June 2022
‘’Noble Šoštanj’’
Our day began with a morning drive to Šoštanj, where the clouds over the thermoelectric plant told us we were nearing our first stop. In a beautiful green valley, we were greeted at the Lajše aerodrome landing strip by our very smartly dressed host for the day, Miha, who we found waiting for us beside an exciting four-seater airplane.
We were given an aerial tour of the Šalek valley, with incredible views over the artificial lakes that had been formed as a result of the coal mining operations in Velenje and its surroundings.
Miha told us how the legendary Czech entrepreneur and shoe manufacturer, Tomaš Bata, landed his own plane in Šoštanj in 1931, to everyone’s surprise, and that this is fondly remembered as an important moment in the history of the local leather industry as Tomaš collaborated with Šoštanj leather factory and its owners, the Vošnjak family in his grand ambition to provide shoes for millions.
After a smooth landing that came all too quickly, still buzzing with excitement after our sky adventure, we were met by another marvellous vehicle – a 1955 vintage Opel car.
A short but scenic drive brought us to our second stop of the day, the former home of the Vošnjak family, who started the leather industry in Šoštanj and saw it grow into the largest producer of leather goods in South-East Europe. We were struck by the beauty and grandeur of the estate, which is at present unoccupied and without any function but has been maintained enough to have given us a feel for the grand lives the Vošnjaks had lived.
Our next stop was Villa Mayer in the town centre. The villa, former home of the Mayer family, was built by lawyer Dr. Fran Mayer, who served as mayor of Šoštanj between the wars and now serves as a museum with various exhibitions. Here we learned a bit more about how Šoštanj’s various industrial ventures have interacted the very landscape and population of the area.
We were then served a delicious four-course lunch with excellent wine pairing, including a selection from the nearby winery Zlati Grič. The menu had been carefully chosen to evoke the traditional culinary options of the bygone era we had been transported to. The heavy inclusion of štruklji was a real treat!
Accompanying our meal was a short film with an even more comprehensive history of the leather factory – from its beginnings to its eventual state ownership and official closure in 1999. Watching the incredible expansion and adaptation of the factory unfold decade by decade was fascinating, and its significance in Šoštanj’s recognition as a city was very impressive.
After a short stop at a charming local cafe, we made our way to the Museum of the Leather Industry of Slovenia, housed within the last remaining building of what had once been an extensive factory complex. Having learned much during the day already about the Vošnjak family and the development of their factory, we were now given a better understanding of the type of work that the factory produced and of the lives of the factory employees, who were such an essential part of this story.
This tour also allowed us to see up close some of the fantastic machinery used in the factory; large and imposing, but at the same time, many of these were very elegantly designed. We were less charmed, however, by accounts of the accidents that some of these machines caused! Before leaving the museum, we were given a small souvenir to put together ourselves.
Finally, we made another short walk to the main square of Šoštanj’s town centre, where the sound of triumphant classical music marked the end of our journey.
We highly enjoyed this experience full of interesting stories, adrenaline, great food and history in a corner of Slovenia we previously hadn’t known much about. Many thanks to RADIO SI and to the Šalek Valley tourist board, our guide Miha, Urška, Tina, Ksenija and others for an amazing and educational day.
Hugh and Zala
Photos by: Hugh & Zala
