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Top 10 attractions

Gewerkenegg Mining Castle
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Jovanka’s tablecloth
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Mercury drops in a cube
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Franja Partisan Hospital
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The water wheel of the Idrija “Kamšt”
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Did you know
One of the editors of the Partisan Journal, printed by the Slovenia Partisan Printing Shop, was the writer France Bevk. He wrote a commemorative brochure upon the 100th anniversary of the birth of the writer Josip Jurčič and the poet Simon Gregorčič, printed by the Slovenia Partisan Printing Shop.
In the postwar years, France Bevk often intervened in favour of political prisoners.
In the past, all the children in the Idrija region, both girls and boys, started to learn how to make lace at the age of six. Today, over 400 children and young people and 150 adults attend the Idrija Lacemaking School every year.
The oldest written record about lacemaking in Slovenia goes back to 1696 and talks about the female dealers, who took the lace from Idrija and smuggled mercury for food.
In 1990, Idrija celebrated the 500th anniversary of the discovery of mercury ore.
They made a natural red cinnabar dye in Idrija from the beginning of the mining in 1490 until 1922. It was already known to old civilisations, and it was found on wall paintings in the Egyptian Pharaohs' tombs and the Roman middle-class citizens’ palaces.
Did you know that pit lamps – carbide lamps were introduced in 1913? They lit up the pit for up to 10 hours. The miners used them until the beginning of the 1960s, when they started using accumulator lamps.
The old alchemist Johann Anton Moscherosch sent a letter to Maria Theresa in 1763 informing her that he had managed to find a recipe for obtaining enough gold from Idrija native mercury in six months to fill the imperial treasury. Do you think he succeeded?
There is a mercury treasure awaiting you at the bottom of the Gewerkenegg Castle tower. The Slovenian artist Jožef Vrščaj caught a thousand mercury drops into a plexiglass cube.
A farm in Podnjivč (Dolenji Novaki) that gave a shelter the wounded even before the establishment of the Franja Partisan Hospital, was settled as early as in the 14th century, which is confirmed by the 1377 Tolmin land registry.
The doctors Franja Bojc and Viktor Volčjak were placed before the military court during the war due to serious accusations and ultimately acquitted. The archive material regarding the process was published in 1996.
In the summer of 1944, the Partisan Hospital got its own electricity source. The power for illuminating the huts was ensured by a small hydro power plant, built behind the home for the disabled.
The Gewerkenegg Castle tower clock is visible on a depiction of Idrija in the 1689 Glory of the Duchy of Carniola by Johann Weikhard von Valvasor. Today’s clock, which has to be manually wound every day, was made in 1894 in the Ludwig Hainz factory in Prague.
Cast iron vessel with mercury and floating steel ball
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A character of the Cerkno runners (laufarji) – the Thread Man (Ta terjast)
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The writer France Bevk
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Smuggler Marina Melhiorca
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High-speed printing machine from the Slovenija Partisan Printing Shop
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Where to find us

In western Slovenia, at the junction of the Alpine and the pre-Alpine world, there’s a piece of the world hidden among the ravines – the Idrija and Cerkno regions.
Cerkljanski muzej
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Idrijska kamšt
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Grad Gewerkenegg
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Tehniški oddelek muzeja v Frančiškovem jašku
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Idrijska rudarska hiša
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Partizanska tiskarna Slovenija
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Partizanska bolnica Franja
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Domačija pisatelja Franceta Bevka
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Gewerkenegg Mining Castle

One of the oldest buildings in Idrija, and no doubt the most powerful, is the Gewerkenegg Mining Castle, built 1522–1533. It is quite unique among Slovenian castles and an archaeological riddle to this day. Its name in German means simply a mining castle as it was built by the private owners of the mine for their own needs. No feudal lords have ever lived there but rather the administration of the second largest mercury mine in the world: a director and expert management and their families. They stored valuable stocks of mercury until the end of the 18th century – when they built a warehouse in the city. From the castle hill, the mercury went on its way into the world for centuries, sometimes all the way to South America. Since 1953, it has housed our museum of almost 2,000m² of surface area of former rooms, offices and warehouses that is intended for exhibitions and similar activities.

The Renaissance castle used external ditches for its defence, with three defensive towers, and Nikova Creek on the south side. The main entrance on the west side of the castle was allegedly fitted with a wooden drawbridge. In the last quarter of the 18th century, the castle was thoroughly renovated. The picturesque frescoes come from this time and we can still admire them today on the facade of the castle’s courtyard. But not many know that the beginnings of building on the castle slope date back further in the past. The sources of the Cividale town council from 1493 mention the St Achatius’ chapel built by German miners shortly after their arrival in Idrija.

Jovanka’s tablecloth

A full bobbin lace tablecloth, 3m long and 1.8m wide, is an exceptional product of the domestic and artistic handcraft of bobbin lacemaking in Idrija. It includes all lacemaking elements and techniques of this famous traditional lace: Idrija narrow stitch, cloth stitch with inner pins, separated cloth stitch, plaited honeycomb, flowers, leaves with half stitch. It is made of linen thread No. 90 in a cream colour. As it is too big to be made in one piece, the tracing paper (“papirc”) is divided into several repeated parts. All 46 pieces of bobbin lace are sewn together with an invisible stitch. The tracing paper for this tablecloth was drawn by the famous Idrijan pattern designer Zorka Rupnik (1905–1989) and was made by 15 or 20 masters of bobbin lacemaking. In less than half a year, they invested approximately 5,000 hours in the tablecloth. The set includes 24 cloth napkins with bobbin lace sewn in.

A tablecloth is a part of the lace collection with 8,000 pieces and is one of the most prestigious elements that makes Idrija Municipal Museum very proud. The oral tradition about the tablecloth is rich and diverse. The company of Čipka Idrija (Idrija Lace) that organised the making of the tablecloth got the order to make a tablecloth, a 12 person setting, from the protocol section of the Republic of Slovenia in the 1970s. It was intended as a the gift for Jovanka Broz, the wife of the then Yugoslavian president Josip Broz – Tito. Despite the fact that the tablecloth was never delivered to her, and has never decorated a table in the state or private premises of President Tito, the public knows it as Jovanka’s tablecloth.

Mercury drops in a cube

A cube containing mercury drops is an unusual sculpture standing in the SE part, that is in the Mercury Tower of Gewerkenegg Castle as a part of the “Five Centuries of the Mercury Mine and the Town of Idrija” exhibition. The Mercury Tower is designed as a miniature descent into the world of the Idrija underground. It was designed as a shaft, inviting us into the depths with steel ropes and stairs, opening up an underground world of tunnels and taking the visitor into the mining world where treasure awaits him or her.

The cube, a work of art of the academic sculptor Jožef Vrščaj, has an artistic and symbolic value. It is made of plexiglass with 59-cm-long sides, and hundreds of drops of mercury are skilfully caught in it. The sculpture symbolises the treasure that lies in the chest of the earth beneath the surface of Idrija. The mercury drops symbolise hundreds of anonymous miners going underground for 500 years, day by day digging the ore and getting this valuable and the only liquid metal on Earth. The wealth from Idrija, as indicated by a copy of the historical windsock under the cube, has flowed to all corners of the world. This made Idrija and its mine known around the world and also expanded the horizons of its inhabitants.

Franja Partisan Hospital

Franja Partisan Hospital is one of the few preserved to this day among many operating in World War II. It was built in the difficult-to-access Pasica gorge in Dolenji Novaki near Cerkno. It is a memorial with an exceptional value of sending out a message. It has been declared a monument of national importance and is a holder of the European Heritage Label due to its contribution to the common European history.

It addresses visitors in different ways. The view of the gorge’s overhanging rocks might astonish you as well as the gurgling glorious waterfall by the access path, or the path will charm you, slowly climbing through the forest and surrounded by a carpet of forest cyclamens. You will certainly be amazed and excited about the group of wooden huts squeezed at the bottom of the Pasica gorge, and the story of their construction and mission.

They were built during by the partisans during the most challenging times, with the help of the locals, in order to save lives. Fourteen wooden huts with beds for the wounded, operating rooms and X-ray facilities, a kitchen, storage room, laundry room with a bathroom, power stations and shelters for the wounded as well as the defence bunkers all tell a story about the extraordinary organisation of the life and work of a handful of people who were willing to sacrifice their lives to help others. It is a witness to their commitment, resourcefulness and high professional competence as they provided shelter to 578 wounded between 23 December 1943 and 5 May 1945; they saved the lives of most of them. The hospital’s activities are related to the names of many brave people: Doctor Franja Bojc Bidovec, who the hospital was named after, a founder and doctor Viktor Volčjak, the Italian doctor Antonio Cicarelli, surgeon Franci Derganc, paramedics Gašper and Danilo, and Pavla and Lida, and many others, many wounded of different nationalities, allied pilots, wounded soldiers of the enemy army, etc. The stories of the wounded and the staff displayed on the boards between the huts revive the memory of the time of suffering, remembering exceptional companionship, courage and solidarity. We become aware of the high price paid for peace and freedom we enjoy today.

The water wheel of the Idrija “Kamšt”

Slovenia has a very rich tradition of using water wheels for water mills and sawmills. Their use in ironworking, mining or other craft activities is less known. Only the Idrija “Kamšt” is preserved among many mining water-powered devices in Idrija until this day. The most attractive part of this famous pumping device from 1790 is its drive wheel. The wooden wheel supplied with water from the top and buckets with a diameter of 13.6m is mounted in a monumental stone building. We’re still wondering why it had to be hidden. Was the operation of the wheel too dangerous to passersby, or was it perhaps an innovation they wished to hide from the eyes of the competition? A little over 10m of bars is preserved out of 75m that connected the wheel with the pumping system in the mining shaft. The power wheel turned 4–5 times a minute, and pumped approximately 300 litres of pit water from a depth of 283m. Although the “Kamšt” stopped operating in 1948, the wheel still can be turned.

Cast iron vessel with mercury and floating steel ball

The exhibit was received by the museum in 1957 from the Idrija Mercury Mine. The vessel contains 1.55l, or. 21kg of mercury. The common steel ball floating in a 6.5m diameter and weighs 1.10kg. We use the exhibit as a visual aid to explain to visitors the physical and chemical properties of mercury, such as density, aggregate state, solubility, expansion, surface tension, generation of alloys with other metals and consequently its specific use.

Mercury is the chemical element with the symbol Hg. It is a heavy metal with a density of 13.6kg/dm³ and is the only metal that is in a liquid aggregate state in standard conditions. Because the density of common steel is lower, that is 7.8kg/dm³, the ball is floating in the mercury. Mercury dissolves gold, silver, zinc and many other metals and forms amalgams (alloys) with them. Since iron is excluded, we are able to exhibit our mercury, while the steel packaging is also used for its storage and transport. This is where the name steel flask comes from – it is the name for the bottle in which mercury is stored, transported and sold.

A character of the Cerkno runners (laufarji) – the Thread Man (Ta terjast)

The masks, as well as carnival masks, have been stirring the people’s imagination since ancient times; the Thread Man Ta terjast and other runners (laufarji) tell stories about the fears and beliefs of our ancient ancestors. They call spring to come to Cerkno, and bring people good luck and a good harvest.

The Thread Man (Ta terjast) is one of the 25 characters of this famous Slovenian carnival group and one of the most recognisable. According to ancient tradition, the Thread Man was supposed to represent the spirit of dead ancestors, and today it has the role of a security guard, a police officer. He holds a stick in his hand, his outfit is fully covered with flapping threads – linen weaving remnants. He wears a creepy mask on his head with a big nose and protruding jaw with big white teeth sticking out of it. There are three characters in the carnival parade constantly running around, scaring children, ensuring order among the runners (laufarji) and also the visitors of the carnival parade. Their running around gave the name to the whole group — the runners (laufarji).

A face mask or a makeup is called “larfa” in Cerkno. All except one of the “larfas” of the Cerkno runners (laufarji), which have always been made by domestic carvers, are carved of lime-wood and beautifully painted. They are special as they can’t be found in such a man-like form anywhere else in Slovenia, but are known elsewhere in the Alpine regions of Austria, Italy, and Switzerland.

Do you want to become one of the runners (laufarji) for a moment? Come to Cerkno Museum, visit the exhibition called “It’s the Carnival’s Fault!”: The story about the runners (laufarji) from Cerkno and put a wooden mask on for a moment to see how the boys feel when reviving the ancient carnival custom each year to make sure it doesn’t die out.

The writer France Bevk

Every Slovenian schoolchild learns about France Bevk (1890–1970), the writer of the Cerkno and Primorska regions. He was born in Zakojca near Cerkno in a family with many children. His parents sent him to learn to become a merchant, but his apprenticeship ended badly. He wrote about this bitter life experience later in the story titled Little Thief (Tatič), while he wrote his first work, a tale of the Bandit Lazarini, in secret in an attic when he was 12. He wrote a lot and was published as a student at the teachers’ college in Gorica. It is less known that he also published two poetry books, one for children (Shepherds at the Bonfire and Dancing / Pastirci pri kresu in plesu), and the other for adults (The Poems / Pesmi). He was persecuted and imprisoned due to his patriotic posturing in the times of fascism, but he never stopped creating. He published his works under a number of aliases, the most famous being Pavle Sedmak.

Bevk took the themes for his work from the domestic, farmer’s environment and the time in which he was living himself. This is where the characters of his children’s and young people’s works come from. Do you know Peter Klepec, Ferjanč, Blaže and Lenart from The Shepherds (Pastirci), Nežka from The Mammy (Pestrna) and Lukec and his starling on the long trip to America? Due to historical circumstances that affected the Primorska region during fascism, a special place is taken by a patriot priest, Martin in Chaplain Martin Čedermac, and the fate of the youngest in this period was presented in Little Rebel (Mali upornik). He was also troubled by a distant past. A few of his historical novels (Bloody Horsemen (Krvavi jezdeci), Scorpions of the Earth (Škorpijoni zemlje), Black Brothers and Sisters (Črni bratje in sestre), A Man Against a Man (Človek proti človeku)) describe life in the harsh times of the first half of the 14th century, when people were suffering due to feudal wars, grasshoppers, earthquakes, famine and plague. Bevk’s stories are placed on the hard ground of reality and are cruel and sad, but at the same time full of sparks of joy. They express the writer’s affection for the people and places of his homeland. Visit his home in Zakojca, his promise land, and feel the spirit of times that are long gone.

Bevk was an extremely prolific youth writer, who wrote about fifty works for young people, and over 150 all together. He is also one of the most translated Slovenian authors. His works have been translated into more than twenty languages. Films and TV shows have been made based on some of his works (Chaplain Martin Čedermac, The Shepherds, Black Brothers).

During the Second World War and after, he was also active in socio-political life. He participated in the fight for our western borders and was very disappointed when Trieste and Gorica were left out of the motherland. He lived and worked in Ljubljana and Nova Gorica. He died on 17 September 1970 on his 80th birthday in Ljubljana, and is buried in Solkan. A number of streets and town squares are named after him, and elementary schools in Tolmin, Ljubljana and Opicina near Trieste, as well as libraries and municipal prizes in Nova Gorica and Cerkno. Our museum was awarded the 2013 Bevk Prize by the municipally of Cerkno for the long-term successful management of Franja Partisan Hospital.

Smuggler Marina Melhiorca

Have you ever heard of smugglers? Here is a true story from the 18th century about Marina Melhiorca, the oldest known lace and mercury dealer and smuggler. A poor, older but apparently clever old lady from Šebrelje in the Cerkno region was involved in a trial in Idrija in 1729 to 1731 against a bunch of thieves and smugglers. The preserved records read like a true crime novel, all from the night when court attendants came in high snow to Šebrelje, grabbed and badly beat poor Melhiorca and locked her up in jail in Idrija Castle. In spite of her age and infirmity, she fooled the interrogators and finally… The mine manager at the time, the noble Franc Anton Steinberg, admitted that this process against smugglers exceeded his power. Maybe especially since a woman was involved. Find out about the fate of Melhiorca and her comrades in crime by visiting the museum and listen to the first museum fairy tale titled Melhiorca and her smuggling pouch!

High-speed printing machine from the Slovenija Partisan Printing Shop

The high-speed electric printing machine is still standing and operating in the Slovenija Partisan Printing Shop, where it printed the Partisan Journal during the war, the only daily newspaper of the resistance movement in occupied Europe.

The machine manufacturer is the Italian Rapida di lusso, Società Nebiolo Torino. Its capacity is between 800 and 1,000 prints per hour. The machine is still powered by the original electric motor, the product of Siemens-Schuckert-Werke from Vienna. The power station used for producing an electric current for the electric motor and lighting of the printing shop huts is still functioning. The printing shop caretaker demonstrates the operation of the machine and prints the 248th issue of the Partisan Journal, the first newsletter of the Provincial Committee of the Liberation Front for the Primorska and Gorenjska regions, printed in the Slovenia Partisan Printing Shop.

A story about the purchase, supply and transport of machinery to the illegal printing shop located in the forest under the edge of the Vojsko Plateau (Vojskarska planota) is also interesting. On request of Andrej Kumar, responsible for the establishment of the Slovenija Partisan Printing Shop, the machine was bought in Milan by Ladko Špacapan with money from the Liberation Front. The transporting of the machine through the enemy territory was extremely risky due to strict German transport controls. The road haulier Doljak from Gorica provided the order and official authorisation in Gorica for the transportation of condensed milk in which they hid the parts of the de-constructed machine. The Germans stopped the truck in Padua. During the check, the sirens announced an attack by allied aeroplanes and in all that confusion, Doljak and Špacapan managed to escape. They happily arrived in Gorica. After careful preparations, the machine was transported to Vojsko, hidden in the woods and later, with a lot of effort, it was brought to the newly built engine room of the printing shop.