Pearl of the Karst - Štanjel - Vipava Valley - Slovenia

The chronological sorting of memories is an interesting business

Donna Tartt

French folks traveling with their donkeys and a dog (off-photo)
For extra income, they do surveying work

Štanjel is one of the oldest settlements in the Karst Region, known for its ancient village center.  It was named after Saint Daniel.  Due to its strategic location, the hill was already populated in prehistoric times and further fortified in the 17^th century to defend against the Ottoman raids. 

The first written mention of the area dates back to 1402.  The characteristic defensive wall from the 15^th century protected the inhabitants during the Turkish invasions.  The settlement reached the peak of its development in the 16^th and 17^th centuries, as most of the architectural features of the buildings originate from this period. 

Between the two world wars, the architect and then mayor of Štanjel, Max Fabiani, left his mark here.  During WWII, the settlement was partly destroyed by fire and the castle was heavily damaged.  The revitalization of the village center started in the 1960’s and has continued to this day.  

Below Štanjel - we have to bike up this windy road first

Entering Štanjel - still smiling after all these hills
Notice the small wreaths above entrance (more on that below)

Karst Region

Karst is actually the name of a rocky limestone region in Slovenia, but is used as a generic term to describe this type of landscape wherever it occurs throughout the globe. Although relatively unfamiliar, karst is far more widespread than you might imagine, covering an estimated 15-20% of the world’s land surface. It is characterized by spectacular rock outcrops, pinnacles and cave systems, which are formed over millennia by the actions of water on limestone.  I personally have visited the Karst regions of New Mexico (US), Slovenia (EU), the Northwest Territory (Canada), the Yucatán (MX), and the Austral Islands (French Polynesia), but it can also be found in Australia, China, Ireland, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

To get a feel for how prominent it is, 40% of the United States' groundwater used for drinking comes from karst aquifers.  The world's largest limestone karst is Australia's Nullarbor Plain. Slovenia has the world's highest risk of sinkholes, followed by the western Highland Rim in the eastern United States.

Karst areas tend to have unique types of forests. The karst terrain is difficult for humans to traverse, so their ecosystems are often relatively undisturbed. The soil tends to have a high pH, which encourages growth of unusual species of orchids, palms, mangroves, and other plants.

The longest discovered cave system in Slovenia, Tolminski Migovec (Migovec system), honeycombs the karst region for a total of 26.7 miles. It is often described as mountains that are 'basically hollow'.  Quite the erosive underground marvel.

Entrance to the ruins of the old castle in the middle of town

Ferrari's Garden

Ferrari’s Garden.  

This garden is one of the many legacies left to Štanjel by architect Max Fabiani.  It originated as an addition to the Ferrari Villa – a group of medieval buildings along the former east wall around Štanjel, which Fabiani renovated for the Trieste physician Enrico Ferrari and his family after WWI. 

The grounds to the park were developed gradually, between roughly 1920 and 1934.  It was then that the barren, steep terrain below the villa, part of the extensive Ferrari estate, acquired its present-day appearance.  In designing the garden, which is beautifully adapted to the local setting and topography, the architect used traditional features of the Karst cultural landscape, such as terraces, stone retaining walls, stairways, and pergolas.  At the same time, he also incorporated elements foreign to the Karst, but which reflected the aesthetic ideals of the time: a panoramic pavilion, an oval pool or miniature lake with two tiny islands and a Venetian style bridge, an artificial grotto featuring a shell, fountains, and other features. 

The selection of materials used was also innovative: many of the built structures were made of concrete – a material just coming into use after WWI.

The most impressive aspect of Fabiani’s work is not immediately evident and can only be appreciated in the context of the chronic shortage of water which afflicts the Karst region.  Fabiani designed a water supply system in which the traditional method of collecting rainwater from roofs was upgraded with a system of ditches for collecting surface rainwater, storage tanks, pipes, and irrigation channels, all of which were connected and integrated into a complex system.  This ensured that the villa and surrounding park were supplied with their own source of running water, not only for the usual essential purposes, but also for the purpose of entertainment and ornamentation.

A fountain adorned lake in the midst of the thirsty Karst landscape appears to be a decadent indulgence only at first glance: the pool actually served as a reservoir which was used to water the garden and the crop fields in the doline below the park.  In winter, chunks of ice were broken off from its surface and channeled through an opening beside the pool which led to the ‘ledenica’ an ice cellar located underneath the panoramic pavilion that was used to keep food stores cool.  There were many such features, skillfully combining form and function, introduced into Ferrari's Garden by the talented architect and innovator Max Fabiani who, by all accounts, was able to fully elaborate his plans in his head without needing to sketch them out on paper. 

Due to its exceptional cultural, landscape, artistic, architectural, and historical value, Ferrari's Garden was listed, in 1999, as a cultural monument of national importance. 

Ancient water catchment system made of stone gutters

The Karst House

This house reflects the architectural characteristics of the first Karst houses built during the Romanesque and Gothic periods. It is thought to be the oldest house in the village of Štanjel. It was most likely built in the 14^th or 15^th century. They used stone as building material whenever possible. The house is very well-preserved.  The roof is covered with stone slabs and rainwater runs along them into stone gutters and then into the monumental public well.  This shows just how important water gathering was and still is in the Karst.

Stone gutters collecting water in stone cistern and below ground

Close-up of stone gutter with slate roof

Just a blueish-green door with a St John wreath

Special types of protective wreaths

St John Wreaths

The making of St John wreaths and hanging them on the front doors of homes on Midsummer’s evening is an old Karst tradition. It originates from pagan times and is based on a popular belief that picked plants have a superpower that protects people and homes from bad luck.

The old folk custom was widespread all across the Karst up until World War II. The villagers of Štanjel revived it a good decade ago. It is even included in the register of living heritage because it helps people reconnect with nature, while also promoting creativity.

On the Sunday before the day of St John, which is on June 24, a wreath-making workshop is organized in Štanjel for all who want to learn this skill. On St John’s Day, the villagers hang the wreaths on their front doors and leave them there the whole year. Then, as the old folk tradition would have it, they burn them in a bonfire and hang new ones.

These traditional wreaths are believed to protect the house from evil forces, along with hail and snakes. If a severe storm was nearing the village, people used to throw a few flowers from the wreath onto the fire to keep them out of harm’s way.

The selection of the plants woven into a wreath is also very significant. The most important plant is a biting stonecrop (Sedum acre), popularly called ‘yellow crosses’. A wreath of these tiny yellow flowers is a true work of art. It may take several hours to make one, which is why today women include other wildflowers in it, too.  I have read that some people ensure there are 365 flowers in each wreath, one for each day of the year.  

Owner of Grajzarjeva Marenda (snack bar)
Guide to the Karst House with water catchment system
Also served us excellent local Terran wine, cheese, prosciutto

Terran Wine

The Karst wine-growing region is located in the SW of Slovenia.  The vineyards are planted on limestone soils, which give the wine its characteristic minerality.  The best-known red Karst wine is Terran – it is made from grapes of the Refoška variety.  Terran has an intense red color, with a full and rich taste.  It has a characteristically high acidity that gives it freshness and makes it very drinkable.  The smell is fruity with notes of cherry, blueberry, blackberry and raspberry.  The taste is full, firm and complex, with accentuated tannins that go well with typical Karst food.  Terran is one of the most valued Slovenian and internationally recognized wines.  

Buckwheat is a big part of the diet here.
Black pasta pillows served on buckwheat

Quite green and humid, moss-quilted stairway dotted with ferns

Wheat and grapevine canes near rock wall

Štanjel at night - third upper lit window from left - my room
www.odlicna-hisa.si

Beautiful roads for biking

Goodbye Štanjel

Millions of years ago the area of Brda was covered by the sea. A time when this fertile soil was created that one day would give tons of juicy fruit and wines of exceptional quality.

Gradually, the sea withdrew and mother earth, through the centuries, created an idyllic landscape strewn with hills, intertwined with brooks and streams, covered with lush greenery. Landscape, which gradually descends to the vast plains of Friuli (Italy) and the horizon disappears into the depths of the Adriatic Sea.

Meanwhile the human hand sowed and reaped and so appeared orchards, vineyards, gardens, groves of olives and herbs and everything that makes the Brda region so fabulous.

It is hard to tell when Italy starts and Slovenia ends or vice-versa.  These two countries become one through nature that men preserved and shaped, and because of their long common history.  

One side of the road, Italy, the other side, Slovenia
Beautiful wine and olive country