The Julian Alps

Lake Bled

This post starts by visiting Lake Bled, then travels to the nordijski center in Planica, stops at the Ruska Kapelica at at Vršič, crosses Vršič Pass with a brief stop at Tičarjev dom, then decends via the Soča river to Kobarid or in Italian Caporetto. 

Lake Bled

The lake is situated in a picturesque environment, surrounded by mountains and forests. The medieval-era Bled Castle stands above the lake on the north shore.  The World Rowing Championships in 1966, 1979, 1989 and 2011 were held at Lake Bled.  The lake surrounds Bled Island.  The island has several buildings, the main one being the pilgrimage church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, built in its current form near the end of the 17th century, and decorated with remains of Gothic frescos from around 1470.  The church has a stairway from 1655 with 99 stone steps leading up to the building.  Weddings are held there regularly where the tradition is for the groom to carry his bride up the steps on their wedding day before ringing the bell and making a wish inside the church.

Nordijski center in Planica

On the far left is the construction to increase the ski flying hill

The Nordijski center in Planica is a world famous valley where ski flying discipline was born in 1936.  Historic first jumps over 100 meters  and over 200 meters happened here.  Today it boasts of a modern nordic skiing complex with one ski flying hill, seven ski jumping hills and cross-country skiing track in Planica, Slovenia.  It was the world's larget hill until Vikersundbakken in Norway stole the crown.  The whole complex is currently under major renovations and this winter will steal back the crown from Norway, at least until the Norwegians steal it back again.

Vršič

In early 1915, the small town of Kranjska Gora suddenly became strategically important due to its proximity to the Isonzo Front. To facilitate access from the town to the front, the Austro-Hungarian authorities ordered the construction of a military road across Vršič, a 1,611 m pass between the Sava and Soča valleys, to be built by Russian prisoners of war.  The road was begun in May 1915, and was completed by the end of the year. To ensure an uninterrupted supply of materiel to the front lines, the pass was to be kept traversable year-round, and the POWs were made to clear the road of heavy snowfall.  In March 1916, an avalanche buried a POW work camp, killing approximately 110 prisoners and about 7 guards.  During the time of the construction there were more than 380 casualties in total.  The Russian camp was located roughly halfway up the slope of Vršic.  In November 1916, the remaining prisoners built a small wooden memorial chapel.  The building is of typical Russian design, with two small towers on either side of the nave, and is surrounded by prisoners' graves and a pyramid-shaped memorial marker to the immediate right of the chapel, with the cyrillic inscription reading "To the sons of Russia".

Where one crosses the Vršič Pass there is a hostel, Tičarjev dom, part of a series of mountain huts available to hikers.  The Soča river's source lies in the Trenta Valley in the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia, at an elevation of 876 metres.  Due to its emerald-green water, the river is marketed as "The Emerald Beauty." It is said to be one of the rare rivers in the world that retain such a colour throughout their length.  The Soča inspired the poet Simon Gregorčič to write his best-known poem Soči (To the Soča), one of the masterpieces of Slovene poetry.  The Soča is also well known for its unique trout species Salmo marmoratus (known as the marble trout), which lives in the upper course of the crystal-clear river. This species is endangered due to the introduction of other non-indigenous trout species sometime between World War I and World War II.

The river runs past the town of Kobarid entering the Adriatic Sea close to the town of Monfalcone.  Prior to the First World War the river formed part of the border between Kingdom of Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire and during that conflict was the scene of bitter fighting between the two countries, culminating in the Battle of Caporetto in 1917.

Kobarid

Kobarid is known for the 1917 Battle of Caporetto, where Ernest Hemingway documented the Italian retreat in his novel A Farewell to Arms. The battle is well documented in the museum in the centre of Kobarid.  The municipality is situated within the Julian Alps in the Upper Soča Valley.  During World War I, the whole area was the theatre of the Battles of the Isonzo, fought between the Kingdom of Italy and Austria-Hungary.  The town was almost completely destroyed between 1915 and 1917.  On 24 October 1917 there was no wind and the front was misted over.  At 02:00, 894 metal tubes were triggered electrically to simultaneously fire canisters containing 600 ml of chlorine and phosgene gases, smothering the Italian trenches in the valley in a dense cloud of poison.  Knowing that their gas masks could protect them only for two hours or less, the defenders fled for their lives, though 500-600 still died.  Then the front was eerily quiet until 06:00 when all the Italian wire and trenches to be attacked were peppered with mortar fire.  At 06:30, 2200 artillery pieces opened fire, many targeting the valley road along which reserves were advancing to plug the gap.  At 08:00 two large mines were detonated under strong points on the heights bordering the valley and the infantry attacked.  Soon they penetrated the almost undefended Italian fortifications in the valley, breaching the defensive line of the Italian Army.  To protect the attackers' flanks Alpine Troops infiltrated the strong points and batteries along the crests of the adjoining ridges, playing out their telephone lines as they advanced to maintain contact with their artillery.  The attackers in the valley marched almost unopposed along the excellent road toward Italy, some advanced a remarkable 25 km (16 mi) on the first day.  Italian losses were enormous: 10,000 were killed, 30,000 wounded and 265,000 were taken prisoner – morale was so low among the Italian troops that most of these surrendered willingly.  After this battle, the term "Caporetto" gained a particular resonance in Italy.  It is still used to denote a terrible defeat.

Please donate, a Roman bronze uncovered locally

The Kobariški Muzej developed from a collection that was set up by the locals in 1990.  It first operated within the frame of the Tourist Society of Kobarid.  Five years later  founders transferred the management to a non-profit company which still manages the Museum.  In 2011, the Kobarid Museum was put in the official register of Slovenian museums.  "The Kobarid Museum is not a museum about war but about man and his distress. It is not a museum about victory and glory, about conquered and trampled flags, about conquest and revenge, about revanchism and national pride.  It is men that are at the forefront, the men who – aloud or silently to themselves, for themselves or for their fellow sufferers – in various languages of the world endlessly shouted: "Damn all war!"  In short, this curse of theirs encapsulates the fundamental message of the Kobarid Museum, its success and justification and the necessity that it lives and develops."  Dr. Branko Marušič, Kobarid Museum.  "… In the course of my professional career I visited hundreds of museums, among them war museums.  Kobarid was the first one where I could not find the slightest trace of chauvinism, bias, or glorification.  Its display is deeply touching.  It takes its visitors by their hearts and souls and conveys a message which cannot be disseminated too often and too loud: war is insanity, crime, it only generates victims."  Friedrich Waidacher, representing The European Museum of the Year Award Commitee for the Council of Europe Museum Prize 1993.