Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
PRIMORSKA
Soča Valley
The Soča Valley region (Posočje) stretches from Triglav National Park to Nova Gorica, in-
cluding the outdoor activity centres of Bovec and Kobarid. Threading through it is the ma-
gically aquamarine Soča River. Most people come here for the rafting, hiking and skiing
though there are plenty of historical sights and locations, particularly relating to WWI,
when millions of troops fought on the mountainous battlefront here. Between the wars,
Primorska and the Soča Valley fell under Italian jurisdiction.
BOVEC
05 / POP 1631 / ELEV 470M
Soča Valley's de facto capital, Bovec offers plenty for adventure-sports enthusiasts. With
the Julian Alps above, the Soča River below and Triglav National Park all around, you
could spend a week here hiking, kayaking, mountain biking and, in winter, skiing at Kanin,
Slovenia's highest ski station, without ever doing the same thing twice.
The centre is Trg Golobarskih Žrtev, one of the few named streets in town. Actually, it's
a long square that forms the main east- west drag and runs northward to the neo-
Romanesque church of St Urh. Buses stop down the side street next to Mercator super-
maket in Mala Vas.
History
The area around Bovec is first mentioned in documents dating back to the 11th century, but
in the modern era it has seen a lot of destruction. On two occasions Napoléon's army at-
tacked Austria from here, and much of the town was destroyed in the fighting around the
Soča Valley during WWI. It was rebuilt in the 1920s, but then suffered again as a result of
severe earthquakes in 1976 and 1998.
Sights
CASTLE
Kluže Fortress
