Vintgar
Encyclopedia
Zgornje Gorje
Zgornje Gorje is a village and the administrative centre of the Gorje municipality in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia.The parish church in the village is dedicated to Saint George. There are two monuments designed by Jože Plečnik in its grounds, a monument to villagers who died in the Second...
, four kilometers northwest of Bled
Bled
Bled is a municipality in northwestern Slovenia in the region of Upper Carniola. The area, within the Julian Alps, is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. Carved by the river Radovna, the sheer canyon walls are 50 to 100 m high, with a total slope measuring about 250 m. The stream has created many erosive features such as pools and rapids, and terminates in the picturesque 13-m Šum Falls (literally, 'noisy falls').
History
Discovered in 1891 by Jakob Žumer and Benedikt Lergetporer, the gorge was soon after equipped with wooden observation walkways and bridges, and was opened to the public on August 26, 1893. The walkways have been renovated several times since; a hydroelectric dam has also been built below the gorge and a railway bridge for the Jesenice-Most na SočiMost na Soci
Most na Soči is a town in the Municipality of Tolmin in the Littoral region of Slovenia. It was named Sveta Lucija ob Soči until 1952. Other historical names include , and or Maurus Brucke. It is located on a rocky crest above the confluence of Soča and Idrijca rivers...
line across it, but natural beauty of the Vintgar Gorge remains and continues to draw visitors.
Geology
Before the last ice ageIce age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
, the Radovna
Radovna
Radovna may refer to:* Radovna , a river in Slovenia* Radovna Valley, a valley in Slovenia* Radovna, a village in the Gorje municipality in Slovenia* Zgornja Radovna, a village in the Kranjska Gora municipality in Slovenia...
River flowed eastward. After being dammed by the ice and detritus of the Bohinj glacier, the resulting lake cut a new path northeast through a soft layer of triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
limestone between the peaks Boršt (931 m) and Hom
HOM
HOM, HoM or HOm can refer to:*Hall of mirrors effect, in 3D computer graphics*Hands On Miami, a volunteer community-service organization in Miami, Florida*Heart of Misery, a song by Finnish rock band The Rasmus...
(844 m), towards the Upper Sava Valley
Upper Sava Valley
The Upper Sava Valley is an alpine valley in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. The Sava Dolinka river flows along it. It begins in Rateče at an altitude of 870 m and ends at Moste at 560 m. It is the geographical border between the Julian Alps and the Karavanke Alps. It was created on a...
.
Sources
- Official Gazette of Upper Carniola, #6, 1989
- Official Gazette of The Socialist Republic of Slovenia, #17, 1981
- Inventory of Important Natural Heritage of Slovenia, 1991
- The Wild Romance of Vintgar Canyon, Marjan Zupan, Bled 2006
- Slovenski etimološki slovar, Marko Snoj, 2003