Železniki, the village of nails and bobbin lace

The blast furnace and the Železniki Museum

On the square stands the old smelting furnace, a unique example of Železniki’s technical heritage and, in the Slovenian Tourist Board’s words, Slovenia’s first protected technical monument and a blast furnace unique in Europe. In front of it is the Železniki Museum, in Plavčeva House, a founder’s house from the first half of the 17th century. Its collections explain the iron industry, from mining to ironworks and smithing, the timber trade, with coopers, charcoal burners and sawmills, and other subjects such as slate roofing, local societies, lace, the Professor Franc Koblar memorial room and the resistance in the Selca valley. If forging interests you, the blacksmiths’ village of Kropa lies on the other side of the Jelovica plateau.

Up the valley: Sorica, Davča and Dražgoše

The impressionist painter Ivan Grohar found inspiration in the countryside here again and again, and his house in Sorica, a village full of curious details, can be visited. Davča, which the Škofja Loka Tourist Board presents as the largest village in Slovenia, keeps up the tradition of weaving linen from flax, and its ethnographic museum in the Jemc homestead is devoted mainly to it. Sunny Dražgoše is known for its Dražgoše honey breads, a craft that also lives on in the lectar hearts of Radovljica.

Mountains all year round

Trails climb to the Sorica highland, which draws skiers in winter, and from there on to the ridge of Ratitovec, one of the favourite goals for walkers in the area. The ski areas of Stari vrh and Soriška planina are also in the Škofja Loka area, according to the Slovenian Tourist Board. From Soriška planina the road crosses to the far side of the mountain and drops towards the Bohinj valley, so Železniki can also be a different way into the Julian Alps, well away from the busiest routes and the summer traffic around the lakes.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Škofja Loka on Expedia and filter by area before price.

Peter Prevc and a village of champions

The Škofja Loka Tourist Board points out that the spirit of forging your own fortune lives on. Železniki is home to Peter Prevc, one of the most famous Slovenian sportsmen, the ski jumper who was the first in the world to fly 250 metres. There’s much more of the region in my Gorenjska guide.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Škofja Loka and pick one that fits your day.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Škofja Loka on Booking.com and filter by area before price.