Jesenice, an industrial town

Jesenice

The Ljubljana basin ends at Žirovnica below Stol (2236m) – the highest peak of the Karavanke mountains. The Upper Sava Valley rises gently upwards along the Sava River. At Moste near Žirovnica the Sava River is restrained by the highest dam in Slovenia. Behind the barrier is an artificial lake with a deep of 50 meters covering an area of 69 hectares. On the south side of the lake is the village of Blejska Dobrava, and to the north are the villages of Javornik and Koroška Bela, which today form a part of the area.

Jesenice is an industrial town whose prosperity depended solely on its ironworks until 1990. An interesting place to visit is the Technical Museum. In a picturesque setting between the town and the Austrian border, which runs along of the top of the Karavanke Mountains, the villages of Planina pod Golico and Javorniški Rovt lie nestled at an altitude of 1000 meters. The south side of the valley near it is closed in by the steep and somber northern slopes of the Mežaklja plateau.

At Hrušica there is a crossing to Austria. Here the two countries are linked by an 8000m long tunnel through the Karavanke Mountains.

Branching from the Sava Valley are three grandiose alpine valleys extending deep into the main ridge of the Julian Alps: Vrata, Krma and Kot. At the entrance to the Vrata Valley lie the alpine villages of Mojstrana and Dovje. This 10km long valley ends in a hollow directly beneath the mighty 1500m high north face of Triglav.

In 1895 Jakob Aljaž, a parish priest from Dovje, erected Aljaž´s Tower on the summit of Triglav at his own expense. In 1896 the Slovene Alpine Society built an alpine hostel on Kredarica (2515m), directly below the top pyramid of Triglav. Triglav, the pride of Slovenes, also appears in the national coat-of-arms. Another attraction in the Vrata Valley is the Peričnik Waterfall (52m).

Gozd Martuljek is a scenic alpine tourist village. The Hladnik stream flows from the Karavanke Mountains through a narrow ravine, while the Martuljek stream springs from a fascinating amphitheatre below Špik (2472m) and drops in two waterfalls – the not too easily accessible Upper Martuljek Waterfall (100m) and the Lower Martuljek Waterfall, accessible by a well-maintained footpath.

Now that is all for the moment, hope seeing you soon. Bye, bye...

From Jesenice back to Upper Carniola