museums | architecture | history | cultural monuments| churches

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It is not only museums and books that give us an opportunity to glimpse a country's past: historical monuments are bridges between past and present. They provide a far clearer image of our cultural heritage than mere academic discussion. In Bohinj, as well as teaching us about the past, these monuments are built into the environment as a fundamental element of the cultural landscape.

The way of life of the people of Bohinj is in many ways still tied to traditions that stretch back hundreds of years. The oldest recorded activity in the area was iron working, and the mining connected with this. The ancient method of extracting iron died out a hundred years ago, a victim of the industrial revolution. Along with certain place names like Stara Fuzina (Old Forge) and Rudnica (rudnik = mine), Zois's mansions in Bistrica and Fuzina serve as the only reminders of those times. Alpine dairy farming, where the herds graze in summer in the alpine pastures, is still an important part of Bohinj's economy.

Perhaps this activity was more important in the past, but nevertheless cowbells can still be heard ringing out across the mountains. The Alpine Farming Museum in Fuzina offers another glimpse of the past. The architectural heritage of old Bohinj is still visible in some of the well-preserved homesteads - alpine cottages with balconies and shingle roofs.

The special architectural and ethnographic features of the region are most evident at the Oplen House Museum in the village of Studor.
This hamlet in the Upper Valley, at the foot of a steep hill which bears the same name, still preserves the traditional village plan, with the houses huddled together. Another interesting feature of Studor is the row of hay racks in the meadow below the village. The rural churches are an unmissable element of the cultural landscape of Slovenia, and they adorn many of the villages in Bohinj.

Church of St John, which stands in the heart of Bohinj. Together with the bridge at the head of the lake this church is Bohinj's most famous and celebrated symbol. The Gothic church dates from the 15th century, while the belfry and altars are Baroque.

Another church dating back to the Baroque is the Church of the Holy Spirit on the southern shore of the lake. This church is decorated by the paintings of Matij Kozelj. Other important cultural and historical monuments include the churches in Fuzina. Bitnje and Koprivnik; the latter is closely linked with the memory of the poet Valentin Vodnik. Bohinj still bears traces of one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War, the Soea Front.

A moving monument to those cruel times are the beautifully-tended military cemeteries at Ukanc and Reber, above Bistrica.
Another memory of the bloody battle on Krn is preserved in the Small War Museum in Godec's house in Bistrica. Also on display here are an archeological collection, a leather museum and a room commemorating the national hero Tomaz Godec. The people of Bohinj are very proud of their mighty mountain.

The "four bold men", who in 1778 were the first to conquer Triglav, are commemorated by a sculpture by Stojan Batic which stands in Ribčev Laz near the lake.

Some useful addresses:

Oplen House, Studor 16 - old peasant house from the last century
Curator: Mr Grega Resman, Studor 14a, tel: +386 575 35 22
Alpine Farming Museum, Stara Fuzina 181 - museum and tasting of local food specialities
Curator: Renata Mlakar, Stara Fužina 179, tel: +386 572 30 95
Tomaz Godec Museum, Zoisova 15, Bohinjska Bistrica - Small War Museum (WWI and II), leather making, iron working, archeology
Curator: Julijana Strgar, Pod Rebrom 13, tel: +386 572 14 09
Polajnar Gallery, Vodnikova Cesta 13, Bohinjska Bistrica - permanent exhibition of Academy painter Albin Polajnar and paintings for sale, tel: +386 572 16 35

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