Bistra Monastery - Mercury Mine - Gewerkenegg Castle - Franja Partisan Hospital

Route: Ljubljana - Bistra Monastery - Mercury Mine - Gewerkenegg Castle - Franja Partisan Hospital - Ljubljana
Duration: 10 h
Our first stop will be at the Bistra Carthusian Monastery was founded in 1255 as the first monastery in Carniola. Along with Žiče, Jurklošter and Pleterje it was one of the four Carthusian monasteries in the territory of Slovenia. Initially it was called "The Happy Valley" or in German ''Freudental''. Later the monastery was named after the near village Borovnica and at the end of the 15th century the final name - Bistra - appeared.  The first half of the 14th century represents the culmination of the monastery. This is when the monastery greatly expanded and invested in the functioning of the monastic library, where they created a number of copies and original works. Later began the slow decay of the monastery which was repeatedly hit by fires and in 1670 by a strong earthquake. Since 1951, the castle is a cultural monument of national importance and the place of the Technical Museum of Slovenia. Next we will visit to the Idrijan region where you visit to the second largest mercury mine in the world! Discover the mysterious underground world of Anthony's Main Road – you just might catch a glimpse of the pit elf – Perkmandlc.  The history of mining in Idrija dates back to 1490. Only the Almadén mercury mine in Spain was bigger and dates back to the Roman times. Both towns were so famous that their names were used in North America for the mining towns of New Idria and New Almadén. Until World War I the Idrija Mercury Mine was one of the best technically equipped mines in Europe. By burning cinnabar ore, the mercury miners of Idrija mined over 13 per cent of the world production of this ore. In 500 years Idrija exported 107,700 tons of this liquid metal. The mercury mining heritage in Idrija (together with the oldest theatre house in Slovenia, the warehouse, the city hall, the old town square, the science secondary school, the Gewerkenegg Castle, etc.) was successfully nominated to become a UNESCO world heritage protected site in 2012. Next we will visit to Gewerkenegg Castle which was build at the  beginning of the 16th century, only a little over 30 years after the accidental discovery of a rich deposit of mercury, the mighty building of Gewerkenegg Castle gradually grew in the most strategically appropriate location. Its German name simply means “the mining castle”. It was built by the mine owners for defence against the Venetians and Turks, for the storage of mercury and foodstuffs, and the accommodation of the mine management. The mine entrepreneurs initially walled and reinforced the chapel, followed by an extensive construction phase in 1522–1533. At the end of the construction, the Renaissance castle used external ditches for its defence, with three defensive towers, and the Nikova creek on the south side. The main entrance on the west side of the castle was allegedly fitted with a wooden drawbridge. A smaller tower and a clock roof tower were built in the 17th century on the eastern facade of the castle, facing today’s city centre. Today, the castle yard reveals a view of open arcades with a paved hallway, a well and picturesque restored baroque frescoes, and the more attentive eye catches the details: the years carved above the portals of various style periods. The varied and international past of mining in Idrija is revealed in the “stone carved stories”, presented in the castle lapidarium. Next we will visit to the Franja Partisan Hospital at Dolenji Novaki near Cerkno is a cluster of functionally-arranged Partisan hospital facilities located in the narrow, barely accessible Pasice Gorge, which is itself a natural attraction. The hospital complex comprises 14 wooden buildings and several small auxiliary facilities which were gradually set up in the period from December 1943 to May 1945. The hospital was among the best-equipped of clandestine partisan hospitals, with an operating room, an X-ray apparatus, a care facility for the disabled, and a small electric plant.  Conspiracy and security were of crucial importance to all clandestine partisan hospitals because, if discovered, they lacked effective defence mechanisms. Most of the route leading to the hospital ran along a stream flowing through the gorge. The wounded were blindfolded and carried to the hospital by its staff, most often at night. In selecting its location, consideration was also given to adequate self-defence in the form of minefields and machine-gun nests, and for this purpose the hospital was accessible only by footbridges and a drawbridge hidden in the steep Pasice Gorge. Still preserved in the precipitous canyons rising above the stream are several fortified bunkers and natural caves – hiding places for the wounded. Although enemy forces launched several searches for the hospital, it was never discovered. After we return to Ljubljana.
Price: Per person