Vintgar Gorge
{{Short description|Natural gorge in Slovenia}}
File:Slovenia - Waterfall Sum - Vintgar Klamm (43686688490).jpg
Vintgar Gorge ({{langx|sl|soteska Vintgar}}) or Bled Gorge ({{lang|sl|Blejski vintgar}}) is a {{convert|1.6|km|adj=on|sp=us}} gorge in northwestern Slovenia in the municipalities of Gorje and Bled, four kilometers northwest of Bled. It is located on the edge of Triglav National Park. Carved by the Radovna River, it is the continuation of the Radovna Valley. The sheer canyon walls are {{convert|50|to|100|m|sp=us}} high, with a total slope measuring about {{convert|250|m|abbr=on}}. The stream has created many erosive features such as pools and rapids, and terminates in the picturesque {{convert|13|m|abbr=on|sp=us}} Šum Falls (literally, 'noisy falls'), the largest river waterfall in Slovenia.
History
Until 1890, the gorge was mainly inaccessible, except for two points at which the Radovna could be reached, and a bridge over Šum Falls was already built in 1878.{{cite journal |url=http://www.dlib.si/details/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-9E94CZWK/ |title=Jakob Žumer - župan v Gorjah |trans-title=Jakob Žumer – the Mayor of Gorje |first=Benedik |last=Božo |journal=Kronika |language=sl|year=1989 |volume=37 |issue=3 |publisher= Zveza zgodovinskih društev Slovenije, sekcija za krajevno zgodovino |id={{COBISS|ID=16928768}} |issn=0023-4923 |pages=309–311}} The rest of the gorge was explored in 1891 by the mayor of Gorje, Jakob Žumer, and by Benedikt Lergetporer, a prominent photographer of the era.{{cite news|last=Božič|first=Dragan|date=January 2011|title=Pozabljeni Benedikt Lergetporer|trans-title=The Forgotten Benedikt Lergetporer|page=9|newspaper=Blejske novice|issue=1|url=http://www.rad.sik.si/new/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/dok_bozic_dragan2.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614223926/https://www.rad.sik.si/new/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/dok_bozic_dragan2.pdf|archive-date=14 June 2015|issn=1855-4717|id={{COBISS|ID=32234285}}}}
In 1893 the gorge was equipped with wooden observation walkways and bridges with great effort and was opened to the public on August 26, 1893. The walkways, which were later named Žumer Galleries ({{lang|sl|Žumrove galerije}}) in the most prominent part of the gorge, have been renovated several times since.
A hydroelectric dam has also been built below the gorge and an arch railway bridge for the Bohinj Railway. The bridge, built in 1904 and 1905 of cut stone, is the largest stone arch railway bridge preserved in its entirety in Slovenia. It is {{convert|65|m|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|4.5|m|abbr=on}} wide and {{convert|33|m|abbr=on}} high.{{cite web |url=http://giskd2s.situla.org/rkd/Opis.asp?Esd=29611 |title=29611: Blejska Dobrava - Železniški most čez sotesko Blejski Vintgar |trans-title=29611: Blejska Dobrava – The Railway Bridge Across the Vintgar Gorge |work=Register nepremične kulturne dediščine [Registry of Immovable Cultural Heritage] |language=sl|publisher=Ministry of Culture, Republic of Slovenia |access-date=8 June 2015}}
Name
The word vintgar is derived from German Windegg(er) 'place exposed to the wind' via the hamlet of Vintgar at the head of the gorge in the village of Podhom.{{cite book |last1=Snoj |first1=Marko |title=Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen |date=2009 |publisher=Modrijan |location=Ljubljana |pages=456–457}} Another explanation claims that it derives from the German name Weingarten 'vineyard', referring to vineyards in Podhom or to the gorge resembling a wine glass in shape. As the first mountain gorge in the area to be made accessible to tourists, the word vintgar has been generalized in Slovene to refer to other scenic, protected gorges, e.g. the {{Interlanguage link multi|Iška Gorge|sl|3=Iški vintgar}} ({{lang|sl|Iški vintgar}}), the {{Interlanguage link multi|Bistrica Gorge|sl|3=Bistriški vintgar}} ({{lang|sl|Bistriški vintgar}}) on Pohorje, and the Ribnica Gorge ({{lang|sl|Ribniški vintgar}}) in Bohinj.{{cite encyclopedia |first=Maja |last=Topole |language=sl|title=Vintgar |url=http://www.dedi.si/dediscina/132-vintgar |access-date=8 June 2015 |encyclopedia=DEDI - enciklopedija naravne in kulturne dediščine na Slovenskem}}
Geology
Before the last ice age, the Radovna River flowed eastward. After being dammed by the ice and detritus of the Bohinj Glacier, the resulting lake cut a new path northeast through a soft layer of Triassic limestone between the hills Boršt ({{convert|931|m|abbr=on|disp=or|sp=us}}) and Hom ({{convert|844|m|disp=or|abbr=on|sp=us}}), towards the Upper Sava Valley.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Vintgar Gorge}}
- [http://www.bled.si/en/default.asp?id=466 Vintgar Gorge at the Bled municipal website]
- [https://www.vintgar.si Vintgar]
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{{Bled |state=collapsed}}
{{Gorje |state=collapsed}}
{{Jesenice |state=collapsed}}
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{{Hydrography of Slovenia}}
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{{Coord|46.390|N|14.083|E|display=title|source:dewiki}}
Category:Triglav National Park
Category:Tourist attractions in Slovenia
Category:Canyons and gorges of Slovenia
Category:Municipality of Gorje