On the Untrodden Paths of Lower Carniola 

Soteska pri Dolenjskih Toplicah, or the Gorge, as it would translate into English, is a tiny, scattered village, lying on the slope of a hill next to the river Krka, on the road from the village of Dvor (Court) to Straža (Guard). In those few houses and small farms next to vineyards live some of the heartiest people you will ever have the pleasure and honor meeting. And it was in their company that I began to discover these places. Soteska itself is a beautiful place if you wish to walk the woods, meadows, if you wish to throw yourself into the icy cold Krka during summer days. You can snuggle up with someone you love on a worm night and gaze at the stary sky that here, on account of clean air, boasts the sight of the Milky Way, arching across the firmament. And if astronomical delights are not dramatic enough for you, you can find the ruins of the Soteska Castle next to the road. 

The Soteska Castle, which was already by Johann Weikhard Valvasor described as one of the most beautiful forts in Slovene lands, must have been truly enormous in its hay day. On an area a mere are large, one can see the core of the old building, part of the wall, as well as a beautifully preserved tower with that in with its German name, turn, gives name to many villages along the road. On the slope of the hill on the other side of the river stands a smaller castles that once served as a border fortress, for which it is said that it is connected with the river by a secret underground tunnel. The greatest parts of the castle were built in the 16th century for the glory of the Lords Schires. Later on the castle was governed by the noble families Gallenberg and Auersperg in the 18th century. The later of the dynasties, a family of wealthy landowners, stayed there until the Second World War that drove them out of these lands. Because the castle was a symbol of aristocratic decadence, gluttony and debauchery for the plain Slovene folk living in Soteska, it came to be known as the Devil’s Tower. In spite of this, its halls were decorated by the most beautiful frescos and even though only ruins have remained, one can still feel in them the memory of the old glory, when counts reigned there and a great brewery lay in its halls. Over the years the castle represented the heart of progress in the surrounding villages as a power plant was established there at the end of the Great War that has been supplying the village with electricity ever since the twenties. Today the castle is abandoned and the only sign of renovation is a wooden path for downhill biking that runs through it, which might be blasphemy or a brilliant use of old relics for the youthful pleasures of the modern generations.

I recently heard that in Kočevski Rog, which starst next to the St. Peter hill, there are no less than three jungles and I, thrilled at the news that Slovenia boasts a virgin wood, headed here, so as to experience a sort of adventure in the deep dark forest. I do not know whether what I found disappointed me or whether I was utterly moved. Descent into Kočevski Rog was no made strictly speaking legally, as me and my guides had to climb over a two meter fence, fashioned with two electrical wires, so as to cross the border. It was, however, in the very next moment when we found ourselves on the other side, that we felt that the trip was worthy of a hunter’s wrath. It is something completely different to walk in unkempt woodland, where trees are left to rot where they fell, where there is almost no signs of human existence. Thrilled we stalked animal prints, expecting to see a bear of a boar, but the rush of adrenalin calmed down when all we ran into was moulted winter fur of deer and some rabbit droppings. We have found something incredible after about an hour though. In the middle of Kočevski Rog we found an old Kočevar village, today a ghost town, from which remains nothing but ruins and word of mouth from the people who keep old days in memory. Kočevars were a German community who lived in these woods for six centuries, until their exile during the Second World War. It is something truly special, to eat lunch at a place that was once brimming with people living and working, of which remains nothing but a few foundations, dried up wells, hollow walls and far beyond its borders remnants of fields. All of you, who are strangers to the desire for adventure, fret not. These days even there, in the jungle, phones get reception. 

In Kočevski Rog, right next to the jungle Pečka, if you follow the road totwards the village of Rog, you can find an old Partisan village, the Base 20, in the cover of the forest. It was a military base that was of the crucial importance for the liberation of the front during the Second World War and the rebellion against the fascist forces during the German and Italian occupation of Slovenia. A couple of minutes of walk away from the base itself, you can find the renovated Bunker 44 that is other than being a popular spot for youthful drinking, an interesting example of wartime architecture. A smaller church and a graveyard deeper in the woods also give testament to the Partisan victims during the war. Other than monuments to the ancient plights of our nation, one can also see various interesting fauna typical of the Lower Carniola region. Mountain lions, owls and the three-fingered woodpecker are only a couple of examples of animal life residing in that unbridled nature, not to mention the notorious Kočevje bear.  

 

Sometimes places whose beauty we do not expect, that were not presented to us as some sort of a traveller’s ideal, charm us even more than they would otherwise. Perhaps it was exactly because of that, that this unknown bit of Lover Carniola fascinated me so much. From hospitable warm people, amazing unbridled nature, all the way to the rich history, full of German nobles and Partisan warriors, these sleepy places, stretching from village Soteska to Podturn, from Kočevski Rog to St. Peter Hill, these places are a true treasure, hidden deep in the arms of those few hilltops that the flatlands of Lower Carniola can muster. In any case, I do recommend that in case of traveling there, you do think about contacting a local, who might be able to show you the land, as the paths through the forests are unmarked and confusing, and the most beautiful cultural monuments are invisible to the unattentive observer. But if not for that, it is because you absolutely do wish to try their home wine. This is a land where it is truly possible to satisfy the thirst for adventures.