Jesenice: Trails, Mežakla and industrial history

Jesenice offers hiking trails, cycling routes, and a rich industrial and urban history as different focal points for a stay. When choosing a hotel, it may help to first consider whether you want to spend more time enjoying the landscape and stages or visiting museums and cultural sites.

Landscape and Hiking Trails

Part of the Mežakla karst plateau lies within Triglav National Park. The plateau offers numerous natural and cultural attractions in every season; individual trails may be subject to seasonal restrictions. Mežakla is also home to the natural bridge: it is estimated to be about 15 metres long, and its three-metre-wide arch rises up to eight metres above the bottom of the gorge. These measurements give a concrete sense of this geological formation.

Snežna jama on Mežakla lies at an altitude of 1,109 metres, is 70 metres long and 20 metres deep. Safety requirements apply to entry. Belska planina, also known as Svečica, offers a different landscape: the Julian Alps can be seen from there, while colourful meadows of flowering alpine plants take centre stage in summer. Blooming alpine narcissus meadows are a seasonal natural attraction in May, although the timing of the bloom depends on the weather.

Zois Park in Javorniški Rovt, above Jesenice, features distinctive plant and tree species as well as three small lakes. The Javorniški waterfalls comprise two cascades on the Javornik stream, beside the present-day road to Javorniški Rovt. Tufa forms on a dolomite wall. These natural features range from plants and lakes to a geological curiosity.

The “Spomini starih Jesenic” themed trail runs from Murova, the oldest district of Jesenice, via Čufar Square and the Stara Sava museum complex to Podmežakla Sports Park. Stages of several long-distance hiking trails also pass through the area: Stages 2 and 3 of the Juliana Trail include a stop in Jesenice. On the Via Alpina, Stage 3 of the Purple Trail runs from Dovje to Koča na Golici mountain hut; Stage 4 continues to Prešernova koča hut on Stol. In the Jesenice area, the Slovenian Mountain Trail follows the Karawanks ridge from Stol to its checkpoint at Koča na Golici, then descends into the valley to the Slovenian Alpine Museum in Mojstrana. This gives you a choice between a themed trail with stops in Jesenice and routes leading to named mountain huts or a museum.

Comparing Cycling Tours

The “Po Jesenicah” cycling trip is rated easy, is 23.1 kilometres long and has 270 metres of elevation gain. A 19.6-kilometre connecting stage of the Juliana Bike passes through the Municipality of Jesenice and is rated moderate. These details distinguish the longer, easy-rated tour from the shorter, moderate stage. The D2 long-distance cycle route also passes through the municipality. In Jesenice, there are two access points with car parks: at Stara Sava and Podmežakla Sports Hall.

Urban History and Cultural Heritage

The Stara Sava settlement, formerly Fužinarsko naselje Sava, is designated a cultural monument of national importance because of its outstanding urban-planning, technical, architectural and historical significance. It preserves a fully intact core of buildings with most of the features of an ironworks settlement from the late 17th century. Today, the area is used for museum, cultural and tourism activities. Kasarna is a late-Baroque building dating from the late 18th century and is one of the oldest surviving examples of communal workers’ housing in Slovenia.

During tours of Stara Sava, historical figures who once lived and worked in the settlement act as guides. They include ironworks owner Viktor Ruard, his wife, and Angela Boškin, Slovenia’s first nurse. Check the availability of guided tours before your trip.

The Kosova Graščina City Museum presents the history of Jesenice and hosts temporary fine-art exhibitions as well as museum exhibitions. Its permanent exhibition on the city’s history is titled “Mladost mesta rdečega prahu”. Kosova Graščina was built in 1521 by Baron Sigmund Dietrichstein. Visitors interested in the history of the Earth may also want to explore the Jože Bedič Geological and Palaeontological Collection: it is considered the largest and most important collection of Palaeozoic fossils in Slovenia and one of the most outstanding in Southeast Europe. The Jesenice meteorite is considered the eleventh meteorite in the world whose orbit astronomers were able to calculate precisely, and an outstanding object of Slovenia’s geological heritage.

Seasonal Activities and Local Cuisine

Some winter activities are explicitly dependent on conditions or schedules. If there is enough snow, the Savske jame natural toboggan run in Planina pod Golico is 700 metres long and is particularly suitable for family sledging. Public ice skating at Podmežakla Sports Hall is available on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and during school holidays, according to the hall’s schedule; check the current skating times before your visit. The traditional Čufarjevi dnevi takes place every November and showcases local and other Slovenian cultural practitioners. Programme details may change.

The cuisine also tells the story of the city’s working and migration history. Delavska malca is a set menu from Jesenice based on dishes served in newly opened factory canteens after the war. It also includes dishes brought to Jesenice by ironworks workers from other parts of Slovenia, especially Primorska, and later from the republics of the former Yugoslavia. The listed venues are Gostilnica and Pizzeria Chilli, Gostilna and Pizzeria Turist, Restaurant Kazina, Pri Betelu and Dom Pristava. Check the current offerings before your visit.

The Jesenice Tourist Information Centre is in the centre, opposite the railway station. Guided tours with a local tourist guide can be booked; confirm bookings and availability with the tourist office.

Discover more destinations: Zgornja Radovna, Podkoren, Rodine, Planina pod Golico, Breznica, Kranjska Gora, Rateče, Mojstrana, Gozd Martuljek, Jesenice, Žirovnica, Hrušica.

For the overview of the wider area: Slovenia.