The Idyllic Logar Valley

We arrived to Solčavsko by way of Ljubljana and as soon as we saw plantations of hops we knew that we have come to a fine and pleasant place. Our first stop was the arboretum in Mozirje, Mozirski gaj, where we managed, despite the early autumn, to walk amidst variety of flowers, plantlife, pools housing grotesquely large goldfish (the Japanese sheatfish would have run away in fear from these monstrosities), between cages with sparrows and parrots, and neatly designed cottages, where in the old days youth living in sin was sent. This herb garden is truly a testament to the fact that botanics is a kind of art. Even if Mozirje gaj is not as impressive as, say, the herb garden Volčji potok, it is still entwined by a kind of a romantic sense tot such a simple, but nonetheless glorious feeling as gazing at flowers. Of course this joy is lessened by the fact that you will hardly find a flower bed that would not be dedicated to this or that sponsor; that would not be a mere add for one or the other aspect of our capitalist times; Flower beds are sponsored by flower shops, mines, even banks, corporations and TV stations.

Before Logar Valley lies the village of Solčava, the heart of Solčavsko region. It boasts its own unique dialect and one of the most beautiful churches in Slovenia; the wood in its beams is around six hundred years old and within its walls lies a true treasure: A half a meter tall statue of St. Mary of Snow, who is also the namesake of the church. The statue is the oldest sacred image in Slovenia and was supposedly made by the same masters who build the Crusaders’ Church (Križanke) in Ljubljana. Otherwise, the village represents the cultural and administrative center of these lands and is the focal point of various villages and around 150 active farms, scattered across this part of the Kamniško-Savinjske Alpe (the Alps of Kamnik and Savinja). In the village there is a museum about the cave Potočka Zijalka, where relics from the ice age have been found, as well as testaments of presence of the Cromagnon Man, from over 15. 000 years ago in the form of whistles, spearheads and arrowheads. You can also see fossils of aquatic animals, which over a 100 million years ago in the geological period of the Triassic roamed the Tethys lake, a part of the sea that was to become the Mediterranean sea ages later. On account of these artifacts and fossilized animal life, and since this was the working ground of pioneers of Alpine explorations Franc Kocbek and Johannes Frischauf, one asks oneself during discovering the gleaming white cliffs of these valleys, what all is hidden in the Earth and how far into the pasts lies humanity’s history and our kinship with the mountains. 

A witness to the magnificent beauty of nature is the Logar Valley, a glacial valley, which is today a protected regional park, within which farms, pastures, woods and creeks give testament to the long symbiosis existing between natural world and Slovene people. As we walk along this long valley we can see abandoned “olcar” cottages, where woodsmen used to live. Small rooms of these little houses and timber slides on their sides speaks about the hard lives of workers who once day after day with axe and saw felled trees of these woods. In fact, logging was historically the most important economical venture in the surrounding areas. Other than that, Logar Valley was also known for coal making, the tradition of which exists even today. Along the way you can stop at several tourist farms, where it is possible to buy sour milk, a yoghurt-like dish. There are few greater pleasures in life than enjoying this delicacy and watching the sun set over the cliffs of the valley, and horses and cattle, indifferent to the human visitors, graze upon the vast meadows and fields. No less than three waterfalls hide among the stony cliffs surrounding Logar Valley, the mightiest of which being Rinka, whose size and the mighty blast of water rising from it truly inspire humility in people facing the awesomeness of nature. Speaking of superlatives; Rinka is one of the biggest waterfalls in Slovenia, which is difficult to capture on photos. One truly has to be there to appreciate its size. 

Our way back began with a quick drive across “Matkov kot” (Matko’s Corner), a small valley, which together with its big brothers, Robanov kot, surrounds the Logar Valley. Unlike her Arcadian sister there are no farms there, no beef inhabiting the meadows or walking paths. There one truly can find only lonely fields, vast flatlands covered with river stone and solitude. Such is the loneliness of this valley, that one might ask oneself whether they are even on the right track when driving on a pebble road for the past 15 minutes. It is a destination that is meant more for the hikers than a bunch of punks on motorcycles, and is a definite must for all mountaineers as you can see a truly gorgeous view of the mountain of “Kamniško sedlo” and vast Slovene lands on your way from its depths. Our path continued from the top of the hill beyond the borders of our homeland, across Austrian Paulitschsattel and Eisensattel, where two centuries ago charcoal from Logar Valley was transported. We then headed back towards Upper Carniola (or Gorenjska), where we made a stop at “Planšar Lake.” There we feed the ducks and enjoyed the view of the pastures with sheep and horses, pastures, which truly look like the mythological Slovenian lands as described by Bevk in his novel “Pastirci” (Shepherds) or “Kekec” by Vandot.

 

True travellers, who wish to taste the life of Solčavsko, can sleep over in the hostel Ljubno ob Savinji, a place so homely that you might not wish to leave. 

 

Whether you are a lover of nature, hiking or interested to any extent into anthropology or botany, these places are a definite must for you to visit. If not for anything else it is because this is, in my humble opinion, the single most beautiful valley in Slovenia, whether it be its pastures, waterfalls or rare flowers. There you can enjoy mountains that throughout the entire history of our nation inspired our collective imagination. You can bare witness to the memory of times before the modern man, when our kind knew only cold and beasts and was itself part of the wild. Or, you can surrender to a simple romantic joy: watching flowers, their colors and scents that together somehow symbolize life these lands are full of.