Find out about part of Slovenia’s cultural heritage on a trip around Idrija and Cerkno. A lot of knowledge, skills and related tools, objects and products are passed down from generation to generation, which provide a sense of identity and continuity of previous generations. By learning about bygone days, we can express our respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.

The bus will depart at 7am from Ljubljana or from an agreed place for groups. The journey begins with a drive through the countryside beneath Mt. Blegoš, whose natural and unique secrets have long been a source of inspiration. Its beauty and tales make the valley a scene of love: for oneself, for one’s neighbours and for nature. Our first stop will be to visit the birthplace of two important Slovenian artists who worked in this area in the second half of the 19th century. We will visit the local cultural centre with its interesting museum collection, which leads visitors into a real creative experience, and also see caricatures of other famous people from the area.

Po obisku muzeja se bomo sprehodili še do znamenite cerkvice, ki jo v svojih zapisih omenja tudi Janez V. Valvazor. Oboke cerkve so poslikali v pravi fresko tehniki, do nje pa se bomo sprehodili preko pokritega peš mostu z dvokapno streho, ki predstavlja še eno posebnost tega kraja. Pot dalje nas bo vodila v smeri težko dostopne soteske Pasice, kjer si bomo ogledali še enega izmed zelo pomembnih kulturnih spomenikov,  ki je bil leta 1999 razglašen za spomenik državnega pomena in za katerega si Slovenija prizadeva, da bi ga Unesco dodal na svoj seznam svetovne kulturne dediščine.

After visiting the museum, we will walk to a famous church that is also mentioned in records written by Janez Vajkard Valvazor. We will walk to church via a covered footbridge with a gable roof, which is another special feature of this area, then see the interior of the church with its fresco painted vaults. Our journey will continue towards the hard-to-reach Pasica gorge, where we will see another very important cultural monument that was declared a listed monument in 1999 and for which Slovenia is striving for UNESCO to add to its list of world cultural heritage.

Po ogledu se bomo odpeljali proti mestu, ki je v svet poneslo ime »idrijska čipka«, in predstavlja pomemben del slovenske kulturne dediščine. Že od leta 1876  tu neprekinjeno deluje znamenita idrijska čipkarska šola. Ogledali si bomo renesančni grad, ki je na nek način posebnež med slovenskimi gradovi saj je poln skrivnosti in zgodb ki jih pripoveduje že 500 let. Pri ogledu muzejske zbirke bomo slišali zgodbe rudnika in mesta Idrije. Veliko pa bomo izvedeli tudi o težkem vsakdanu rudarjev, ki so ga lepšale družabnosti ter snežno bele idrijske čipke, katere so, v zavetju svojih domov, za dodatni zaslužek, klekljale njihove žene in hčere. Za konec se bomo odpeljali še do enega največjih ohranjenih  lesenih pogonskih koles v Evropi – edine, do danes ohranjene idrijske črpalne naprave, imenovane »kamšt«.

After the tour we will head to the town that bought word about Idria lace to the world, and which represents and important part of Slovenia’s culture heritage. The famous Idrija Lace School has been operating here continuously since 1876. We will visit the Renaissance castle, which in a way is unique among Slovenia’s numerous castles, as it is full of secrets and stories that it has been telling for 500 years. While taking a tour of the museum collection, you will listen to tales of the mine and the town of Idrija. You will also learn a lot about the hard everyday life of miners, whose lives were improved by the fact that their wives and daughters were able to produce snow-white Idrija lace in the shelter of their own homes, thus providing additional income. We will end by visiting one of the biggest preserved wooden water wheels in Europe – the only preserved Idria pumping station, named ‘kamšt’.

Following the tour, a well-deserved lunch awaits us. Idrija’s cuisine is known for having managed to create invaluable culinary gems from selected, high-quality and locally available ingredients. The most well-known dish is Idrija žlikrofi dumplings, and no Idrija feast is complete without smukavc (leaf vegetable stew) and ocvirkovca (savoury pork crackling potica). We will fortity ourselves with Prfar štruklji, try chive zeljševka and bid farewell to Idrija with a shot of absinthe before heading home.