Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Post Office
(Vodnikova ulica 1)
Tourist Information Centre Idrija
(TIC; 374 39 16;
www.idrija-turizem.si
; Vod-
nikova ulica 3; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat & Sun Jul & Aug, 9am-4pm Mon-
Fri, 10am-4pm Sep-Jun)
On the 1st floor behind the modern post office, with free internet
access.
Getting There & Away
There are hourly buses to Cerkno (€3.10, 30 minutes) and Ljubljana (€6.30, 1½ hours),
and less frequently to Bovec (€9.20, 2½ hours) and Nova Gorica (€6.30, 1½ hours).
CERKNO
05 / POP 1596 / ELEV 324M
A quiet town in the Cerknica River Valley, Cerkno is an important destination for ethnolo-
gists and partygoers alike when the Laufarija, the ancient Shrovetide celebration, takes
place. Nearby are the remains of a secret Partisan hospital from WWII.
Glavni trg, where the buses stop, is the main square and the centre of Cerkno.
STONE AGE MUSIC
Despite our preconceptions, our prehistoric forebears were a sophisticated bunch. In 1995, palaeontologists look-
ing for Stone Age tools were directed to Divje Babe, a cave some 200m above the main road linking Cerkno with
the Tolmin-Idrija highway. After careful digging they found a piece of cave-bear femur measuring 10cm long and
perforated with four aligned holes (two intact, two incomplete) at either end. It looked exactly like, well, a flute.
The flute was dated using electron spin resonance techniques and is believed to be around 43,000 years old. Al-
though dubbed the 'Neanderthal flute' in Slovenia, some debate persists about whether or not it was made by that
species or by Cro-Magnons - modern humans. Either way, Slovenia can claim the oldest known musical instru-
ment on earth. And - in case you were wondering - it still plays a tune.
Sights
Cerkno Museum
(Cerkljanski Muzej; 372 31 80;
www.muzej-idrija-cerkno.si
; Bevkova ulica 12; adult/
child €2.10/1.30; 9am-3pm Mon-Fri, 10am-1pm & 2-6pm Sat & Sun)
The museum is
MUSEUM
