AMONG THE BEAR COUNTRY CARPENTERS
Be it beech wood, ash wood, hornbeam wood or dogwood for various tools, spruce wood for sieve rims, maple or linden wood for soup spoons and cooking spoons – it takes a lot of knowledge and skill to cut down wood at the right time and to dry and work it a masterful way. Woodenware makers know the little details and carpenters from Loški Potok know how to handle wood of large sizes!
Short path description
Before learning about the living heritage of carpentry in the Loški Potok area, visit the Knavs Hillside Garden (1), the Natural History House (2) with stories of man’s coexistence with large carnivores and the Tabor Hill (3) with a church above Slovenia’s most beautiful uvala, i.e. a closed karst depression. Go down to the uvala and walk through the village of Retje to the octagonal Church of St Florian (4) and then view the ethnographic collection in Travnik (5). You will get to see how the tools are used in practice. Carpentry skills will be demonstrated by a young couple that lives in the Mandrova House (6).
Path length
22 km
Places
HRIB-LOŠKI POTOK – VZPETINA TABOR – VAS RETJE – VAS TRAVNIK – NOVI KOT
Travel by
Car, bicycle, on foot
Visit these places
1) AMID FLOWERS AND WOOD
The area of Loški Potok boasts a surprising combination of karstic and mountainous nature. This intersection of natural differences is reflected in the hillside garden owned by the Knavs, which spreads onto the surrounding meadows like a park. Apart from flowering perennials and other plants, you can admire numerous maple trees, a pond and plant pots, benches, bird feeders and all sorts of interesting garden equipment made of wood, as expected in the land of forests. Visitors who announce their arrival in advance are welcomed with a homemade apéritif. The garden boasts a fine view of the Travnik and Retje Karst Poljes and the Tabor hill.
Things to see and things to do
Things to see
- The garden with numerous interesting spots that are a feast for the eyes and the mind;
- Various decorative plants that are interesting all year round;
- An outdoor kitchen and wooden garden equipment;
Things to do
- Enjoy the views of cultivated karst fields and the churches of St Leonard and St Barbara on the Tabor hill;
- Learn about all kinds of plants as part of a guided tour;
- Talk to the garden owners, who will tell you all about the garden, its design and plans to expand it;
- Take a look at the home-crafted wooden equipment;
KNAVS HILLSIDE GARDEN
Lidija Knavs, Hrib 89 a, Loški Potok
2) LIKE IN A FOREST ROAMED BY BEARS
The Loški Potok forests are best visited in the company of a guide, but you can also learn about forest life and one of its inhabitants, the bear, at the new Natural History House with rooms for exhibitions and natural history workshops. In addition to the awe-inspiring large carnivores, the exhibition collection and video presentation are dedicated to the way people coexist with forests and their inhabitants, as well as various nature conservation approaches. By prior arrangement, you can learn about all these topics from experienced hunters, who run bear-focused photo excursion from carefully arranged hunting blinds.
Things to see and things to do
Things to see
- Bears and other life-sized animals;
- An exhibition about forests;
Things to do
- Meet large carnivores in a special green room that will give you the feeling of being right in the middle of the forest;
- Learn about the plans, experiences and stories related to friendly coexistence between humans and large carnivores;
- Get familiar with nature conservation with the help of hunters;
- Have a hunter-guided tour focused on seeing bears in the wild;
NATURAL HISTORY HOUSE – LOŠKI POTOK HUNTING LODGE
Lovški Potok Hunting Club, Hrib 112, Loški Potok
3) AN “ISLAND” WITH A VIEW OF SIX VILLAGES
According to a local ode titled My Sunny Island by Dr Anton Debeljak, Loški Potok encompasses six villages and has the Tabor hill in the centre, reminiscent of an island. The hill, which was an anti-Ottoman defence encampment in the Middle Ages, boasts beautiful views of the magnificent landscape of the Retje Karst Polje on one side and the Travnik Karst Polje with the Mežnar Stream and the Malenščica on the other. Tabor’s exposed location is highlighted by two 17th-century churches: the baroque parish Church of St Leonard with a mighty bell tower and the Church of St Barbara, which may have been the original ecclesiastical centre. In the 18th century, Tabor was home to Loški Potok’s first school.
Things to see and things to do
Things to see
- The Church of St Leonard and the Church of St Barbara with a cemetery;
- An example of a local closed hay barn;
- A panoramic view of the magnificent landscape of the Retje Karst Polje with the Church of St Florian;
- A fine view of the Travnik Karst Polje with two streams that disappear into the Požirak shaft;
Things to do
- Arrange to tour the interior of the parish church;
- Attend the Sunday Mass on a Sunday morning (at 7 or 10 o’clock);
- Go down to the Retje Karst Polje and then walk or cycle to the Church of St Florian;
LOŠKI POTOK PARISH
Hrib 98, Loški Potok
4) ON DRY LAND OR ON THE EDGE OF A LAKE
After all the fine views from various viewpoints, it’s time to go down to the Retje Karst Polje, one of Slovenia’s one-of-a-kind landscapes. The 250-metre-wide and 1.7-km-long karst polje with fields, meadows and pastures is sunk between hillslopes with mixed forests. During heavy rains, the polje is flooded with water from numerous karst springs and the underground. When the water levels are high, the village of Retje is almost completely surrounded by water, but fortunately the water rarely reaches higher than the thresholds of houses. From Retje, it is worth continuing to the octagonal Church of St Florian with altarpieces by Anton Postl. And wen you return to the village, you can sample some local cuisine.
Things to see and things to do
Things to see
- The octagonal Church of St Florian;
- Depending on the season: a karst polje filled with lake water and a village in its middle or a meadow landscape on undulating terrain between two churches, surrounded by forested hill slopes;
- With a bit of luck, you might see some “ostrnice” – haystacks, i.e. bare spruce tops used for drying hay (a trip down memory lane to a time when farming was done without machinery);
Things to do
- In Retje, look for house No. 6, where writer Zofka Kveder – best known for works about farmers’ life in Loški Potok – used to live for a few years;
- From the Church of St Florian, look back towards Tabor and the Church of St Leonard. From here, you can enjoy a view of the Retje Karst Polje from a different angle;
- At the presbytery, arrange to see the interior of the Church of St Florian with three altars and altarpieces by Anton Postl;
Things to taste
- Treat yourself to lunch with local dishes at the Ana Inn (Gostišče Ana) in Retje. The inn offers accommodation, bicycle rental, guided tours and other activities;
CHURCH OF ST FLORIAN IN RETJE
Loški Potok Parish, Hrib 98, Loški Potok
5) A TREASURE TROVE OF TRADITIONAL TOOLS
Head across Tabor, towards the village of Šegova vas and then across the Travnik Karst Polje with the Malenščica and Mežnar Stream. In the village of Travnik, Jakob Bartol presents some ethnologically interesting tools inside an authentic farm house. In addition to a dormouse hunting collection, a collection of yokes, transportation devices, the tools used by cobblers, basket weavers, cabinet makers, and farm-household objects used back in the day, you can also see some authentic local carpentry tools, as well as axes and other forestry tools.
Things to see and things to do
Things to see
- Collections of traditional tools typical of this area and various farming and forestry implements;
- An authentic local barn with a hen house, a pit toilet, a pigsty and a leaf shed, which is the largest exhibition space on the homestead;
Things to do
- Enjoy talking to collector Jakob Bartol, who will treat you to a homemade aperitif;
- Try to guess what the exhibited objects were used for;
- See how the so-called “šindre” are made – šindre are wooden shingles found on most local farm houses in the past;
- By prior arrangement, local craftswomen can demonstrate how they make decorative objects from shavings and wood scraps;
- Take a walk to the Požirak shaft, where the Malenščica and the Mežnar Stream disappear underground;
- Follow a gravel road to the Pri Malnih spring;
Things to taste
- Sample some local dishes in the nearby Pri Kapcu inn;
THE JAKOB BARTON ETHNOGRAPHIC COLLECTION
Jakob Bartol, Travnik 44, Loški Potok
6) A HOUSE HEWN BY LOCAL CARPENTER’S AXES
The area’s carpentry skills and craftsmanship were already dying out when a guy and a girl moved to the far end of Loški Potok, determined to build a home with their own hands. The Mandrova House was carved from local wood and beams using local carpenter’s axes. The owners are happy to tell their story to visitors during a tour of the forest, a presentation of wood, a demonstration of how logs are trimmed and wood hewn with axes. In addition to guided tours for groups who announce their visit in advance, they run various forest, wood and self-sufficiency workshops.
Things to see and things to do
Things to see
- Forest with the tree species characteristic of this area;
- See how wood is hewn with a carpenter’s axe (‘plenkača’);
- A homestead, where a modern way of life is paired with the revival of cultural heritage and self-sufficiency;
- A self-sufficient garden;
Things to do
- Learn to observe the forest ecology during a forest walk;
- Listen to a story of how man transformed the forest and how it is managed today;
- See how wood is worked by hand in a way that is typical of this area and find out why woodworking takes a whole person – one with a calm head and a firm hand;
- take away plenty of inspiration for a better life in co-existence with nature;
MANDROVA HOUSE
Eva Pavlič Seifert and Aljaž Celarc, Novi Kot 9, Draga
Bike rental
RICIKEL CITY BIKE RENTAL
The Ricikel bicycle-sharing system is a cheap, active and environmentally friendly means of transport. It is available to all users within the municipality 24/7. It allows users to use 8 conventional bicycles in front of the Community Health Centre – Zdravstveni dom and the Cooperative Hall building (Zadružni dom) in Ribnica.
ELECTRIC BICYCLE RENTAL
Rent a bike and ride through the Ribnica Valley.
Tran-Sport d.o.o.
Kot pri Ribnici 1
1310 Ribnica
+386 51 814 858
info@tran-sport.si
www.tran-sport.si
Evropski kmetijski sklad za razvoj podeželja: Evropa investira v podeželje.
Projekt »SKUPAJ SMO LAHKO TURIZEM ITP ROKODELSTVO«.