thing for us — a big thing for Slovenia as well,” Vidmar said of Melania’s ascension to the White House.
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Along the city’s river Sava is a bronze statue of Melania that sits upon a tall tree trunk that greets visitors. It’s called “Melania.” That monument was erected in the summer after a previous one was destroyed by an arsonist.
The city reportedly sells a salami called “First Lady” that comes in a fancy dark package. There’s also a “First Lady” wine named to honor the 50-year-old native, who was born Melanija Knavs to a car salesman and a children’s clothing maker. The first lady hired a law firm to stop Slovenian businesses from using the Melania Trump name for commercial purposes.
While the BBC spoke to Sevnicans who said Melania’s status in the U.S. had little bearing on their lives, Vidmar doesn’t share that sentiment.
“These four years will always be part of us,” the baker said. “Especially the cake.”
Melania’s next home will likely be Palm Beach, Fla. where the president’s Mar-a-Lago resort is located. President Trump announced in Oct. 2019 that he’d decided to move his family out of New York because he’s “been treated very badly” by Democratically-elected city and state leaders.
