Heritageof Kranj

ENThirty sitesof the Municipality of Kranj

Preface

At the Kranj Tourist Board we decided to publisha brochure containing all the basic information onthe exquisite cultural and natural monuments,museums and galleries in the City Municipality ofKranj. We would like to familiarise visitors with thecity and guide them through the oldest archaeolo-gical discoveries and show them our modern archi-tecture and technical heritage. We would like totake them to all the secret places in the wonderfulnatural surroundings of the city and to all the inte-resting places that the Kokra river canyon hashidden from curious eyes. A rich cultural, naturaland technical heritage, intertwined with famousSlovenian names that have made a memorable con-tribution to the city of Kranj, all meet in this publi-cation as a part of the past, which we cherish andgladly offer to tourists. The places were chosenaccording to the already existing tourist offer inKranj, the wishes of tourists and what we are mostproud of.

It is our wish that the publication serve as anencouragement to stroll the rural surroundings andthe city itself, and also, as an invitation to revisit theCity Municipality of Kranj. We believe that there isso much to see in Kranj that one day does notsuffice to see it all.

Natalija Polenec, Director

Index

City HallPre{eren Memorial MuseumFrance Pre{erenPre{eren’s grove Simon JenkoThe parish church of St. KancijanThe ossuaryPungert with the two towers and the churchKranj’s defence wallsKhislstein castle and country mansion(Ulrih's house)TollhousePirc’s dye-worksPav{lar’s houseLayer’s houseLeopold Layer Janez Puhar Janez BleiweisJo`e Ple~nik in KranjSlovenski trgThe water towerThe tunnels of KranjThe canyon of Kokra The giant sequoia in KranjUdin bor{tPonds in BobovekThe [um waterfallThe Trboje LakeThe Brdo castlePark BrdoThe Chapel of St. Peter under the hill[marjetna gora

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1The City Hall’s present form was made by joining two build-ings, the older corner building (a clock tower and a classicis-tic colonnade shed) and a newer building on the squareGlavni trg, where the entrance is today. The most interestingpart of the corner building is a late-Gothic colonnade halldating back to the first half of the 16th century, which youcan now enter through the entrance hall and a former blackkitchen. On fair days this room was used for events and mostlikely also for storing goods. The newer building, leaningclosely against the older one is better known, with its empha-sized spindle in the façade part and a hall on the first floor(today’s wedding hall) that dates back to 1638 and furnishedwith a wooden coffered ceiling and two marquetry portals. Itis one of the finest Renaissance castles from the 16th and17th century in Slovenia.

AAddddrreessss:: Glavni trg 4, Kranj. In the City Hall, the Renaissance Halland three permanent exhibitions are put on show: the works of anacademic sculptor Lojze Dolinar (1893-1970), the archaeologicalexhibition Iron Thread and the ethnological exhibition Folk Art inGorenjska. The Kranj Art Society and the City Hall galleries aresituated on the ground floor. OOppeenniinngg hhoouurrss:: Tuesday to Sundaybetween 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., closed on Mondays; closed on 1.1.,1.5. and 1.11.. EEnnttrraannccee ffeeee:: adults 2.30 EUR, young or retired 1.70EUR, groups above 10 - adults 1.90 EUR, groups above 10 -young 1.50 EUR, family 4.20 EUR, guided tour through Pre{eren’sgrove 0.50 EUR per person.

City Hall

Pre{eren Memorial Museum

When Dr. France Pre{eren (1846-1849) lived here, thehouse was owned by Franc Mayr, a merchant and brewer. Thehouse was rearranged into a museum in 1964 according tothe design of the architect Tone Bitenc. On the frontage thereis a memorial plaque, unveiled on the centenary of the poet’sbirth. The house comprises two parts that were joined in the17th century, first with a wooden and later, stone arcade hall-way. A painting from the 19th century was discovered on theground floor after the last renovation on the bicentenary ofthe poet’s birth (2000). Art exhibitions and smaller culturalevents take place here, while on the first floor there is amemorial museum with the poet’s original works and valuableearly prints as well as a room furnished with original furniture.

AAddddrreessss:: Pre{ernova ulica 7, Kranj. The building is owned by theMunicipality of Kranj and administered by the Gorenjska museum.Inside one can find the Pre{eren memorial museum and a museumshop. OOppeenniinngg hhoouurrss:: Tuesday to Sunday between 10 a.m. and 6p.m., closed on Mondays; closed on 1.1., 1.5. and 1.11.. EEnnttrraanncceeffeeee:: Adults 2.30 EUR, young or retired 1.70 EUR, groups above 10 -adults 1.90 EUR, groups above 10 - young 1.50 EUR, family 4.20 EUR.

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France Pre{eren

3Today France Pre{eren is known as the greatest Slovene poet.He was born on the 3rd of December 1800 to a peasantfamily in Vrba na Gorenjskem. After graduating from theVienna law faculty he worked in Ljubljana as a lawyer with Dr.Bla` Crobath. Most of his poems were written there. The lastyears of his life, Pre{eren lived in Kranj. In 1846 he wasadmitted as a provincial barrister in Kranj, and opened anindependent practice here. He died of illness in Kranj on the8th of February 1849.In Kranj the memory of the poet France Pre{eren is markedin various ways. The grave of the poet is in Pre{eren’s grove.On Pre{eren Street in the old town centre is the memorialmuseum of Dr. France Pre{eren; it is located in the housewhere the poet worked and lived in the last years of his life.On the first and the second floor of Pavšlar’s house, on thesquare Glavni trg 18 in Kranj, there is the Prešern Prize-win-ners gallery. In front of Pre{eren’s theatre stands a bronzesculpture of the poet, created by Fran~i{ek Smrduj and PeterLoboda. Since 1969 the Academic choir France Pre{erenKranj has worked in Kranj, and also an elementary school andmunicipal awards in the field of art and culture are namedafter the poet. The Municipality of Kranj celebrates its muni-cipal holiday on the date of the poet’s birth, 3rd ofDecember, while various events also take place on the 8th ofFebruary, honouring the anniversary of the poet’s death.

Pre{eren’s grove

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The cemetery by the parish church in the old town centre wasabandoned in 1798 and burials moved to a new cemeteryoutside the city walls. In the years immediately prior to theSecond World War, burials at that cemetery ceased as welland in 1951 the cemetery was rearranged into a memorialpark according to the design of the architects Marjan [orliand Ru{ka Ogorevc. The most important monuments in thepark are: the tombstone of poet Dr. France Pre{eren dated1852 (made by Ignacij Toman jr.), the tombstone of poetSimon Jenko (1873, made by Janez Vurnik), Majdi~’s vaultwith marble relief “Resurrection” (1910, Ivan Zajc) and amemorial to the Bazovica victims and Vladimir Gortan shot inPulj, which is one of the earliest memorials to the victims offascism in Europe (1931).

AAddddrreessss:: entrance from Gregor~i~eva ulica or from Partizanskacesta, Kranj

The poet and writer was born on the 27th of October 1835in Podre~a near Mav~i~e. Between 1864 and 1866 Jenkolived in Kranj and worked as a probationer with a famousnotary in Kranj. Later he worked as a clerk in Kamnik, but afew months before his death he returned to Kranj, where hedied on the 18th of October 1869, aged 33.The house where the Slovene poet Simon Jenko lived anddied is on the Pot na kolodvor in the old town centre. On thehouse there is a memorial plaque the city unveiled on the60th anniversary of the national reading club on the 2nd ofSeptember 1923. Jenko’s memorial tombstone stands inPre{eren’s grove, which dates back to 1873, designed andmade by Janez Vurnik, a stonecutter from Radovljica. An ele-mentary school and a street in Kranj are named after Jenko.

Simon Jenko 5

6A triple-nave church, i.e. a hall type from the beginning of the15th century is the most important building in the town’sveduta and is one of the most important monuments inGothic architecture in Slovenia as well as a model for manylater churches (Radovljica, [kofja Loka, Kamnik, [entrupertna Dolenjskem). Archaeological research performed in 1972and1984 showed that already in the pre-Slavonic era a sacralbuilding stood in the place of today’s Gothic church dedica-ted to the martyrs of Oglej: the saints Kancij, Kancijan,Kancijanila and Prot. The presbytery of today’s church wasbuilt onto an older nave in 1413 and is a classical example ofthe so-called long choir. In the middle of the 15th centurythe older nave was replaced by a Gothic hall with polygonalcolumns. Gothic rib vaults are connected with figuratively aswell as aesthetically richly decorated keystones. The church iswonderfully complemented by frescos of angels with instru-ments made around 1460 by the “@irovni{ki master”.

AAddddrreessss:: Glavni trg, Kranj

The parish churchof St. Kancijan

The chapel with the ossuary has stood at the cemetery by thepresent parish church of St. Kancijan since the 13th century.The benefice of the ossuary chapel was managed by the noblefamily Egkh of Brdo near Predoslje at the end of the 15thcentury. During the reforms of Joseph II (1789) the cemeteryby the church was abandoned and moved to another site (seePre{eren’s grove), and the ossuary chapel was demolished.After years of archaeological excavations from 1970 to 1975and in 1984 and after endeavours to present the finds, todaythe ossuary is arranged by the architectural remains of a late-antique baptistery. The key to the ossuary, hidden under thepavement of the square behind the Church of St. Kancijan, iskept at the reception of the Gorenjska museum in the CityHall.

AAddddrreessss:: alongside the Church of St. Kancijan and Companions,Glavni trg, Kranj. Opening hours: upon previous arrangement withthe Gorenjska museum. EEnnttrraannccee iiss ffrreeee..

The ossuary

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Pungertwith the two towersand church

Somehow at the edge of the main traffic flow of the city at thetip of the promontory (the square Trubarjev trg) lays the tractof Pungert. The name itself tells us originating (from theGerman word Baumgarten - orchard) that this used to be thegardens of townsmen and maybe also a refuge for peoplefrom the surrounding areas at times of fire or other danger.Such sites can also be found in other medieval towns (e.g.Radovljica). The only wholly preserved medieval defencetower dating back to the 16th century, preserved after laterreconstructions and serving as the town’s dungeon (1832)and later, even for housing purposes stands on Pugert today.In the immediate vicinity of the tower a Gothic rib-vaultedbranch church was built during the plague in the 15th centu-ry and dedicated to the patrons against deadly disease, St.Fabian, St. Sebastian and St. Rok. The bell tower and theshed were added to the building in the 18th and 19th cen-turies respectively.

AAddddrreessss:: Trubarjev trg 6, Kranj

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Located on a conglomerate promontory, between the steepcanyons of the rivers Sava and Kokra, the town was naturallywell protected and thus appealing for settlement from as farback as the stone age (4th millennium B.C.), but because ofits strategic position by the entrance to the Gornjesavskavalley it had to be protected during various historical periodswith defence walls and towers. The city was most vulnerablein the north where the remains of a prehistoric defence moatfrom the 7th century B.C. are archaeologically confirmed,while the medieval defence walls were ten meters wide (alongtoday’s Regin~eva street). The entire length of the town’sdefence walls was 870 meters and additionally fortified withnine towers; one is partially preserved on [krlovec and hasdistinct architectural elements of the 15th and the early 16thcenturies. These are characteristic of the defence works ofPrince Frederick III at the end of the Turkish invasions into theZgornje Posavje region (1471, 1473, 1475, 1478, 1480,1483 and 1491). The defence tower on [krlovec also servedto store armoury.

Kranj’s defence walls 9

Khislstein castle and countrymansion (Ulrih's house)

10The building is an indispensable part of the town’s silhouetteat the edge of the conglomerate promontory, rooted in thetown’s defence walls and reflecting centuries of architecturaldevelopment. Its foundations hide early and late antiquewalling and defence mechanisms of the fifth and the sixth cen-turies. The frame of the castle was expanded in width, lengthand height, from a palladium of the Ortenburg dynasty in themiddle of the 13th century to a Renaissance town palace ofthe Khisl family, after which the building still bears its name(Jan` Khisl from Fu`ine bought the castle in 1578).Subsequent owners were the aristocratic families Mosconi,Ravbar, Apfaltrer, Auersperg and at the end, Natalis Paglia-ruzzi. The newest part of the building is the courtyard tractwith arcade passageways, made during reconstructions in the18th and 19th centuries. Many quality architectural elementsare preserved in the castle, among which the courtyard andmain portal made around 1578 and partially preserved fres-cos with the motives of veduta (in the green room) particu-larly stand out. The country mansion (Tom{i~eva 42) consists of two build-ings connected with an arcade passageway which also used tobelong to the castle. More important though is the buildingat the edge of the promontory with its core is most likely apart of the defence system, maybe even a smaller fortificationunit in this part of the town, and which originates in lateantiquity. In the archaeological ground floor archaeologistsfound remains of casting kilns supplementing an antiqueglazier’s workshop found in the courtyard between the castleand the mansion.

AAddddrreessss:: Tom{i~eva ulica 44, Kranj. The Gorenjska museum has itsadministrative and working premises in Khislstein castle.

One of the most important buildings in Kranj is the tollhousebuilt in 1527. The building represents an early form of townhouse with console-supported upper stories, which appearedin our area in the first half of the 16th century. The upperstorey leans on segmented stony consoles supported by apolygonal shaped stone column. The building has in laterperiods often been restored, and today its most importantartistic elements are: a rich edging made using a graphitetechnique on the first floor of the bulding’s facade, a qualitysignboard with Kranj’s coat-of-arms, the ground plan andarches inside.

AAddddrreessss:: Tav~arjeva ulica 35, Kranj

Tollhouse

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Pirc’s dye-works

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The beginnings of the dye-works, later known as Pirc’s dye-works, reach back to the first decades of the 18th century,and in less than a century, it developed into a medium-sizedmanufacturing plant. Mostly linen and cotton were dyed inthe dye-works. In the second half of the 19th century theowner of the dye-works hired nearby farmers to weave linen,which he then bought in, dyed, printed and sold in his shopin town (at the former Peter~ek). Orders also came in from allmajor Austro-Hungarian cities. The dye-works remained inoperation until the industrialisation process in the middle ofthe 20th century. In the memorial room visitors can seedevices for fabric-ironing from 1797 and 1809. Workprocesses in the dye-works and production of linen are alsopresented. The collection is enriched by a grand legacy ofbourgeois dressing culture which reveals the charm of formerbourgeois life, family documents and documents on thedevelopment of the dye-works and shop as well as the cultu-ral, sporting and economical development of Kranj.

AAddddrreessss:: Vodopiv~eva ulica 11, Kranj. Visits possible upon previous arrangement with the Tourist Board Kranj (www.tourism-kranj.si, 04/23 80 450) or with Darja Okorn(04/202 70 11, 040/79 11 96)).. EEnnttrraannccee ffeeee:: 1 EUR per person.

An old town house, probably constructed soon after 1550 byconnecting two or even three older buildings with a pictu-resque arcade passageway lies in a central position on thesquare Glavni trg (opposite the Town Hall), attesting to thenobility of its previous owners as well as today’s usage (thePre{eren Prize-winners Gallery) and position. Today’s build-ing took shape after research, static reinforcement andrestoration works performed from 1989 to 1992. The basicfunctional division of the town house into ground floor officesand living quarters on the first floor was maintained for cen-turies. A high living standard is proven by the crested archesin the entrance hall, a wooden renaissance ceiling on the firstfloor, clay brick flooring shaped in a comb and above all, theimpressive frescos inside and on the house frontage.

AAddddrreessss:: Glavni trg 18, Kranj. Inside are the premises of thePre{eren Prize-winners Gallery, which is administered by theMunicipality of Kranj. OOppeenniinngg hhoouurrss: weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. On Sundays, Mondays andholidays the gallery is closed. EEnnttrraannccee iiss ffrreeee..

Pav{lar’s house 13

Layer’s house

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Leopold Layer, one of the most prolific Slovene painters atthe turn of the 18th century worked in a storied house at theturn of the 18th century near Khislstein. The house drawsour attention with its picturesque frontage, decorated withclassicistic stucco ornaments and complemented by a stoneportal and a decoration with a baroque feel under the juttingroof. Even more valuable is the interior which on the firstfloor reveals a bath-shaped arched room painted in the begin-ning of the 19th century with personifications of art accom-panied by a portrait of the artist or perhaps the architect. Thearch above the staircase is also painted; in 1840 Jurij Tav~arpainted a man with an ox yoke here. A terraced garden acces-sible from the house through a large storied arcade will alsoprove intriguing after its renovation.

AAddddrreessss:: Tom{i~eva ulica 32, Kranj

Leopold Layer

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Leopold Layer is known as one of the most prominentpainters working in Slovenia at the turn of the 18th century.He was born on the 20th of November 1752 into a famousfamily of painters. The original Layer home was at Pungart no. 6, but later thefamily moved into Town no. 52 and 84 where they had theirworkshop. In 1811 a fire destroyed the Layer’s house andworkshop, and the painter built a new house at today’sTom{i~eva ulica 32, where he died on the 12th of April1828. The Gorenjska museum has several paintings by LeopoldLayer, many of the painter’s works are privately owned inKranj while others can be seen in churches on Rupa, in Huje,Stra`i{~e, the Rosary Church in Kranj and in the collection ofthe ecclesiastic art of the parish office in Kranj.

Veronika’s cloth, oil painting, canvas,beginningof the 19th century,65 x 48 cm

Janez Puhar

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The inventor of glass photography took his place among theworld’s pioneers of photography in 1852 with an internation-al award in Paris. He was born in 1814 on Regin~eva streetin Kranj to an old and eminent family. He was extremelytalented, spoke several languages, was engaged in drawing,botanics, astronomy, music and played several instrumentswhich he had made himself. In grammar school he wasalready filled with enthusiasm for matthematics, physics andchemistry. After graduation he wanted do devote himself toart, but became a priest at his mother’s request. He servedin several towns in Slovenia and probably returned to Kranjfor the sake of photographic experiments. By that time he wasalready mortally ill and died in 1864 in Kranj. To honour ourgreat fellow countryman there are two memorial plaques inKranj, one in the street of his birth and the other in Pre{eren’sgrove, while his tradition continues in the oldest Slovenephotography society Janez Puhar.

Janez Bleiweis

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Dr. Janez Bleiweis was born in Kranj on the 19th ofNovember 1808 to a family of merchants. He was a Slovenepolitician, writer, veterinarian and a doctor. He wrote a seriesof popular and scientific volumes on veterinary science, butthe broader public knows him better as the father of thenation. In 1843 he was committed to editing the publicationKmetijske in rokodelske novice, in which he consistently usedSlovene language and the Gajic alphabet, which set him atthe top of the Slovene national awakening. From 1861 to1880 he was a representative of the Carniola ProvincialAssembly. Bleiweis died on the 29th of November 1881. A memorial plaque is on the frontage of the house of his birthat Tav~arjeva ulica 25 and bust on a marble pedestal by thesculptor Frlic standing on the junction of Bleiweis andKoro{ka roads remind us of our important compatriot.

18BBee`̀eekk VViillllaa,, Koro{ka cesta 27The plans for the building were drawn in Ple~nik’s seminar bythe client’s brother, architect Niko Be`ek in 1936. The pro-ject complied with the needs of an unmarried physician (sur-gery with a waiting room on the ground floor, an apartmenton the first floor). When designing the building with a single-pitch roof, Ple~nik used the motif of a prominent entranceportal (separating the front of the building with pilasters).FFoouunnttaaiinn ((11995522 -- 11995599)),, Vodopiv~eva ulicaThe architect Jo`e Ple~nik had planned to make a monumen-tal entrance into the town. He transformed the steep slopeinto a staircase and replaced the former well (called “{terna”)with an obelisk, at the top of which there is a bronze roosterfrom which the water runs into stone, terraced vessels. Thefountain is an interpretation of the Garden of Eden atHrad~any, Prague.PPrree{{eerreenn’’ss TThheeaattrree,, Glavni trg 6The theatre used to be a national hall but was rebuilt in 1952according to the architect’s plans. The most visible changewas made on the entrance, to which a monumental arcadedhallway and characteristic lamps were added.

Jo`e Ple~nik in Kranj

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Slovenski trgIn 1924 the architect Ivan Vurnik built the Narodni dom(National Home). After the Second World War it was strong-ly remodelled and renamed the Delavski dom (Workers’Home). It was located adjacent to Zvezda park situated thereat the time to the east and adjacent to the grammar school(1879) in the west. The building that was built in the north-ern part of the square during the Second World War servestoday as the town hall. It follows German architectural pat-terns. After the war the square changed its name to the Revo-lutionary Square. The architect Tepina remodelled it into anopen space and decorated it with statues by the sculptorLojze Dolinar. After independence a Slovenian lime tree wasplanted in the middle of the square. The square was renamedthe Slovenian Square. In the northern part of the square thearchitect Edvard Ravnikar designed the town hall of the CityMunicipality of Kranj (1958 - 1960). Together with the east-ern part of the Pokojninski dom (Pension Home) and theBrioni ground floor restaurant it forms a lively and attractivesquare. In the north-eastern part Ravnikar designed a build-ing where the Agency of Payment Transactions had its head-quarters (1961 - 1962). Following Ravnikar’s plans a busi-ness and commercial centre with the Creina hotel (1970) andthe Globus department store (1972) were constructed in thesouthern part of the square along Koro{ka street. In thenorthern square a relief of Kranj designed by Stane Kolmanwas set up in 2007. It was made for tourists but also helpsthose who are blind or vision-impaired.

AAddrreessss:: Slovenski trg, Kranj

The water tower was built by the Kranj’s ProvincialCommittee from 1908 to 1911 according to the design ofthe hydrologist and architect Jan Vladimir Hráský. It is a towerwith an octagon double-ventricle reservoir on top with a totalvolume of 250 cubic meters. It provided sufficient waterpressure in the plumbing even for the highest buildings inKranj and the near surroundings of the town. The tower is 43meters high, and according to Gorenjec, a newspaper of thetime, “one of the most imposing and magnificent aqueductsof the whole of Austria”. Due to its of authenticity, historicalvalue, age, technical qualities, state of preservation andauthorial and artistic standards the building can undoubtedlybe regarded as an important cultural monument and for thisreason it is listed in the Register of Fixed Cultural Heritage ofthe Ministry of Culture. The water tower still serves its pur-pose today.

AAddddrreessss:: at the junction of Oldhamska cesta and Cesta Kokr{kegaodreda, Kranj

20 The water tower

The tunnels of Kranj

Underneath the town of Kranj there are numerous artificialunderground facilities that have long ago lost their originalpurpose and slipped into oblivion, but invite us as works ofhuman hands in a peculiar way to uncover their story. Amongthem, the most interesting one is the 1300-meter long townair raid shelter, built during the German occupation in theconglomerate promontory on which the old town Kranjstands. Its construction started just before the Second WorldWar and was then restarted in 1944 because of the imminentallied bombing. The work was carried out by two renownedconstruction companies of Kranj, the company of Josip Slavecand the company of Josip Dedek. The shelter is an importantreminder of such construction and a witness of the technicalheritage of Kranj during the the war. Access to the Tunnels ofKranj: from the Jelen slope and the canyon of Kokra, behindthe Pre{eren theatre and below Pungart.

OOppeenniinngg hhoouurrss:: upon previous arrangement withTourist Board Kranj, www.tourism-kranj.si,04/ 23 80 450.

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The canyon of Kokra

22The canyon is an almost 30-metres deep gorge the riverKokra cut into a conglomerate terrace through Kranj datingback to the Ice Age. It is a variegated mosaic of aquatic andwaterside biotopes comprising the river, bank, gravel pit,meadow with the flooded woods, rock blocks and conglo-merate walls. Such a dynamic and variegated area thusrepresents a shelter and a home to numerous and in terms ofvital necessities extremely variegated flora and fauna. It isprotected as a natural site and part of Kranj’s old towncentre. There is an educational trail in the Kokra canyon. Abrochure has been printed, meant primarily for acquaintingschool groups with the creation of the canyon, life in the riverand waterside as well as the current geomorphologicprocesses. The brochure has been translated into Germanand English. It is available at Tourist Board Kranj and premis-es of the Regional Unit of the Institute for the Protection ofNature of the Republic of Slovenia.

For guided visits of the Kokra canyon contact the Kranj Regional Unitof the Institute for Protection of Nature, Tom{i~eva 9,tel.: 04/20 19460, Tourist Board Kranj, Glavni trg 2, tel.: 04/23 80 450.

The giant sequoia(Sequoiadendron giganteum) in Kranj

23Next to the Kranj grammar school stands a giant sequoia(Sequoiadendron giganteum) that is a protected naturalmonument. The top of this 27-metre high tree leans aboutfive metres from its vertical line. The car park located belowthe sequoia, which is on the side the tree is leaning, is dama-ging the vitality of the tree. Because of the pressure of thevehicles in the car park the ground has less air and water, andat the same time the vehicles in the car park increase thepressure on the roots, causing the tree to lean even more.There was a great danger the tree would fall. To preserve thisunique natural monument, the Regional Unit of the Institutefor the Protection of Nature of the Republic of Sloveniaproposed that the tree should be secured by steel to thegrammar school building so as to prevent it from leaningfurther. A prior study showed the trunk of the tree to be vital.The tree was secured to the grammar school building in thespring of 2003.

AAddrreessss:: Koro{ka cesta 13, Kranj

Udin bor{t

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Udin bor{t is a conglomerate terrace dating back to the IceAge that lies between Kranj, Tr`i~ and Naklo. Here we cansee karst features such as sinkholes, karst caves, abysses andswallow holes. The conglomerate terrace is 10 to 15 metresthick and lies on impermeable Oligocene grey clay. There arenumerous springs at the juncture of the two aggregates.Among them the most well known springs are in the watercaves Velika Lebinica, Mala Lebinica and Arne{eva Luknjawith two halls and stalactites, Dupulnek also known as thecave at Zadrga, and Dacar’s and Hi{ar’s abyss. North of theKokrica - Naklo road in marshy springs, between peat moss,thrive sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) and mrzli~nik(Menyanthes trifoliat). Among trees worth seeing there arethe Red pine (Pinus sylvestris) and a group of oak trees by theNovake - Seni~no road, a linden tree at the village of @igan-ja vas as well as the former forest reserve Kriva jelka. An invi-ting footpath leads through Udin bor{t and its surroundings,a short route (1.30 hours) and long one (3 hours), named “Inthe embrace of nature and tradition”, which was establishedby the local Cultural Tourist Association Pod Krivo jelko. Youcan read more about Udin bor{t in the book by BorutMencinger - Naravni parki Slovenije (Natural parks ofSlovenia), which was published by Mladinska knjiga in 2004.In the area of the Municipality of Kranj on Kokrica by therollerblading track and in Letence the Regional Unit of theInstitute for the Protection of Nature of the Republic ofSlovenia in cooperation with the Institute for the Protectionof Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Slovenia set upexplanatory boards regarding the memorial park Udin bor{tin 2005.

AAddddrreessss:: Kokrica near Kranj

The ponds in Bobovek are protected as a natural reserve.While clay was being dug up here fish fossils and the remainsof a mammoth where found that date back to the Ice Age aswell as an urn burial ground dating from the Roman times. Inthe artificially formed biotope of the clay pits we can seeponds, pools and marshland, among which reeds stand outas being an extraordinarily heterogeneous habitat. Marshplant species, numerous birds (marsh reed warbles, songbirds, kingfishers and small Botaurus stellaris), insects,dragonflies and frogs, etc. have made their home here.Unfortunately, not all visitors realise the natural value ofBobovek, not even the owners that leave waste or fill upthe ponds in other ways. Be better than them!

AAddddrreessss:: Kokrica near Kranj

Ponds in Bobovek

25

Only six kilometres away from Kranj, through Zgornja Besnicainto Nova vas and from there, less than ten-minute walk is the[um waterfall, whose tumbling waters can be heard from faraway. The Nemilj{~ica stream that has its river basin east ofJelovica overcomes a 20-meter high waterfall over a steeprocky level. You are kindly invited to visit the waterfall that isa natural asset, but we ask you to take back with you every-thing that you brought with you, together with impressions ofthe great power of water and some photographs. Up the riverbed, on a well-trodden forest path we can con-tinue to the remains of the so called Roman baths, describedalready by Valvasor. The locals know this as the Besnicabaths. Two smaller pools were built in 1954 on a thermalspring with a temperature of around 20° C where rheumaticscould find relief. Today only remains of the pools can be seen.

AAddddrreessss:: Zgornja Besnica near Kranj

The [um waterfall26

The Trboje Lake was created between Kranj and Mav~i~e asa result of damming the river Sava when they built the hydro-electric power plant Mav~i~e. The water partially flooded thespectacular canyon Zarica that Sava cut into the gravel detri-tus agglutinate in a conglomerate on Kranjsko polje andSor{ko polje. Gravel pits, river groves and rapids werereplaced by a lake that became the home of many water birds.Some build their nests here, some come on winter migrationand others are only visiting. Especially worth mentioning is“veliki `agar” or Mergus merganser as most of the Slovenepopulation of this rare bird nests at the Trboje lake.Vegetation that is otherwise found in the mountains growshere on variegated conglomerate rocks. Among them is alsoedelweiss which at the Trboje Lake grows at the lowest eleva-tion in Slovenia.

AAddddrreessss:: Trboje near Kranj

The Trboje Lake

27

28

The central monument of the estate Brdo, today used forprotocol purposes, is a Renaissance fortified castle built inthe place of an older one in 1510 by the Gorica provincialgovernor and Viceroy Jurij Egkh. The Egkhs arranged the firstorchards, ponds and a garden. In the second half of the 17thcentury the castle came under the possession of the CountsSchrottenbach and Gallenberg; later in the middle of the18th century the family Zois became the owner and kept theestate until 1928. In 1935 Prince Pavle Karad`ord`evi}bought the castle, and after the Second World War Josip BrozTito chose it for his residence. During this period the castlewas thoroughly reconstructed under the guidance of thearchitects Vinko Glanz and Igor Luna~ek and so lost most ofits Renaissance form, but gained a rich collection of furniture,carpets and arts. Tito’s living quarters with a reference work-room and a library with numerous incunabula are also pre-served. The castle is surrounded by a large park that under-went several rearrangements since the 15th century.

AAddddrreessss:: Brdo near Kranj. Visitations for groups are possible uponprevious arrangement with the reception of the hotel Kokraon Brdo, Predoslje 39, 04 260 15 01.

The Brdo castle

29Over 478 hectares of woods, parks, promenades and fishponds of the Brdo estate offer a rare and therefore all themore powerful sight into the far past harmoniously mixingwith modernity. With its castle defence walls and impeccablepark areas, the Brdo estate is a treasure of Carniola’s aristo-cratic history, which is still kept alive today by protocol eventsand meetings of statesmen. Seventy-two hectares of faultles-sly arranged park areas are enriched by the magnificent BrdoCastle which possesses a famous beehive, winery andorangery. A walk through the park, which due to rich floraand fauna is an experience in itself (according to the current5-year records 1,111 different animal species and 968 diffe-rent plants have been documented, among them also 10 newspecies in Slovenia), and among other things also enables youto see a valuable sculpture collection. At Brdo it is also pos-sible to enjoy a ride, a drive in a carriage or a sleigh ride. Allthis is enabled by a modern equestrian and tourism centre. Ahippodrome built in 1977 today serves a double function.The hippodrome and its surroundings serve as an exercisearea for golf fans, offering a short and long course and put-ting green. On your walk through Brdo you will also noticethe three straw-covered local kozolce (freestanding verticaldrying racks) - one by the hotel Kokra and two at the hippo-drome. All three have been recently reconstructed and arenow an enrichment to Brdo’s scenery.

AAddddrreessss:: Brdo near Kranj. The price of a guided tour is 2 EUR perperson, entrance fee for individual visits is 2.50 EUR per person.

Park Brdo

30According to the date on the western portal, it was long thoughtthat the chapel was built in the 17th century, but thoroughresearch performed during the last reconstruction showed thatthe core of the chapel had already been constructed in the 11thcentury or even earlier. The manner of construction with stonehewing and grouting indicate a Romanesque construction of the11th, 12th and partly 13th centuries, while stones dating fromthe Roman era were used for the construction of the corners.The architrave of the southern entrance is also Roman, whichaccording to the semicircular shape and the size, is also datedas Romanesque. The rectangular nave was at first illuminated byonly two small circular windows (oculus) widening into to theinner part, resembling a funnel. The windows are carved from asingle piece of stone and are unique in the area of Gorenjska.The altar part was at first a semi-circular apse which became toosmall in the 14th century and was then extended into a three-eighths concluded presbytery. The nave was elevated and cov-ered with a new roof with a rooftop belfry and consecrated in1645 in an attempt to delete the traces of the era when thechapel was used for religious ceremonies by Protestants. Theinterior was enriched with a wooden painted ceiling.

AAddddrreessss:: [marjetna gora, Stra`i{~e near Kranj

The Chapel of St. Peterunder the hill [marjetna gora

Edited and published by: Tourist Board Kranj for the Municipality ofKranj, Content layout: 1,2,4,6,7,8,9,10,11,13,14,18,20,28,30:Milo{ Ekar (Kranj Regional Unit of the Institute for the Protection ofCultural Heritage: ), 3,5,15,17: Manca Be`ek (Tourist Board Kranj),22,23,24,25,26: Maja Brozovi~ (IRSNC, RU Kranj), 27: SonjaRozman Bizjak (IRSNC, RU Kranj), 12,19,29: Natalija Polenec(Tourist Board Kranj), 21: Gregor Aljan~i~, 16: Petra Puhar Kej`ar -Photography: Gregor Aljan~i~, Luka Dakskobler, Du{an Grobov{ek,Bo{tjan Gun~ar, Drago Holinsky, Bogdan Kladnik, Vladimir Kralji~,Lev Lisjak Rebolj, Bojan Okorn, Natalija Polenec, Archives: Instituteof the Republic of Slovenia for Nature Conservation, Kranj RegionalUnit, Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, Kranj RegionalUnit, Petra Puhar Kej`ar, Gorenjska Museum - Printing: PrintingOffice Oman, Kranj - Design: Lev Lisjak Rebolj - Translation:Tamara @erjal, Phoenix - Language Editing: mag. Mary AnneLavrence, Phoenix - ISBN 978-961-92218-6-0 - COBISS237248768 - Print run: 25000 - Year of publication: 2008

Pre{eren Prize-winners Gallery: www.gpn-kranj.si

The Gorenjska museum: www.gorenjski-muzej.videofon.si

Public commercial institution Brdo: www.brdo.com

City Municipality of Kranj: www.kranj.si

Tourist Board Kranj: www.tourism-kranj.si

The Kranj parish: www.zupnije.rkc.si/kranj

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