Mountaineering is a big deal in Slovenia – it’s a tradition, an important part of the national culture and of a feeling of national belonging. This has been the focus for the past 10 years in Mojstrana where, at the entry into the Alpine valleys leading to the Julian Alps, stands the Slovenian Alpine Museum.
The Slovenian Alpine Museum opened its doors to visitors in August 2010 and soon became a great success. At the museum, you can find a timeline of the history of Slovenian mountaineering, alpinism and mountain rescue, together with nature protection and educational content. A rich collection of memorabilia, narrating a complex history, a diverse collection of books and films, photographic and archival material and a library full of expert literature, offer to the visitor an insight into the scale and importance of mountaineering activity in Slovenia.
Visitors can also relive the memory of the mission that drove the first mountaineers, the pioneers of Slovenian mountaineering, who were closely connected with patriotism and the Slovenian identity.
This is why Slovenians see mountaineering as an integral part of their national identity, and it is today one of the most popular forms of recreation. The museum is a monument to mountaineering and to the generations of mountaineers who fought for the conservation of Slovenia’s mountains. Mojstrana, where the Slovenian Alpine Museum stands right at the entry into the Triglav National Park and the Vrata Valley, which ends with the imposing wall of Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia, is the perfect place for this modern museum. The exhibition is designed as an event venue and a meeting place for all mountain lovers.
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The museum is striving to serve as a true Alpine centre. Photo: Stanko Gruden/STA
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The exhibition is designed as an event venue and a meeting place for all mountain lovers. Photo: Tinkara Zupan/STA
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At the museum, you can find a timeline of the history of Slovenian mountaineering. Photo: Tinkara Zupan/STA
As they say at the museum, they are striving to serve as a true Alpine centre, where mountaineers meet and where there is room for learning, culture and education. The museum hosts various cultural events, museum tours, educational workshops, seminars, symposiums and learning programmes, and they also organise excursions to nearby mountains.
Visitors can take a ride on a virtual zipline from the top of Triglav and experience the mountain “live”. You can also hop up onto thirty other Slovenian mountain tops in VR.
The museum even lets you experience what it is like to find shelter in a bivouac. Or, you can visit the permanent exhibition, designed as a story you would experience when climbing the mountain yourself. Through 11 themed sections you pass the milestones of Slovenian mountaineering, alpinist and mountain rescue history and learn about the impulses that have drawn people into the mountains since the earliest times.
So your path is secure outside the museum too, instructions for safe mountaineering are available to visitors at the museum. Just like in the mountains, you can admire pristine nature on the museum path, since we are especially diligent in the conservation of nature.
In the past ten years, the Slovenian Alpine Museum has attracted many visitors, mountain lovers and fans of alpinist culture. It tells stories close to the hearts of Slovenian people.
Date: 4. September 2020
Time to read: 3 min