September 2021
The magic world of Idrijske Krnice
Hello we are Jordi from Barcelona and Andreja from Slovenia.
We had a long way from Prekmurje to Idrija…. that it felt more like discovering wonderland 😉
Before we were invited to participate in this program the only idea that I had about Idrija was that it was an isolated town that to reach you had to drive for a long time… I think I heard also that was quite an industrial place. Then I received from Radio SI the program for the 2 days where we would explore Idrija and its surroundings.
In the program I found out that Idrija is well known for its mining industry of mercury in the past… and that at present it is the world capital for lacing (čipka) with a school that teaches many children and adults. I found out also that Idrija has a marvellous nature alleluia!!!!!! I thought…. Idrija is a World heritage protected by the UNESCO as a GLOBAL GEOPARK.
On arrival of course we parked in the wrong place….although we were warned but finally we met Valeria our first host from the Tourist office of Idrija. She received us with a so much needed coffee after almost 3 hours’ drive. She introduced the program to us and then took us to TIC where we could see and experience the interactive exhibition »Written in the rocks«. With an app in your telephone you can listen and move through the exhibition discovering all of the geological particularities of Idrija and its surroundings by the hand of Scopoli, the first mining doctor that came to Idrija in the 18th century to heal the miners. Scopoli spent a lot of his time discovering the fabulous nature that Idrija had to offer and I guess was one of the first doctors to realize the healing power of nature.
Then we visited the Lace school of Idrija that is oldest in the world. Inside we saw with our guide many creations of many talented adults and children in the shape of »Čipka« that left us breathless and very hungry 😉 ready to be introduced to the gastronomic specialities of Idrija in the restaurant Pri Škafarju.
In the “gostilna”, we tried the delicious traditional žlikrofi with Jurčki and tasted the local beer. After lunch we had a bit of time to rest till we met Tomaž to view the exhibition Hg Smelting Plant. Tomaž had a very entertaining and cheeky way to present us the history of the Smelting Plant in Idrija and to present the tragic and serious with sense of humour. We had a good laugh and went through the history of mining in Idrija with a smile.
In addition, he directed us towards the Raufnk (Chimney) where we walked for 45 minutes and from where you have a beautiful view over Idrija. The Raufnk is a chimney of the smelting plant that was built so high so that the pollution provoked by it would not fall directly onto the town.
By then we were already quite exhausted from a very exciting long day.
Slowly we move towards Idrijske Krnice where Katarina, our next host was waiting for us. After a very uphill and curvy road, we arrived to The House on the Hill. What an oasis of peace that is……….at almost 1000m above sea level, near a farm but isolated , the House on the hill offers you the warmth of a cottage with all the modern commodities combined with a unique design (most of the furniture is made by a local carpenter, and the floor is made from antic bricks) . The combination of a modern house with natural materials results in a very warm and peaceful feeling accentuated by the amazing beautiful surroundings of unspoiled nature.
In the wooden terrace we really enjoyed the sky night and the moon setting in the horizon, embraced by an unusual but much needed SILENCE.
We slept very well this night to wake up the next day to the same SILENCE again… only broken by the neighbour farmer from time to time.
We had a lazy breakfast and waited for Katarina. Meeting Katarina helped us to understand where the warmth of the house was coming from ;-). We drove again through country roads contouring the mountains till we reached a farm. From there we walked to the highest peak at Lokvarski vrh viewpoint from where we were to see from Italy to Triglav a majestic view of a chain of mountains that unfortunately clouds prevented us to see but it did not take much effort to imagine…we felt in heaven and felt the grandiosity of all. With Katarina we made a toast with snaps of geruš to all the beauty of nature surrounding us.
Back from “heaven” we visited one of the local cheese farmers that helped us to ground ourselves back to “earth”. Kmetija pr Kendu were very friendly and showed us all the facilities and offered us a generous taste of their very tasteful cheeses. On our way back we still had time to visit the church of Sv. Florijan. Known for the mosaic created by Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, a beautiful small church funded by the local people. We felt blessed for the whole experience.
With this we finished our visit to Idrija and region leaving us with the sense that we just had a small taste of what Idrija has to offer…Now we know we need to come back for a bit more of what we discover and for all the places we did not manage in such a short time. We feel very grateful to Ksenija from Radio SI , Valeria from TIC Idrija, Katarina from House on the Hill and all the hosts who we had and who helped us to have this unforgettable days in the magic world of Idrijske Krnice and Idrija. Come and discover it by yourself, you won’t be disappointed.
Jordi and Andreja (Spain, Slovenia)
Photos by: Jordi & Andreja
