Vipava Valley, a important settlement in the past

The Vipava Valley is closed in by the steep slopes of the Trnovo forest plateau and mountain Nanos on the north side and by the hills nestled at the foot of the Karst plateau on the south side. It thus has two characteristics landscapes: valleys and winegrowing hills.

Ajdovščina is the center. This is a crossroad of important routes running through the valley, across the Trnovo Forest towards Lokev, to the Idrijca Valley, and towards Postojna and Logatec.

In ancient times a Roman military post, Castra and Frigidum (camp on the Hubelj), stood on this site. The camp was enclosed by walls and towers. The Slavs named the settlement after its former pagan inhabitants, the “Aidi”. For many centuries Ajdovščina was a feudal estate ruled by various noble families. Due to its favorable position, it became the center of the Valley in the 18th century.

Vipavski križ was first mentioned in 1252 and experienced its greatest flourishing around 1500. At that time Vipavski križ was a walled in town with a magnificent four-towered Renaissance castle. Its medieval core is still preserved today. From 1636 onward a monastery also existed here. In the 19th century the population of Vipavski križ decreased simultaneously with the flourishing of Ajdovščina. Once a powerful medieval town, Vipavski križ became a village at the end of the 19th century.

Another important settlement in the valley is Vipava . Only a short distance away is the Vipava River spring, bubbling out from beneath a rock wall on which Stari grad (Old Castle) once stood. Only one kilometer from Vipava, in the midst of rolling vineyards, is the Zemono Manor.

The villages of the Vipava Valley are set among vineyards on sunward slopes and hills. In winter these villages are exposed to northeast winds blowing from the Trnovo Forest in gusts of more than 150km/h.

I hope you were not blown away from this strong wind! But you can see for yourself how strong this wind really is by visiting the area.

From Vipava Valley back to the Basin River Soca