The 2013 Winter Universiade, the XXVI Winter Universiade, was a winter multi-sport event which took place in Trentino, Italy between 11 and 21 December 2013.

Maribor is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, the seat of the Drava statistical region and the Eastern Slovenia region. Maribor is also the economic, administrative, educational, and cultural centre of eastern Slovenia.