View - Slovenia

Contents
Nova Gorica
4
On foot around the city
6
Trg Evrope (Square of Europe)
6
Railway station
8
Museum collection “Kolodvor” (Railway Station)
10
ˇ
Erjavceva
ulica (Erjavceva
Street) – alley of remembrance
11
ˇ
Trg Edvarda Kardelja (Edvard Kardelj Square), pine grove and con-cathedral Jesus the Saviour 20
Žabji kraj, Šolska ulica (Šolska Street), Solkan Squares
24
Solkan bridges, war cemetery
27
Ulica IX. korpusa (IX. Korpusa Street)
29
Between apartment blocks to main street
30
City centre, sports park and modern apartment blocks
34
Kostanjevica, Rafut
37
In sporting mood around the outskirts
40
Panovec
40
ˇ River
Soca
41
Guardians of the Alps
42
A full table of delights
46
Nova Gorica
The settlement of the area of Goriška goes back a long way into the past but older cultures living
here left behind very few traces. The first preserved deeds, which clearly mention this region, are
from the middle of the Middle Ages, dating precisely from 1001 when Solkan was more
important than Gorica. The same deed confirms that the name “Gorica” is of Slavic origin
although in later centuries, when Gorica became the centre of the region, it was also written as
Görz, Goritia, Gurize, and Gorizia. The area was inhabited by Slovenians, Friulians, Germans,
Jews, Austrians, and Italians, who, regardless of their nationality, lived through the same
experiences, were part of the same organized political communities, worshipped the same Gods
and cursed the same authorities!
For many years, from 1500 until the First World War, Goriška (with rare interruptions) belonged
to the Habsburg or Austrian Crown. During the First World War, this was where vicious conflicts
took place between the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and Italy and as a result local people had to
flee as refugees. When coming back, they were faced with ruins and another state: Italy.
After the Second World War, precisely, on 15 September 1947, a new state border was created
between Italy and Yugoslavia cutting the thousand-year long ties, leaving the town to Italy and
encouraging the growth of a new centre, the new Gorica. Politicians, who were ready to invest
billion of dinars into the new town, declared it would be “A city to shine across the border”. The
urban design by Edo Ravnikar came the closest to the idea, when he drew a new axis, the city’s
main road, in parallel with the railway line. The Nova Gorica foundation stone was laid on 13
June 1948. In spite of the belief in the future, which is represented by the construction of the new,
we have to nurture the archive of memories. There is no lack of recollections of times past.
We would like to invite you to take a leisurely walk through the city, as far as the railway bridge
across the Soča River (know in Italian as Isonzo) which will reveal an interesting piece of history
about Slovenians at the western front of the national territory. In this particular case, our starting
point will be the Square of Europe near the Railway Station. If you would prefer to experience
the area in a more energetic way we would like to propose a climb to the peaks above the city, or
the recreational activities in the Panovec Forest or near the Soča River. But you can also stay
smart and bury yourself in the library, spend the day by visiting museum collections, visit an
exhibition or a theatre performance, or catch the last bet in the casino. In any case, do not forget
to visit some of the “gostilnas” and restaurants which are in abundance in the city and its vicinity.
Welcome!
5
On foot around the city
Trg Evrope (Square of Europe)
The newest square in the young city
got its name upon the entry of Slovenia
into the European Union on 1 May
2004. It is decorated with a mosaic of
the new Europe which was designed
by Franko Vecchiet, a Slovenian artist
from Trieste. The architectural solution
was contributed by a citizen of Gorica,
Romano Schnabl who had a difficult task
since he was elaborating on the legacy
left by Max Fabiani (1865-1962), the then
most respected Austro-Hungarian townplanning professional and a renowned
architect. Fabiani drew the streets,
which run from the station in the form
of a fan, into five directions, although
most of them ended up in fields after
approximately hundred metres! Fabiani
envisaged a fast development of the
city, which actually did start to breathe
with the coming of the railway.
6
The area of Goriška attracted
entrepreneurs and artists and, due to its
favourable climate, wealthy noblemen
and retired officers for whom Gorica was
becoming a kind of Austrian Nice. An
organised and calm city, it was famous
for its multiculturalism. Even simple
people, quite often barely literate, had
no difficulties in communicating in
four languages: Slovenian, German,
Italian and Friulan. Did all this belong to
another time and another perception of
the space? Did it dry up with the former
population? Can it ever return? The joint
Square of Europe is definitely better
than the barbed wire in the middle
of the square but all the rest is only
memories and dreams for now.
In sunny weather it is possible to read the exact time on the sun clock made from the driving
wheel of a steam locomotive and set up on the Italian side of the square. A peculiarity of the
clock is that in the winter time, the exact time is shown on the lower side of the wheel, and
in the summer, on the upper part of the wheel.
7
Railway station
This mighty building, which is the
oldest public building in the city, was
constructed together with the Bohinj
railway line and began its functioning
in 1906. The plan for the building was
contributed by the Vienna architect,
Robert Seelig. The historical design has
a rich decoration of the Secessionist
style, the most expressive on the west
façade and in details of the furnishings:
unfortunately, many have been lost.
From here, a bustling traffic on the
8
line was managed on which powerful
steam locomotives pulled 70 trains a day.
The direct fast trains sped to Prague,
Vienna, Munich, Ostende, and Trieste.
The local line to Ajdovščina was
supposed to be extended to Ljubljana
opening a new route to the East.
Bohemian inhabitants from Goriška
went to drink coffee in Trieste in the
morning, and a beer in Carinthia in
the afternoon! Locomotives were
maintained and prepared for the
journeys in a mighty half-circled
engine-shed at the eastern part of
the station where a water tower and
a coal loading facility are preserved.
The entire line from Prague crossing
Linz and Villach to Trieste, also
known as the “Neue Alpenbahnen”
or “Transalpina” is 717 km long and
is considered to be one of the most
beautiful in Europe. Its formal opening
which took place on 19 September
1906 was attended by the successor to
the throne himself, the Archduke Franz
Ferdinand of Austria. Unfortunately,
less than a decade later, the line found
itself in the middle of the maelstrom of
the war and after the First World War
the state borders cut the route in such
a manner that it never shone again
with its initial splendour. The border
after the Second World War also cut
the connection to Trieste.
Today, only a few local trains to Sežana,
Ajdovščina, Jesenice and Ljubljana run
on it. In 1974, steam locomotives were
retired in favour of diesel trains but
occasionally, the steam powered train
is put into harness and its whistle can
still be heard.
9
Museum collection “Kolodvor” (Railway Station)
In the twentieth century the
inhabitants of Goriška changed their
state more often than they bought a
new dress, but above all, the border
cut through the space which they had
always before felt as theirs. In addition,
this was not an ordinary border, but
a line of separation between the
East and the West, protected with
barbed wire. The railway station
unintentionally became the silent
herald of the birth of a new society: a
great red star was dragged onto the
10
roof and occasionally inscriptions like
“We are building socialism” or “Long live
brotherhood and unity of our nations”
were added. Today, the star is one of
the exhibits of the museum collection
which presents the events on the
border from the end of the Second
World War to the Independence of
Slovenia and its accession to the
European Union in pictures, in words
and with objects.
Erjavceva
ˇ
ulica (Erjavceva
Street) – alley of remembrance
ˇ
Going south from the railway station
to the right would take you to Gorica
and to the left Erjavčeva Street takes
you to Nova Gorica. Once, this road
used to lead to the main city cemetery
which was destroyed during the First
World War and later relocated several
kilometres to the south. During both
wars, this is where people dug and
burned clay; today the last preserved
building of the former brickworks
(“Frnaža”) hosts the Local Community
Centre. The street ends at the
roundabout at the main city road –
Kidričeva Street. An energy channel
which was discovered by an interpreter
of geomancy, the landscape poet,
Marko Pogačnik, runs across the grassy
area and through the library and brings
us to the little pine grove where the
centre of vitality and energy of Nova
Gorica is said to be situated.
Erjavčeva Street is a real alley of
remembrance. Along the street, the
busts of famous citizens from the area
and other people who have worked
creatively here or have significantly
marked our space are lined up and
there are monuments of freer forms
that are dedicated to other persons.
The monuments are not set up one
after another in chronological order
and in the continuation of the text they
are described as they are encountered
on the way to the city centre. Along
Erjavčeva Street and on Edvard Kardelj
Square there are five more sculptures by
young artists. These are not thematically
connected: “The Nine Heads” by Mirko
Bratuša (the crossroads with Cankarjeva
Street), “The Stone Circles“ by Zmago
Posega (1959-2009) located in front of
the HIT headquarters, “Blocks“ by Matjaž
Počivavček (on a grassy area in front of
the Town Hall), “Pine on the Beach” by
Jakov Brdar (in front of the Library) and
“Ferryman of Souls” by Mirsad Begić
(next to the Town Hall).
11
After the dissolution of Italy he returned
home on foot and joined partisans
where he became a commander. He
drowned while crossing the Soča River on
his way back from a gathering in Brda (in
Italian: “Collio”). The sculptor: Stojan Batič.
Father Stanislav Škrabec (1844–1918)
was one of the most important
Slovenian linguists of the 19th century
and is considered the father of Slovenian
phonetics. He stayed in the Kostanjevica
Monastery from 1873 to 1915 when he
withdrew to Kamnik because of the war.
He was convinced that Slovenian is one
of the most beautiful languages and
took the view that language is too great
a gift for an individual to fool around
with. He published his linguistics studies
on a magazine cover: Cvetje iz vrtov Sv.
Frančiška (Flowers from Gardens of St.
Francis). The sculptor: Mirko Bratuša.
Jože Srebrnič (1884–1944) was a
farmer, a politician and revolutionary, a
participant of the October Revolution,
a founder of the Communist Party of
Italy (1921), an organiser of farmer’s
cooperatives and Slovenian cultural
societies, and mobile reading societies.
In 1924 he was elected to the Parliament
of Rome on a list of the Communist Party
of Italy, but was confined two years later
to islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea (Ustica,
Lipari). He illegally resided in Ljubljana
for a short period of time, and was later
imprisoned in a fascist concentration
camp Renicci di Anghiari near Arrezzo.
12
Milko Kos (1892–1972) was a Slovenian
historian, born in Gorica, later the Dean of
the University of Ljubljana and a Member
of the Academy. He was most interested
in the Middle Ages into which period he
placed the arrival of the Slavs into the
space between the Alps and the Adriatic.
The sculptor: Negovan Nemec (1947-87).
Lojze Bratuž (1902–37) was a
musician and a choirmaster of Goriška,
but most of all, a nationally conscious
Slovenian. During the years when the
Slovenian language was repressed, he
conducted numerous Slovenian
church choirs, since Slovenian song,
although allowed in churches, was not
welcomed by the authorities. After
the Sunday mass on 27 December
1936, he was kidnapped by the fascists,
beaten up and forced to drink a mixture
of petrol and engine oil. Because of
poisoning, he died in agony on 16
February 1937. A day before his death,
on his birthday, Slovenian boys came
secretly to sing below his hospital
window.
The sculptor: Negovan Nemec.
Andrej Budal (1889–1972) from
Štandrež near Gorica, obtained a PhD
in the Romance languages in Vienna.
He was employed as a professor of
Slovenian, wrote school textbooks,
but also stories, novels and poetry. In
addition, he was a good translator from
Italian and French: among other books,
he translated into Slovenian: Boccacio’s
The Decameron. In 1947 he was a part
of the Goriška delegation at the Paris
Peace Conference which decided the
future of post-war Italy, including the
course of the border between Italy and
Yugoslavia. For many years he led the
theatre Slovensko stalno gledališče v
Trstu (Permanent Slovenian Theatre in
Trieste). The sculptor: Negovan Nemec.
Engelbert Besednjak (1894–1968)
was a visible Christian Socialist, a lawyer
and a journalist. He wrote for numerous
newspapers and magazines, when in
1954 he founded Novi list in Trieste. In
the years from 1924 to 1928 he was
a Deputy in the Italian Parliament,
later his career led him to Vienna and
Belgrade where he represented the
interests of people from the region of
Primorska and Slovenians living under
Italy. The sculptor: Negovan Nemec.
13
Anton Velušček – Matevž (1912–44)
was one of the best and the most selfsacrificing organisers and leaders of the
National Liberation War in the Primorska
region. As many others did, he fled to
Yugoslavia in 1935 in order to avoid
mobilisation for the war in Ethiopia (the
Abyssinia immigrants). He soon joined
the Communist Party. In the summer of
1941 he returned to Goriška where he
organised a movement: Osvobodilna
fronta (the Liberation Front) and the
partisan movement which was also
joined by Italians. In the beginning of
1944 he was sent to Trieste where the
enemy caught and tortured him, after
which all traces of him were lost.
The sculptor: Janez Pirnat.
Sergej Mašera (1912–41) was a citizen
of Gorica who moved with his family to
Carinthia after the First World War and
later to Ljubljana. In 1932 he finished at
the Maritime War Academy in Dubrovnik.
At the beginning of the Second World
War he was a gunnery officer on the
destroyer Zagreb, anchored in Boka
Kotorska. Upon the capitulation of
Yugoslavia, he had to abandon the ship
together with his crew, but he, together
14
with his ex-schoolfellow and friend,
Milan Spasić, remained on the ship and
blew it up to prevent it falling into the
hands of the enemy.
The creators of the monument are:
Rafael Nemec (1914-93) and Vasilij Željko.
Josip Vilfan (1878–1955) was a lawyer
and politician from Trieste, a fighter for
the rights and equality of Slovenians
and other southern Slavs both within
the framework of the Austria-Hungary
and later Italy. In spite of the arson of
the Narodni Dom (The National House)
on 13 July 1920 and twenty other
headquarters and assembly places of
the Slavs in Trieste on the same day,
he believed in the legal order and was
a Deputy in the Parliament of Rome
for two mandates (1921-28). Later,
he strived for the rights of minorities
within the framework of the European
Nationalities Congress (1925-39) with
its headquarters in Vienna which he
presided over in the period from 1928 to
1939. After the annexation of Austria by
Germany, he moved to Belgrade. He is
considered the father of the idea of the
common Slovenian cultural space. The
sculptor: Negovan Nemec.
Ljubljana. He was also an excellent alpinist:
during his life, two of his books were
published: Imenoslovje Julisjkih Alp (The
Onomastics of the Julian Alps) (1929) and
Pomen in razvoj alpinizma (The Significance
and Development of Alpinism) (1930), and
after his death, Iz mojega življenja (From
My Life) (1937). The sculptor: Boris Kalin
(1905-75), completed by Marjan KeršičBelač (1920-2003).
Henrik Tuma (1858–1935) was born
and died in Ljubljana, but he spent many
years in the Primorska region, in particular
in Gorica, where he was elected a regional
deputy in 1895 and 1902. As the first
Slovenian in the regional council he
consistently used Slovenian. He was active
in leftist circles, was an excellent speaker
and he consistently fought for the equality
of Slovenians in all fields. He spread the
initiative “Svoji k svojim!” (One’s own to
one’s own!), which in other Slavic countries
of the Austria-Hungary was directed
against the Germans, to the boycott of
Italian stores, notaries, and restaurants.
At the same time he encouraged the
immigration of Slovenian entrepreneurs,
craftsmen and merchants into Gorica.
He was the initiator and the founder of
the cooperative: Trgovska obrtna zadruga
(Cooperative of Commerce and Trade).
At the same time he was the editor the
magazine Naši zapiski (Our notes) in which
he wrote about socialism, sociology but
also sexology. Because after the First World
War the authorities refused his application
for citizenship, he could not receive
compensation for four demolished houses
and his attorney’s office and he moved to
Alojz Gradnik (1882–1967), in simple
words– a poet; but officially also, a judge
in Gorica, Cormons, Pula, Cerkno. After
the Italian occupation of the region of
Primorska he withdrew to Yugoslavia
where he was a judge in Ljubljana
and Zagreb, and for some time also a
legal adviser at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs in Belgrade. He belongs to the
representatives of expressionism, and in
addition to love themes, very often linked
with sacrifice and death, he also wrote
patriotic songs dedicated particularly
to his native village Medana in Brda. At
the same time he translated and wrote
songs for children. Owing to his passion
of expression, many place him side by
side with France Prešeren, the greatest
Slovenian poet. The sculptor: Negovan
Nemec.
15
Ivan Trinko Zamejski (1864–1954),
a nationalist and a spiritual father
of Venetian Slovenians, was born in
a small village Tarčmun under the
mountain Matajur. He was two years
old when Slavia Veneta became a
part of the Kingdom of Italy. After
schooling in Cividale he went to Udine
theological seminary, and after his
ordination he continued with the study
of philosophy and Slavic languages.
He was a professor of philosophy and
Italian while simultaneously teaching his
fellow countrymen written Slovenian.
By publishing poems and other essays
in various Slovenian magazines he
brought Slavia Veneta and Resia closer
to Slovenian readers. He developed
Slovenian geological and ethnological
terminology, translated, wrote music,
drew and held exhibitions.
The sculptor: Negovan Nemec.
Karel Lavrič (1818-76), born in Prem,
carried out the greatest part of his
legal career in the Primorska region
where he was one of the most visible
nationalists. He assisted in establishing
16
several reading societies (čitalnice
in Slovenian), also the one in Solkan
(1867). He led preparations for mass
rallies (tabor in Slovenian) which were
the most significant manifestation of
the awakening of Slovenian national
consciousness in the second half of
the 19th century. He was striving for the
enhancement of the economic power of
Slovenians, encouraged the organisation
of industry and the development of
trade and commerce. He fought for the
deployment of Slovenians in public life,
in schools, at courts and in documents.
Because he failed to introduce the use
of Slovenian in the regional council
owing to the opposition of Italians, he
resigned. He demanded a protective act
for Slovenians and he strove for a united
Slovenia within the federal arrangement
of Austro-Hungary, and the idea of a
Yugoslavian unity was not strange to
him either. The sculptor: Boris Kalin
Anton Gregorčič (1852–1925)
from Vrsno was a politically active
theologian, a professor, a member of
the regional council, a deputy of the
Governor General of the province and
a member of various regional councils
and commissions; he was also elected
into the National Council in Vienna.
In 1890 he became a president of the
political society Sloga but later became
rather thorn between various political
movements which were increasingly
dividing Slovenians in the Goriška region.
He was finally among the founders of
the Slovenska ljudska stranka (Slovenian
People’s Party). He is considered the
father of the Slovenian school system:
he encouraged the foundation of private
schools and kindergartens of the society
Sloga, achieved the transfer of the
Slovenian college of education for men
from Koper to Gorica, had a decisive role
in the establishment of the first national
general upper secondary school in Gorica
in 1913. During the war he withdrew
to Vienna where he dealt with refugee
issues. The sculptor: Negovan Nemec.
Andrej Gabršček (1864–1938),
by birth from Kobarid (in Italian:
Caporetto), was first a teacher, and after
moving to Gorica, a newspaper man,
publisher, bookseller and politician.
In 1893 he established the Goriška
Printing House, and five years later a
printing house in Pula. He published
and partially also edited numerous
magazines which importantly
influenced the growth of the political
consciousness of Slovenians in the
Goriška region, among which the most
important was the magazine Soča.
Mostly he worked in liaison with Anton
Gregorčič. In Slovanska knjižnica, he
published the book Narodne pripovedke
v Soških planinah (National Stories
of the Soča Mountains) which as a
teacher he collected in the region of
Kobarid. The sculptor: Boris Kalin.
Simon Gregorčič (1844–1906) came
from Vrsno to Gorica as a child, where
after general upper secondary school
he attended the theological seminary.
He started to write songs while still in
school: he rhymed words with such
an ease that he was soon nicknamed
the Nightingale of Goriška. He
published three volumes of poetry:
Poezije (1882, 1887, 1902), the fourth
volume was published after his death
(1908). His poems are educational,
encouraging, expressive, and patriotic;
he later wrote several poems for
special occasions. He was always of
delicate health; he used his last ounce
17
of strength in the translation of The
Book of Job and for his work with
young people in the School’s House.
He is considered the Slovenian poet
with the greatest number of poems
that have passed into folklore. The
sculptor: Zdenko Kalin (1911-90).
Fran Erjavec (1834–1887) was a
professor of natural science at high
schools in Vienna, Zagreb and from
1871 in Gorica and at the same time
an attentive observer and describer
of nature. When young he wrote
fables, later also stories and traveller’s
diaries. His special subject of study
was the snail; he united his scientific
and traveller’s observations in a wittily
written essay Kako se je Slinarju z Golovca
po svetu godilo (Around the World with
the Slug from Golovec). He could have
become a professor at the University
of Zagreb but he preferred to stay in
Gorica where he had more time for
natural science. The sculptor: Boris Kalin.
A few metres to the left, there is a bust
of Rastislav Delpin Zmago (1920-56),
18
a partisan commander, member of the
special squad and informer, by birth
from Podgora (today Italy).
The sculptor: Zdenko Kalin.
When passing we may call into the
market where we can check the
produce from farms in the neighbouring
villages. Ever since its early settlement
the Goriška region was known for good
gardeners who owing to the mild
climate have supplied the market with
early vegetables and various fruits. The
most appreciated local delicacies are the
winter chicory of Solkan or “regut” as it is
called by the locals, the cherries of Brda
and peaches of Vipava. A cheese maker
or a beekeeper is often a guest at the
market, in late summer and in autumn,
mushroom pickers drop by.
Edvard Rusjan (1886–1911) was not
only “our” first pilot but he also personifies
a visionary thinking intertwined with a
creative and entrepreneurial spirit. He was
reading about aerodynamics and was
simultaneously a constructor, manufacturer
and test pilot of his planes. He grandly
named his father’s workshop in which
he and his brother constructed planes:
“Fabrique technique d‘aéroplans Rusjan”,
the Rusjan Technical Factory for Airplanes.
In 1909, he rose into the air for the first
time with his plane Eda I in Male Rojce
near Gorica and flew at a height of 60m.
He made as many as seven planes in his
domestic workshop and he flew in all of
them. The most successful model of the
plane of this period is Eda V; a replica of this
aircraft, made of better material, flies even
today on special occasions. The Rusjan
brothers continued their work in Zagreb
where they received all the necessary
support of an entrepreneur, Mihajlo
Merćep. The aeroplane from 1910 made
a world record in the speed of its takeoff:
after only 28m it was already in the air.
The successful presentation in Zagreb
was supposed to be followed by a real
tour, and possibly, a serial production
of planes. The first stop was Belgrade
where a huge crowd awaited Rusjan.
He flew in spite of the unfavourable
weather conditions, performed a series
of spectacular fly-pasts but then a gust
of wind broke the wing and the plane
crashed on the railway line; he died on
the way to the hospital. The monument
which remembers the Slovenian
“Icarus” was designed by Janez Lenassi
(1927-2008). The bust of the young pilot
(creator: Matej Vinazza) is located in the
France Bevk Library, one of monumental
buildings in Edvard Kardelj Square which
we spot in front of us. Before that we pass
by the memorial to the defenders of
Slovenian independence 1990-91; its
core is a tank obstacle made of concrete
(creator: Darko Likar), while a few metres
to the right, in Kidričeva Street, there is a
sculpture by Negovan Nemec, dedicated
to the Saboteurs of the National
Liberation War (NOV).
19
Trg Edvarda Kardelja (Edvard Kardelj Square),
pine grove and con-cathedral Jesus the Saviour
Edvard Kardelj Square is actually a piece
of grassland at the junction of Kidričeva
Street and Tolminskih puntarjev Street
which is enclosed by the municipal
palace to the north and the Theatre and
Library to the east. It is an ideal space
for larger events, both assemblies and
concerts. In the non-built up corner
there is a monument created upon
the thousand anniversary of Gorica,
made by the sculptor Marko Pogačnik.
The stone cut in two pieces illustrates
the moment when man cut into the
integrity of the landscape and built
the first settlement. The left half brings
forward a transcript of the deed of gift
signed by the Emperor Oton III from
1001 which mentions Solkan and Gorica,
and the right side, a cosmogram of
Gorica, derived from a rose. Thorns, says
the author, symbolise the shadowy side
of the space, its tragic splitting, but six
flower leaves overgrow the armour of
20
thorns with the ease of the dance. The
monument is set on an energy channel
which has its source behind the Library in
the pine grove and runs in the direction
of Venice. The landscape poet Pogačnik
set another five similar litopuncture
stones in the area of the Goriška holon
(energy field) of which two are located in
front of the Vid clinic in nearby Kromberk.
One of these stones presents the sign
of the identity of the space of Goriška
where the energy fields of Friuli, the Soča
River and the Vipava Valley meet.
The Municipal Palace built of stone is
from 1950. With its calm mightiness it
infuses trust into authority since from
far behind it reflects a serious strength.
In addition to municipal offices, it
houses all kinds of offices of public
administration. It was designed by
Vinko Glanz (1902-1977), four statues
above the entrance are the work of
Boris Kalin and they demonstrate a
rebellion (breaking of fetters), a fight,
a victory (the gun is laid aside but the
soldier is still on the lookout) and peace
(a vine grower binds the vine with trust
into the future). Frescos in the central
hall, the Green Hall, the work of Slavko
Pengov (1908-88), set in a row scenes
from Slovenian history, and particularly
the history of Primorska region.
France Bevk Public Library,
established in 1949, has been housed
in a new building since 2000 which is
considered the peak of the architectural
expression of Vojteh Ravnikar (19422010). The ground floor of this playfully
21
designed building is as a partly closed
book which communicates with the
outer world through a large glassed
area. Everything here guides you to the
thought that studying is a pleasant and
creative experience.
In a building with a terracotta façade,
also the work of Vojteh Ravnikar, we
may laugh or cry during performances
of the theatre: Slovensko narodno
gledališče (Slovenian National Theatre)
which was formed as the Goriško
gledališče (Goriška Theatre) in 1955.
In 1969 it was renamed Primorsko
dramsko gledališče (Primorska Drama
Theatre) and in 2004 received the
status of an institution of national
importance and the current name.
Only after four decades in operation,
the theatre ensemble received a
suitably large stage and the hall and in
2011, the small stage was additionally
constructed. At the back of these two
buildings there is a pine grove, a
unique biotope in the middle of the
city, planted in the area of the last
22
remains of the former clay pits. The
soil holds water which attracts frogs
and birds, also migratory birds. This is
a real oasis of peace at hand. On the
south side there is a well-maintained
children’s playground with a set of play
equipment, and at the eastern edge
of the grove there is a monument
to women of Alexandria by the
sculptur Nika Šimac. In its simplicity it
represents a a woman- mother figure,
near whom we feel safe. It is dedicated
to thousands of girls and young
women who left for Egypt in the years
between 1850-1960 in order to earn
money as nannies, governesses, and
wet nurses of children of rich families
to help their husbands and children
who stayed at home. Their experience
is an intertwining of heroic and tragic
stories; it is the society’s responsibility
that this does not slip into oblivion:
Društvo za ohranjanje kulturne dediščine
aleksandrink (Maintaining the Cultural
Heritage of Alexandria Women Society).
We continue our walk on the
promenade along Vojkova Street
to the contemporarily designed
parish church of Christ the Saviour,
constructed in 1982 following the
designs of the architect Franc Kvaternik.
The Way of the Cross and a 5.3 m
high sculpture of Christ the Saviour
were created by the sculptor Stane
Jarm (1931-2011) in a contemporary
expressionist style. He is also the
creator of the statue of the Mother of
God with Child in the side chapel. The
church has been a con-cathedral since
2004. In front of it, there is a bust of
the Archbishop of Goriška, Frančišek
Borgia Sedej (1854-1931), the last of
the four Slovenian archbishops who
led the archdiocese of Goriška from
1883 to 1931. Before that, archbishops
were Germans or Austrians, later
Italians. By birth from Cerkno, after
the consecration, he went to study at
the Vienna Avguštinej (the Imperial and
Royal Institute St. Augustine for Education
of Priests), where he later taught as a
professor. The archbishop Jakob Missia
(1838-1902), the first Slovenian cardinal
(appointed in 1899), talked him into
returning to Gorica. Educated and
nationally conscious, he was a herald
of a demand that religious lessons
should be given in the mother tongue,
and he persisted with this idea also
during fascism when he confronted
the seconding of Italian priests into
Slovenian villages and gave support to
the maintenance of Slovenian singing
in churches. Because of constant
discrediting, demonstrations and insults
he asked for dismissal and he died soon
afterwards.
23
Žabji kraj, Šolska ulica (Šolska Street), Solkan Squares
Let’s stroll eastwards: across the fields we
arrive at the route which used to connect
the Vipava Valley with Solkan. Turn to the
north: there are some fields which still
resist urbanisation, and on the slopes of
the Kekec hill vineyards, olive groves, and
cherry orchards can be seen. When the
houses become dense, we are in Žabji kraj,
a section of Solkan which was known for
the most fertile land. At the crossroads,
there is a monument to refugees:
because of bombing during the First World
War, all of the people from the village,
approximately 3000, had to leave their
homes. The sculptor: Vinko Torkar.
We turn right to the Bartolomei Villa,
a countryside mansion of a middle
class family from Gorica, who lived here
periodically until the Second World War.
After the expropriation from the owners,
the post-war authority dedicated the villa
to the secret police UDBA, this is where the
Nova Gorica Prison was located. Today, the
24
Villa houses the Goriška Museum. There
are several permanent collections open
to the public. Finds from the time when
our territory was traversed and invaded by
Langobards are found on the first floor, and
objects related to the activity of restoration
are exhibited for the most part of other
two floors. There is a library located in the
new premises which is considered to be
the richest museum library in Slovenia. The
main collections of the Goriška Museum are
found a few kilometres away at Kromberk
Castle, once the home of the counts
Coronini-Cronberg, a manor house with
typical construction elements of the 18th
century and a park in the baroque style.
In the vicinity of the Bartolomei Villa, at
Pirjevčeva Street 5, there is a small private
museum of the First World War, which
has been created by Rok and Jordan Boltar.
Years ago, many people from the locality
collected the remains of arms to sell as scrap
material, but today, gathering such items
has become a passion for many collectors.
Taking Šolska Street we arrive at Solkan
primary school, built in 1905. The
local school was mentioned in 1843,
although allegedly the first school was
officially established in 1856. Lessons
took place in private premises for the
first half of century! Under fascism it was
given a high-sounding name after the
Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci, but
the content of teaching was not based on
humanism since teachers brought from
the south of Italy conducted a very severe
anti-national policy. The school library
with Slovenian books was an early victim
and was burnt down in 1923. In 1976, a
new school was built next to the old one.
Passing the birthplace of the sculptors,
Boris and Zdenko Kalin, with a
memorial plaque on its façade, we arrive
at IX. Korpusa Street. Immediately to the
right, there is a gigantically designed
monument to the fallen soldiers and
activists of the National Liberation War,
the work of the architect Vinko Glanz and
the sculptor Boris Kalin.
At the beginning of Mizarska Street,
there is a memorial to carpenters from
Solkan, an enlargement of a woodcut
by a local, Jože Srebrnič (1902-1991). In
the 19th century and at least until the first
half of the 20th century, carpentry was the
principal craft in the town, since as much
25
as one fifth of men were carpenters or
their assistants. After the Second World
War it was the carpenters from Solkan
who formed the core of the furniture
company (later renamed into Meblo),
instituted in Kromberk. The square next
to the Solkan church dededicated to St.
Stephen (Sv. Štefan), was named after
Mark Anton Plenčič (1705-1786), a
doctor born in Solkan who worked and
lectured in Vienna where the Empress
Maria Theresa granted him his aristocratic
and chivalric titles. In his work Opera
medicophysica (1762) he developed the
theory on microorganisms (animalcula
minima) as the agents of illnesses and
defended the idea that every illness has its
own agent. Deriving from this knowledge
he proposed the use of medicines which
act directly on germs.
26
The houses around St. Stephen’s church
(the key is in the parson’s house), are built
densely in the form of a horseshoe; there
should have been two such horseshoes,
but only one is preserved in its entirety.
On façades and walls there are memorials
and signs lined up which provide
evidence of the varied history of Solkan;
in front of the building housing the Local
Community Centre, there is a stone which
used to mark the border between the
municipalities Gorica and Solkan. At the
lower square, named after Jože Srebrnič,
there is a central point of attraction, the
fountain, which represents the Soča River
in an abstract way when, near Solkan,
the river is thorn from the embrace of the
mountains. Once, a working well with
drinking water stood here and also the
Soča River near Solkan was drinkable. Once.
Solkan bridges, war cemetery
Along Soška Street we arrive soon at the
“Brda” road bridge across the Soča River
which has the longest arch of reinforced
concrete in Slovenia from which the truly
most courageous are willing to jump, into
the void, tied only by an elastic cord (yes, - a
bungee jump!). But our view is soon caught
by the Solkan railway bridge which is
considered the last among the great stone
bridges and which is with its 85m long stone
arch really the longest in the world. It was
completed in 1905 and traffic started to run
on it a year later. The journey of the royal train
across the bridge was greeted by thousands
who made it clear to the heir-presumptive
Emperor Franz Ferdinand that this is where
the Slavic race lives. At the beginning of
the Sixth Battle at the Soča Front, during
the night from 8 to 9 August 1916, the
strategists of the Austro-Hungary Army blew
it up so that the Italians could not get hold of
it. Later, when after the Treaty of Rapallo, the
territory was occupied by Italians, the stone
arch was reconstructed although the line did
not have the significance of a great transport
artery that it once had and even though
in construction, only reinforced concrete
was used for bridges of such magnitude.
During the Second World War, quite
often, the bridge was a target of air raids
by the Allies but it was hit by only one
bomb which, luckily, did not explode. In
1985 it was declared a technical monument.
Quite close, there is the cemetery of AustroHungarian soldiers from the beginning of
the battles at the Soča Front; entry is at
your own risk. The modest cemetery does
not give a real impression of the slaughter
which followed in the next three years and
demanded the greatest sacrifices right at the
very front taking place in Goriška. In addition
to individual graves, in the middle of the
cemetery there is an ossuary, and above it a
built tower – obelisk with an inscription “ICH
HATT EINEN KAMARADEN”, “I had a comrade”.
This is where approximately 2,500 soldiers
are supposed to be buried.
27
28
Ulica IX. korpusa (IX. Korpusa Street)
We turn back to the square and follow
the main traffic route, IX. Korpusa Street. A
dense construction hides narrow streets
called gasa, groups of houses around the
inner courtyard which is usually not seen
at all from the street. Near the grocery store
there is a monument to the kayakers of
Solkan who organised themselves into
a society soon after the annexation and
with their displays of skill filled people
with enthusiasm at competitions around
the new homeland and later on at all
international and world championships,
including the Olympic Games. The sculptor
of the monument: Vinko Torkar.
In addition to typical farmers’ and workers’
houses there are some larger villas which
have not served their original purpose
for a long time. The largest complex is
Panjakovo (House Number 52-58) with as
many as seventeen window axes, a typical
balcony and entry portal and neo-baroque
elements, and which after the Second
World War housed the headquarters of the
Goriška District, and later the Music School.
Today, this is a residential building.
The Sabotin Hotel is housed in a former
Puppi Mansion (House Number 35) from
the first half of the 18th century when it was
built by the Mulitsch pl. Palmenberg family.
The mansion, however, changed owners
several times. In 1933 it was bought by Karel
Kumar who reconstructed it into a hotel
with a restaurant, called Villa Montesanto.
The main façade was once on the north
side where there are remains of a formal
park. The Lenassi Villa (House Number
98) belonged to Zofija Dolec Lenassi who
in 1857 bought a former farm and turned
it into a villa with numerous Palladian
elements, which in that period of time were
still a point of reference for the designers of
villas in the Goriška region. The main front
was on the north side while the east side
looks over the street. A park also belonged
to the villa in which lime trees, almond
trees, Japanese cherry trees, and magnolias
grew, which, however, did not survive
the maelstrom of the war. Today, a petrol
station is sited there. After the First World
War it housed the institution for abandoned
children, after the Second World War, the
headquarters of the Police.
29
Between apartment blocks to main street
We turn back to Nova Gorica taking
Lavričeva Street and then between
the apartment blocks on Gradnikove
brigade Street. Residential areas
are distinctively designed as parks
with many green areas and a space
dedicated to pedestrians. At the Obrtni
dom (Craft Centre) we turn left to
Jelinčičeva Street. At the crossroads
with Kidričeva Street, to the left
and right, there are monuments
dedicated to two members of the TIGR
organisation, Zorko Jelinčič (1900-65),
30
and Anton Rutar (1901-96). TIGR
(Trieste, Istria, Gorica, Rijeka) was an
illegal organisation which responded to
the fascist crusade against Slovenians
and Croats with the same means:
with sabotage and destroying the
headquarters of the fascists, pro-Italian
kindergartens and schools. They also
cooperated with Italian communists
and even agreed for the respecting of
minority rights in a future country once
free from the fascist terror. In the region
of Goriška, TIGR was active mainly in
the cultural field and it was Jelinčič
who was the organiser of assemblies
in which care was taken to maintain
the Slovenian language. Jelinčič was
also an excellent climber. TIGR received
support both from the Kingdom of
Yugoslavia as well as from Great Britain:
they received arms from Yugoslavian
barracks for their armed conflict with
the Italian army which actually took
place as early as 13 May 1941, and
they sent information to the British
intelligence service on the number
and armament of the Italian army in
the Friuli-Venezia Julia. In 1938 they
planned an assassination of Mussolini
during his visit to Kobarid but did not
carry it out because of their worries
of too many civilian casualties. Even
though they normally only operated in
threes, in 1941 the fascists managed to
capture nine members of TIGR. Accused
of terrorism and war espionage, they
were imprisoned and five were put to
death. The Osvobodilna fronta (OF- the
Liberation Front) had never admitted
31
the primacy held by the TIGR members
in their fight against fascism, although
many partisan units were armed
with weapons, collected by TIGR. The
recognition with the award of the Order
of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia
came only in 1997.
The sculptor: Zmago Posega.
Across the street, there is the Perla
Hotel, which is boasted to have the
leading role of the greatest European
casino. In addition to a set of slot
machines and gaming tables, guests
are attracted by the poker tournaments,
delicious culinary treats, entertainment
programme, spa centre, conference
halls. Nova Gorica is actually a place
where evening hours easily turn into
morning hours since people wishing
to party may choose from numerous
casinos, amusement arcades and night
clubs.
32
A building near the hotel, which
housed all the social and political
organisations of the former SFRJ, was
given the nickname Kremlin. In front of
it, there are monuments to the leaders
of the NOVJ (National Liberation War
of Yugoslavia): the political commissar,
Martin Greif- Rudi (1918-75), the
commander, Jože Lemut – Saša
(1918-42) and vice commander, Mile
Špacapan – Rudi (1910-42), are set
up in the line; the sculptor: Negovan
Nemec. A little distance away, there
is a monument to a combatant of
the Spanish War and a partisan, Aleš
Bebler – Primož (1907-81), by the
sculptor Marjan Keršič Belač. Closer to
the building of the municipality, there
is also a monument to a revolutionary,
who gave the name to the main road,
Boris Kidrič (1912-53); the sculptor:
Zdenko Kalin.
On the western side of the road, in the
greenery near the city shopping centre,
there are two more monuments, at least
indirectly linked to the NOB (National
Liberation War). Rado Simoniti (19141981), by birth from Brda, is depicted
showing the conductor’s vigour. During
the NOB, Simoniti organised and led
the choir of Slovenians from Primorska,
composed of “men from across the sea”.
These were boys and men, mobilised
into prisoner work brigades and
confined to the south of Italy or to
islands who joined the allies and the
NOVJ after the fall of Italy. Immediately
after the war, the choir performed
across the whole of Europe and with the
singing word expressed the demand for
the joining of Primorska to Yugoslavia.
Simoniti was a productive composer:
he set 600 pieces to music; solos, operas
and choir songs, including among them
also the (unofficial) anthem of Primorska
Vstajenje Primorske (The Resurrection of
Primorska). The sculptor: Negovan Nemec.
The musician is in the company of a
writer France Bevk (1890-1970), who
in his stories of the region preserved for
Slovenians the consciousness of those
places in Primorska which after the
First World War and the Second World
War remained within the boundaries
of the Italian state. In 1923 he became
the principal of the Goriška Library.
His most known work is Kaplan Martin
Čedrmac (1938) which describes the
sorrows of a Slovenian pastor from Slavia
Veneta, faced with the prohibition to
use Slovenian in a church. Bevk himself
was also imprisoned; after he escaped
from prison he joined the partisans and
became one of the leaders of the NOB in
Primorska. Bevk’s opera addresses mainly
younger and simpler readers.
The sculptor: Boris Kalin.
33
City centre, sports park and
modern apartment blocks
When we turn to Bevkov Square we
notice a mock-up cast in bronze
of Ravnikar’s urban layout design
of Nova Gorica, and next to it a
monument to the first builders of
Nova Gorica, youth work brigades who
came from the whole of Yugoslavia to
regulate water courses, dig foundations
and build the first apartment blocks.
The sculptor: Zmago Posega.
34
The city centre where there are, in
addition to shops, a health centre
with the pharmacy, the cultural house,
tourist agencies and various offices,
also several schools, offers numerous
possibilities for sitting idly in the open
and chatting with a cup of coffee or tea,
maybe taking a fast snack. The choice
is mostly limited to pizzas, bureks and
kebabs, and the old custom is, that
the delicatessen prepares sandwiches
(local panin) according to the wishes
of an individual. We continue our way
along Rejčeva Street but before that
we throw a glimpse at the courtyard of
the Milojka Štrukelj Primary School and
Gimanzija (general upper secondary
school) where we can spot a sculpture
of a pretty fifteen-year old girl, for
which the sculptor, Boris Kalin, received
the Prešeren’s Award in 1947. In front of
the technical school centre we notice
a cubistic sculpture “Costume” by
Janez Pirnat. The sports park with the
swimming pool, tennis courts, football
stadium, athletic track, gym, and
bowling is on our left – unless we are
tempted to be energetic, and take off
to do some sports, and raise a sweat!!
In front of the crossroads with
Partizanska Street, there are some
contemporarily designed apartment
blocks. Some among them, for
example, the Salamander by Špela
Videčnik and Rok Oman, aroused the
attention of international experts. The
Salamander was included among the
ten most attractive and technologically
interesting residential buildings in the
world! Next to it, stands the Star, by
35
the pair: Sadar – Vuga, while Vojteh
Ravnikar is the architect of the unusual
tower block with displaced floors in the
Majske poljane quarter. In the following
years, some other notable Slovenian
architects should be included in the
designing of buildings giving character
to the city. From the first decades of the
construction of Nova Gorica, there are
36
ruski bloki (Russian apartment blocks)
near the Korn stream, the nebotičnik
(the Skyscraper) and čebelnjak (the
Beehouse), as well as the kitajski zid
(China Wall) connected apartment
blocks in Gradnikove brigade Street
that stand out, while the latest period
is marked by the currently tallest
skyscraper called Eda Center.
Kostanjevica, Rafut
When we cross Erjavčeva, we go up
to Kostanjevica or Kapela which is
the most western part of the forest
reserve Panovec where there are the
church and the monastery seen from
far away. The first chapel (a smaller
church), dedicated to the Annunciation
of Our Lady was made built by
the count Matija Thurn in 1623-25
presumably in appreciation because
the Pope allowed him to marry his
relative. He simultaneously built a
smaller monastery dedicated to the
church’s caretakers and to the spiritual
lessons for laymen. Both church and
the monastery have a varied history
which is marked by expansions,
closure, reopening, demolition and
construction, intrigues among the
various orders of monks, destruction
and salvation of the library, buying
and selling the church organs, altars,
bells. After the last reconstruction in
the period from 1924-29 the church
preserved the greater part of its former
splendour (paintings, stuccoes) at
least in the interior, while, in the past
the façade was also distinctively more
playful in its baroque style.
In spite of being frequently moved,
whereupon thousands of precious
books were lost, the library of the
monastery is still extremely rich,
having more than 10 000 units in
various languages. Its greatest value
comprises thirty incunabula among
which the oldest dates back to 1476.
Unique is the first Slovenian Grammar
Book by Adam Bohorič (1520-92), in
Latin written Arcticae horulae succisivae
(Winter hours, 1584), which is given
an additional value by the author’s
dedication. The library, which holds the
name of Stanislav Škrabec, has been a
cultural and historical monument ever
since 1952.
37
Since it has always been a locally
important sanctuary with tombs of
numerous aristocrats from the Goriška
region, Kostanjevica is also the last
residence of the French kings from
the Bourbon dynasty or a “little Saint
Denis”, as it is called with all due respect
by the French Royalists. In the crypt
under the altar, in the sarcophagi made
of the stone from Aurisina (Nabrežina in
Slovenian), there are the mortal remains
of Charles X of France (1757-1836),
the last King of France and Navarre
(between 1824 – 30), his son Louis XIX
(1775-84) and grandson Henri V (182083) who both never ruled, Louis’ wife
Marie Thérese Charlotte (1778-1851),
Henri’s sister, the Duchess of Parma,
Louise Marie Thérèse d’Artois (181984) and Henry’s wife, Marie Thérese
Beatrice Gaetana (1817-86) who made
her husband’s last wish come true and
united the last members of the dynasty
in one place, as only Charles X and his
son died in Gorica. The wife of Charles
X, Maria Theresa of Savoy, is buried in
Graz. The crypt is “guarded” by the Court
38
Minister of Charles X, Pierre Louis Jean
Casimir deBlacas, who followed him
into exile.
In the garden under the monastery
there is a collection of the Bourbon
roses, probably the most extensive in
the world. It is worth having a look at it
particularly in the spring time when it is
in full blossom.
Our route continues along the ridge of
Kostanjevica, and then we descend to
the right on the asphalted road towards
Rafut-Pristava. In a (currently closed)
park on our right hand side, the Rafut
Villa is hidden which surprises with its
style, closer to Arabic than European
construction methods. The villa is
encircled by three hectares of park with
a free landscape shape and numerous
exotic plants (palms, sequoias, bamboo
trees, camellias, camphor laurels, cork
oaks, various cypresses…). During the
years from 1908-14, it was constructed
by the architect from Gorica, Antonio
Lasciac (1856-1946) who worked in
Egypt from 1882, first in Alexandria and
then in Cairo. He was so appreciated,
that the viceroy Abas II gave him the
noble title “bey”. Lasciac (of course, by
birth of Slovenian roots, and Laščak,
although he himself felt more a Friulan
and Italian), supposedly, never lived in
the villa which was severely damaged
during the First World War, and he later
sold it to the insurance company INA.
After the Second World War, it housed
the Institute for Health Care for many
years. At the moment, this extraordinary
and rare example of a neo-oriental
architecture in non-Islamic world is
unfortunately falling apart. Taking the
footpath and the cycling track next to
the railway line and through the tunnel
under Kostanjevica we return to the
starting point.
39
In sporting mood around the outskirts
Panovec
The plain on which the urban part
of the city is located is closed on
the south side by the hilly Panovec,
a popular recreational area for the
citizens. Some are satisfied with a walk,
others run or cycle on forest tracks
and paths and the remainder follow
the recommended exercises on the
recreational path. The forest has always
been protected because the flysch
40
soil was a good base for the growth
of mighty trees.Because of this forest’s
managers also grew non-native tree
species suitable for manufacturing
wooden vessels in the nearby
shipbuilding yards. Some of these
may be met when taking a walk on
the Forest Educational Path. The forest
boasts a wide diversity of flora and
fauna.
Soca
ˇ River
In many regards, the Soča River is a true
sacred river although it is starting to
lose the significance which it used to
have for the people from Solkan. This
is where barriers to catch the wood, a
tobacco mill, a real industrial zone with
a sawmill, mills and paper factory were
situated. The ferryman (barkador in
local dialect) used to take you across
the Soča River, later, the shores were
connected by a suspension bridge.
Young people, but also older ones, liked
to swim in the Soča River: the opening
of the season was considered to be a
jump into the river on St. Valentine’s
Day. Along the Soča River, there were
numerous gravel pits where real picnics
were organised on Sundays and during
holidays. At the gravel pits, women
used to dry laundry, washed right in
the river. There are almost no sand or
gravel pits any longer since, owing to
dams, there is no substitute for the sand
which is taken away by high waters.
The ruins of former buildings are today
pleasantly included in the facility of the
Kajakaški center Solkan (Solkan Kayak
Centre) where swimmers also like to
stay. The Soča River provides excellent
conditions both for the initial courses of
kayaking and slalom and sprint races at
the highest level. Sport fishing is truly
more established in the upper part of
the river basin but also in Solkan it is
possible to catch a nice example of the
Soča trout (Salmo trutta marmoratus
Cuvier) or the grayling (Thymallus
thymallus).
41
Guardians of the Alps
Škarbijel (646m), Skalnica – Sveta Gora
(681m) and Sabotin (609m) are a trio of
hills above Nova Gorica which do not
belong in the history of climbing but
thousands have died to conquer these
peaks. When after Italy declared war
on Austria-Hungary on 23 May 1915,
the latter withdrew from the border in
the plain area and fortified its defence
positions on peaks above the Soča River
– the Soča Front commenced during
which eleven battles were triggered by
Italians, and the twelfth, by a breakthrough in Kobarid (Battle of Caporetto),
by the united units of the AustroHungarian and German army. There are
numerous paths leading to these peaks,
today a popular excursion destination
point. Some are directed through former
ditches and caverns which is why, in
addition to trekking shoes, suitable
equipment is advisable (a helmet, head
torch). Orientation boards and signs
are not always adequate but finding
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your way around is not too demanding.
Climbs may be grouped into a daily tour
starting in Solkan.
Škabrijel is the peak closest to the city.
The ascent across the pass Vratca (403m)
runs partly through a supply ditch where
we are greeted by a book cut into the
stone, a work of an unknown soldier. At
the top there is a memorial dedicated
to all soldiers who fell on this hill and
a lookout tower. It was the worst on
Škabrijel during the Eleventh Battle (17
August – 15 September 1917) when a
record number of guns poured fire onto
the top, and long-lasting cannonading
was followed by the charges of storm
troops, the “Arditi”. However, all attacks
were in vain. Of the defenders, among
these, the soldiers of the 87th infantry
regiment (from Celje) particularly
distinguished themselves, the war
historians wrote that they survived the
hardest battle which had ever been
fought by any Austrian Army.
Sveta Gora (Monte Santo in Italian),
once Skalnica (Rocky Mountain),
is mainly the hill with the pilgrimage
route but also an extended point of the
Slovenian Mountain Transversal. The
basilica of the Assumption of Mary
was built on a place where Mary holding
Jesus in her arms was shown to the
shepherd-girl Urška Ferligoj in 1539 and
asked her “to tell the people to build a
house for her here and ask her for mercy”.
The official circles did not believe Urška
and they confined her but she saved
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herself twice in a miraculous way and
after two years of preparation works,
they started to build the church. It was
consecrated in 1544; upon this occasion,
the Aquileia Patriarch donated the image
of the Holy Mary to the church which is
attributed to the Venetian painter Jacobo
Negretti - Palma il Vecchio (Old Palma)
(1480-1528). The image was crowned in
1717, that is why the Mary of the Holy
Mountain is – the Queen. The present
church is at least the fourth one on the
same place, constructed in neo-baroque
style in the period from 1924-28 upon
the plans of the architect Silvan Barich (in
Italian – Baresi; 1884-1958), by birth from
Podgrad in Istria. The monumentally
designed basilica is adorned with a 50m
high bell tower with mighty bells. The
main attention is given to the image of
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the Queen of the Holy Mountain but
the carved ceiling, the Way of the Cross,
stained glass windows are also to be
admired. Behind the main altar there is a
plate-mould which served the pilgrims
of the first church in preparing souvenirs
with the soft inside of bread. On the
front, there is an eloquent inscription
Ego autem steti in montem sicut prius (I
stand on the mountain as before) taken
from the Book of Moses from the Old
Testament. Within the scope of the
church and the monastery there is the
Mariano museum.
The ascent to Sabotin is maybe the
most beautiful one owing to the diversity
of the flora and fauna, rich outlooks, and
slopes with precipices above the canyon
of the Soča River. This is where the Alps,
the Dinaric Karst and the Mediterranean
meet. The ruins of the former church of
St. Valentine on the south hillside of the
top ridge remind us of the once popular
pilgrimage path. The entire area has
been proclaimed a cross-border Park of
Peace. In a mountain shelter and war
veteran’s house (once a frontier barrack
of the JLA – Yugoslav National Army), it is
possible to eat a snack at weekends, and
there are also some war exhibits from the
First and the Second World War and the
Independence War put on display. The
most detailed description is given to the
Sixth Battle (6th to 17th August 1916), fatal
for Sabotin, when Italian soldiers broke
through the defence circle of the AustroHungary Army and conquered the top.
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A full table of delights
Only in the greatest metropolises
are there so many culinary traditions
intertwined as in the region of Goriška.
This was the contact point of the
German, Latin and Slavic worlds which is
why, without any exaggeration, we may
say that people from Gorica introduced
in practice the principles of uniting
recipes of various nations long before the
international culinary discipline started
to talk about “fusion cuisine”. Nations
remained on their own shores but in the
kitchen, the melting pot was king. People
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exchanged ingredients and methods of
preparation. One would introduce nuts,
another raisins and the third maybe
butter and then the combination would
begin. A whole range of produce
would be introduced in this way: fish,
pork, juniper berries, tarragon, oregano,
cabbage, chicory, potato, maize. Think of
the fresh fruit on offer such as cherries,
peaches, apples. And then bring in the
many different methods of cooking:
frying, roasting, boiling. These ingredients
and cooking methods are all brought
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together in the Goriška region which is
a maritime, a highland, and a peasant
countryside that is why both shellfish
and sea fish as well as game, mushrooms,
produce of the field and vegetables are
all at the heart of the local specialties.
Until the frost in 1929, the local
production of olive oil satisfied all
cooking needs but later nearly every farm
bred a few pigs and used the fat. The
climate conditions enable natural drying
of meat: salami, “zašinek” (made of the
pork shoulder), “pršut” (air-dried cured
ham). Numerous dishes are of a seasonal
nature, some common, others with a
flavour of a holiday, such as Kostanjevica
presnic (delicious traditional cake). A
list of good gostilnas and restaurants is
long, that is why you should not worry:
you will not remain hungry. Gorica
means a hill with a vineyard: a vine and
the wine therefore accompany us from
the beginning of the settlements of
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these places. The choice of wine offer is
enviable. We are at the western part of
the wine region of the (Lower) Vipava
Valley where both white and red wine
varieties flourish. Pinela, Zelen, Klarnica
and Rebula are thought to originate right
here, among the newcomers, introduced
into our vineyards in the second half
of the 19th century, there are almost
completely domesticated Chardonnay,
Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Vert (once
Tokai Friulano), Pinot, Merlot, Cabernet
Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc grapes.
The old tradition, which the local people
never allowed to be taken away from
them, is the distilling of their brandy
(similar to grappa), particularly tropinovec,
strong spirit made of grape pomace.
Especially older people have always laced
their coffee with it. They say it’s good for
your health!
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Info
Turistični informacijski center Nova Gorica
Tourist information center Nova Gorica
Delpinova ulica 18 b, SI-5000 Nova Gorica
tel.: 00386 (0)5 330 46 00
fax: 00386 (0)5 330 46 06
tzticng@siol.net
www.novagorica-turizem.com
Turistična zveza Nova Gorica
Nova Gorica tourist board
Ulica tolminskih puntarjev 4, SI-5000 Nova Gorica
tel.: 00386 (0)5 330 46 02, 330 46 04
fax: 00386 (0)5 330 46 05
tzticng@siol.net
www.novagorica-turizem.com
MESTNA OBČINA NOVA GORICA
Editing: Turistična zveza – TIC Nova Gorica
Art director and coordinator: Dejana Baša
Text: Toni Gomišček
Translation: Perspektive, Maja Vitežnik s.p.
Photopgraphy: Mirko Bijuklič, Leo Caharija, Toni Gomišček, Marijan Močivnik, David Verlič, Manuel
Kovšca, Metod Zavadlav, photo on the cover: www.istockphoto.com
Design: A-media d.o.o.
Print: A-media d.o.o.
Print run: 2500, 2012-05-21
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