From the horse to the military trench, from there to the waterfalls and into the cave

A windy road that leads from any part of the country to Idrija, Church And beyond to Kobarid and Bovec, there is nothing romantic – even if part of it is called Zala. However, in anticipation of discovering the natural and cultural heritage of these places, it is worthwhile to endure. Although the most famous is closed since July last year a cultural monument in the municipality of Cerkno and beyond, Partisan Hospital FranjoCerkno with its surroundings offers a bunch of other, visited points. Just some imagination need to have and take time to explore.

For families with children, one of the more interesting experiences will certainly be a horse hedgehog on a tourist farm near Flandr in Zakojca. They offer both the possibility of riding in the manege and the expanses of forests and pastures. Zakojca, a village where a writer was born in 1890 France Bevk – If you are announced, it is on display accompanied by a guide Cerkno Museum His birth homestead – is a wonderful, calm place that lies high above Baška grapa on the slope of 1303 meters high Kojce, overlooking a good three hundred meters higher Porezen.

At Flander, visitors are served with excellent homemade delicacies, and for those who would like to discover the charm of lodging in the hayloft or even under the gentle sky, they also organize multi -day guided tours with two or three days of riding. In the high season, between June and September, most of their guests are foreigners who, especially those who come from large, densely populated cities, are excited about the oasis of greenery and peace offered by the hamlets of Cerkno.

If a man is already in a hurry in Zakojca, a visit to Bevk’s birthplace is worth an extra hour or two. The writer himself said how much this end of Primorska had shaped him, in which he spent his childhood or wound youth. The homestead removes the distinctive living environment of the Bajtar Homestead at the beginning of the 20th century in Cerkno and with books, photographs and objects illuminated by Bevko’s life path. For schoolchildren who are “forced” to deal with Lean And his boots, he may be putting a book or the story of a little boy in a completely different light.

That even neighbors from nearby municipalities in Cerkno still find unknown ends and attractions, shows an example of Italian military fortifications in Zakriž, a lumpy settlement that lies two and a half kilometers from Cerkno. At the top of the Cross and at Klavžar’s level, they are probably in the party, especially the adventures of eager children and adolescents, well preserved underground fortifications, characteristic of the former border area between Italy and Yugoslavia.

They are part of a defense system called the Alpine Wall (Vallo Alpino), the Italian Fortification System. At that time, fascist Italian authorities began to build it in the 1970s, when the old continent was already captured by war fever.

The Alpine Wall ran from Genoa in Italy to the Croatian river and was about 1850 kilometers long. Two caverns were built in Zakriž, in which soldiers were housed, and two bunkers – they kept machine guns in them. Through the tunnels, the visitors will be willingly taken by any of the locals.

The Termal Trail will be interesting for the youngest. Photo: Archive of the Cerkno Tourism Institute

30 years from finding the oldest flute in the world

If one is moving in the fresh air rather than underground, looking for quieter parts of the places he discovers, one of the waterfalls – the Padstanis – will probably be a good choice for quality leisure. The most prominent waterfall on the Sjavca stream in the village of Šebrelje is the lower one at the time Archaeological excavations in wild babes He also attracted the interest of archaeologists. The waterfall runs like a « horse’s tail » across a 28 -meter high overhang, under which a smaller cave is, on a rock where it is scattered into a « fluff ». Due to the overhanging wall, it is possible to walk behind the waterfall. Below it are beautifully visible rock collapses that are similar to boulders.

This year, the Cerkno Tourism Institute creates a tourist story mainly around the whistle by archaeologist Ivan Turk discovered in the wild babe cave on July 18, 1995, ie from finding Neanderthal’s flute It’s been thirty years. Sixty thousand years old musical instrument, the oldest in the world, is home to the National Museum of Slovenia, how valuable this historical artifact is, says the fact that it would be the first object to be rescued from the museum if burned. Other animal bones can be seen in the cave in Šebrelje, but since digitized, visit is in fact an unforgettable experience for the eyes and ears.

The anniversary of an important archeological discovery in Cerkno will be dedicated throughout the year; One of the highlights will definitely be the Magnific concert and the Brass band 18. Arrival to St. Ivan, who « watches » a wild babe cave, is a wonderful experience if one goes to Šebrelj on foot on a tidy mulatto. It takes about an hour and a half walk, but the path is worth the effort.

To St. Ivana and wild babes are leading a beautiful mulatto. Photo: Gregor Kacin

Quite a few steps will have to be taken even if the youngest are warming up for a Termalk path. Together with the character Termalka, the strolls can learn about the geothermal characteristics of the Cerkno destination. The interactive thematic path will be easier with a few tips on the leaflet-it can be obtained at the Tourist Information Center-and with instructions on information boards. Although the spas are closed, one of Termalko’s stamps from the hotel « jumped » into the TIC and the adventure is therefore completely feasible.

Maybe someone does not connect the Neanderthal flute and (closed) the spa in an instant with Cerkno, but they are probably the rare who would not connect the Laufars with the place. Laufaria is a carnival that has lived for decades. Every year, it comes to life on the first Sunday after the New Year, when the first Laufar is coming to Cerkljanska streets. On Sundays, he is followed by others, all the way to the carnival, when the characters in the funeral head towards the main square, where the imperial-karis court publicly accuses of all the trappings, sin and nonsense that have happened since the previous carnival.

Laufaria is a long -standing carnival custom in Cerkno. Photo: Sašo Tusar

Laufaria’s premises are open, only their arrival needs to be predicted. Every week, as the president of the Laufari Society said Tomaž Lahajnarvisit the children housed in the center of school and after -school activities. The laufar family has 25 characters and 26 masks (one character has two masks) and they are worth seeing, even or especially when there is no carnival. Also, because the characters symbolize certain human weaknesses and mistakes and thus set a mirror to individuals or society in a unique way.

Among the more interesting questions, which the members of the society will definitely like to answer when viewing Laufaria, are how much the dress worn by the carnival weighs, whether the laufars can speak and why, except in lean time, there is no appearance on the streets and events.