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The Karst and the surroundings

There are places in the world where the nature was especially creative when forming them. One of those is the Karst with unspoilt and unique natural and cultural heritage.

This stony landscape which used to be bleak and is today overgrown by pine and planted with vineyards is pleasant in all seasons. Rugged Karst surface is full of dolines and uvals where already our grandfathers had used each piece of fertile soil. This is a world comprising the Karst wine-growing region where the vine Refošk produces a special wine Teran and colours the landscape in wonderful tones in autumn.

The Karst boasts of the greatest number of sunny days in a year in Slovenia. This climatic characteristic enables plants with special aromatic features to grow here. Hospitable caterers use them in dishes prepared in accordance with old recipes and they can also be found in protected products and crops spicing up the culinary offer.

Bora wind which also creates a special climate has left a strong mark on the landscape and people. In winter this is a cold, dry and gusty wind and in summer a pleasant, refreshing intermezzo in the period of Mediterranean heat. The genuine Karst prosciutto which is appreciated home and abroad can be dried and cured only with the Bora wind blowing across the Karst.

The Karst landscape is intertwined with underground caves mysteriously inviting into silent depths.

The Bora wind and other landscape characteristics have influenced the formation of the cultural landscape and the type of settlements where the Karst architecture enraptures the visitor with picturesque greyness of limestone.

Botanical garden

In Sežana there is a botanical garden Scaramangà boasting of a wide selection of exotic trees and a greenhouse referred to as 'Oranžerija'.

Its beginnings date back to 1840 and it was named after the sailor Scaramanga, who was a great fancier of botany. He always brought a new seed or plant to enrich the magnificent collection in the park from his journeys by sea and worldwide. A large majority of the species are preserved today.

Today the park features 198 woody species and more than 100 different species of exotic pot plants. Visitors can also take a look at the multivision about the park in the multimedia place and the Museum and Gallery of Natural History featuring three photographic exhibitions and three museum collections.

Pollay tower

An octagonal tower from 1857 is a technical monument built to honour the South railway in Sežana and the visit of Emperor Francis Joseph I.

It was named after a famous powerful family Pollay from Sežana.

The building used to have a silo and a well carved in the depth.

Srečko Kosovel

The house in which the poet Srečko Kosovel was born can be found in the renovated building of the People's University Sežana. Today, there is a memorial room where the great poet is presented with slides from the Karst, music and recorded recitations of his poems. A stony memorial plaque is mounted on the building and his statue is placed in front of the house.

The walking path of the poet Srečko Kosovel dedicated to him starts in front of this building. The path runs along earth tracks and paths, through Karst pine tree forests, Karst commons and past vineyards. It ends in the village of Tomaj near the home of Srečko Kosovel.

In his home there is a memorial room where his works and personal items are displayed. The poet lived for some time in Tomaj and also died there.

Thousands of people come to honour the great poet each year at the cemetery where the entire Kosovel family is buried.

Forest educational trail Tabor

Forest nature trail Tabor is the first educational and leisure project in Sežana surrounding the hill Tabor. The trail can be leisure, historical or natural-historical, it has good markings and is appropriate for everyone.

Lenght: 2,9 km

Starting point of the trail: parking place in front of VinaKras Sežana

Urban educational trail

The Urban educational trail is intended for all who would like to get to know the centre of Karts – the town of Sežana better.

On the trail through the town visitors get to know the rich natural and cultural heritage which has developed there and was changing throughout history. The town features 50 tree species and 30 historical features.

Lenght: 4,8 km

Starting point of the trail: near hotel Triglav, trg 28. Avgusta

Centro didattico naturalistico di Basovizza

The "Centro didattico naturalistico di Basovizza" is a modern visitor centre set up and run by the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia through the Regional Forestry Department. Equipped with the verx latest technologies, this multi-functional centre provides information about the environment for schools and the citizen. The Centre is located close to Trieste in the Carso village of Basovizza, in the former forestry nursery area, where the ambitious project to reforest the Carso took root in the early 19th century.

Opening times

October, 1st - May, 31st: Monday to Friday, from 9.00 am to 1.00pm; first Sunday of the month 9.00 am to 5.00 pm
June, 1st - September, 30st: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm, Tuesday from 2.00 pm till 8.00 pm; first Sunday of the month from 2.00pm till 8.00 pm.

Entrance free

For guided school and group visits

E: cdn@regione.fvg.it
T: +39 040 3773677
M: +39 366 6867882
Fax: +39 040 9221098

Karst wine road

The Karst wine road presents characteristics of the landscape, natural and cultural heritage and life of people living here.

Its offer comprises:

Wine-tasting,
Tours to local wine cellars,
Tours to tourist farms and restaurants and
Accommodations.

‘Osmice' ('eights') where farmers serve food and wine produced on their farm in their house for eight days are a special tourist offer and an ancient tradition of the Karst.

A few prosciutto production facilities where dried meat products are produced with the Karts Bora wind in accordance with the tested recipes of our grandfathers are also operating. Karts prosciutto is the most popular among them.

Vilenica Cave

The Vilenica Cave is the oldest tourist cave in Europe. It was named after haze lifting above its entrance and dancing like mythological creatures – fairies.

The Cave is not known only for its Karst features, but also for annual events. Evenings of Slovene literates have been organised since 1980 and from 1986 on the international literary festival Vilenica – the meeting of poets and writers from all over Europe takes place there.

This event features the handing out of the Great Vilenica Award and the Crystal Vilenica Award.

Military Museum Tabor

The today's military museum is arranged in the tower of Tabor built in 1458 by the Venetians. It has been open since 1994 and hosts a rich collection of uniforms, weapons, other material from different periods and a collection from the field of local history.

The first floor presents the photos from World War I, a uniform of the General Svetozar Borojevič and the Soča Front. The second floor features a fascist and Nazi propaganda and the third floor shows photos of the history of the village of Lokev from 1765 to 1975.

It also presents archaeological findings and uniforms of soldiers who were in the village of Lokev at that time. The centre of this floor displays an ethnological collection.

Since its opening in 1994 the museum has received 43 plaques and awards.

Village of Pliskovica

Pliskovica is one of the largest villages on the plain of the Komen Karst. It is interesting for visitors mainly due to its rich tourist, cultural and historical offer.

Pliskovica Youth Hostel is arranged in a renovated Karst farmhouse – farmhouse “Slamčeva domačija” comprising a house, a barn and a great fenced yard. The farmhouse is under special protection as a cultural monument and as such offers accommodation with style with a romantic touch of the Karst landscape.

They offer:

A tour to the farmhouse “Slamčeva domačija”,
Learning about the Karst architecture and life on the farm,
Accommodations.

The Hostel is active in numerous fields, since it organises different workshops connecting visitors with the Karst landscape.

In summer, Evening in the farmhouse 'Slamčeva domačija' or Summer in the farmhouse 'Slamčeva domačija' are organised in the Youth Hostel hosting drama, dance and musical evenings and different workshops for children and adults.

Pliskina educational trail marked with a sheep named Pliska leads around the village of Pliskovica. A walk along the trail is a great experience of genuine Karst, since it presents the characteristics of the Karst environment.

Škocjan Caves Park

Škocjan Caves Park extending over 413 hectares is located in the Municipality of Divača. A tour to the entire park with an educational trail is a great experience of walking in nature which enraptures everyone.

Škocjan Caves are the most important underground feature in the Karst and in Slovenia.

The international expert public gives the Škocjan Caves outstanding importance due to their unique natural and cultural heritage:

They were entered in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986,
They were entered in the Ramsar Convention in 1999 as the first underground wetland worldwide,
They were entered in the MAB Programme (Man and Biosphere) in 2004 as a biospheric area of Karst.

Škocjanske Caves comprise:

Eleven caves,
Collapse dolines,
Ponor caves,
Natural bridges,
A 100 m high underground canyon formed by the largest Slovene disappearing stream – Reka River.

Škratelj house

Škratelj house is a birthplace of Ita Rina-Ida Kravanja, a famous actress in silent films in Europe at the time in the beginning of the period of film-directing.

The Karst house which is under monumental protection used to be an important Carriage Drivers’ Inn (furmanska gostilna).

The house features a museum of Slovenian film actors.

Village of Štanjel

Štanjel is one of the oldest settlements in Karst, as the hill on which it is located was settled already in ancient history. The today’s settlement developed near a castle in the Medieval period.

Series of stone houses are arranged in terraces on the slope and narrow streets end on small squares with stone wells standing out in the middle. In the Middle Ages the settlement was a trading settlement which was secured with walls during Turkish invasion and Venetian wars.

In the period from 16^th to 19^th century this area was under the rule of the Counts von Cobenzl who gave the settlement its present image by building a castle and other activities. The most important building in Štanjel apart from the castle is the Church of Saint Daniel built in the 15^th century in gothic style. In 1609 a bell tower with a characteristic shape of a lemon was built making the silhouette of the settlement particularly recognisable.

In 1920’s and 1930’s Ferrari’s garden with Villa Ferrari was arranged in Štanjel. The author of the project, architect Maks Fabiani, designed a park sensibly completing the fortified settlement on the slope. The garden is characterised by water supply system which used to feed the pond and several water cisterns.

Today Štanjel has several different cultural features:

the castle features the permanent collection of paintings and graphics of Lojze Spacal,
the Karst house displays an ethnological collection,
occasional exhibitions are organised in the Gate Tower, Valet Gallery and Storževa gallery.

Brkini fruit road

Brkini fruit road is located in the region of Brkini comprising the Municipalities of Divača, Pivka, Ilirska Bistrica and Hrpelje - Kozina. It includes 70 farms marked with a special plate offering fruit and delicacies from fruit. The farms are also included in the Society of Fruit Growers from Brkini.

The main reasons for visiting the Brkini fruit road are certainly:

enjoying in unspoilt nature,
relaxing in the countryside with friendly people,
experiencing unique and variegated tourist offer,
attractive natural values,
rich cultural heritage.