We {me & my boyfriend} took a hike to the highest peak around here – Mirna gora, which could be literally translate to “Quiet Mountain” (1047) and we had such a great time. Although it was quite exhausting (we did walk more than 3 hours to go get there and back home), it was worth it!
I put some extra information at the end of this post, so if you would like to know more about it, just take a minute and read it. And here are some pictures I took with my phone …
Kdo ne pozna Mirne gore?? Najvišji vrh Bele krajine (1047), na svoji najvišji točki doseže celo več kot to – 1054 metrov nadmorske višine. Ula-la, kaj? :) No in odpravila sva se vse do vrha. Pot je bila zanimiva, srečala sva veliko znanih obrazov in predvsem uživala ob idilični naravi, ki naju je obdajala ves čas. Same hoje sva imela približno 3 ure (od Vrčic pa do Mirne gore in nazaj spet do Vrčic). Baje obstajajo še hitrejše poti, ampak tokrat sva ubrala to tadaljšo. ;) Da se malo mišice razgibajo. ;) Če te zanimajo podrobnosti o sami Mirni gori, pokukaj na konec te objave. Sem izbrskala kar veliko detajlov. ;) Drugače pa uživaj v fotografijah, ki so nastale po poti.
Beautiful forest road … this is just one part of it, most of it was UP UP UP! Well you have to reach 1049 meters somehow (we started at 481) … ;)
Čudovita gozdna pot … a naj vas videz ne vara, to je le en delček poti, ki je dokaj raven … drugi večinski delež pa se zelooo strmo vzpenja! Jah nekak je treba prit iz nadmorske višine 481 do 1049 metrov. ;)
And when you reach the top??? You enjoy in a view with a glass of cold beer. Mmm – to good to be true! :)
In kaj obvezno narediš ko prideš na vrh?? Privoščiš si kozarec mrzlega piva in uživaš v razgledu. ;)
Beautiful Mountain lodge at the top.
Čudovita planinska koča na vrhu. Pripravijo ti tudi palačinke. :) Da pridobiš nazaj kakšno kalorijo, ki si jo morda izgubil po poti. ;)
So this is it. Our hike is finished! Time to go back home and eat some dinner! ;)
But before we do that I must show you this beautiful pictures of the same hike but in the winter! It’s amazing! And cold of course, but who cares?? :)
M. took these gorgeous pictures last year, if I remember correct. You can check his photography blog –.-here-.-. Is this stunning? I love it! ;)
Preden zaključim to popotniško objavo vam moram nujno pokazati še tele čudovite fotografije, ki jih je M. ustvaril lani, če se ne motim. Mirna gora obdana s čudovito belo odejo. Neprecenljivo!
Linking up for Wordless Wednesday with:
♥ The Paper Mama, ♥ And Then, She Snapped, ♥ Project Alicia,
♥ Live and Love … out Loud, ♥ Baby Baby Lemon,
♥ Angry Julie Monday, ♥ Thislife, ♥ Woven by Words .
Here are some historical facts about Mirna gora, so if you are interested in history keep reading, if not – STOP NOW before it’s to late! =)
Mirna gora (Friedensberg) was the site of the famous church of sv. Frančišek Ksaver (St Francis Xavier). It was built around 1743 and was a renowned destination of pilgrimage to ward off thunderstorms. During World War II it was burnt down and partly renovated in 1993.
The origins of the church are, as with numerous other pilgrimage churches, tied to a folk tale. The tale speaks of an evil dragon that lived in a cave in the mountain of Mirna gora. As wheat and grapes ripened, the dragon would vomit thunderstorm clouds that brought thick hail. A period came when the hail destroyed the crop for seven years in succession and famine set in. The people then sought help with St Francis Xavier, the guardian against bad weather. A church, dedicated to the guardian, was built above the dragon's cave and the thunderstorms ceased and peace was established. The mountain was therefore named Mirna gora or the Peaceful Mountain.
St Francis acted as guardian against the rigours of the weather and storms, patron against the plague, and guardian for the auspicious final hour. Until World War II he was worshipped by the inhabitants of the Kočevsko area, Bela krajina, and the Croats. The main pilgrimage took place on the fourth Sunday after Easter, which was the Sunday closest to the name day of St Alexis of Rome (17th July), and on Angel Sunday (first Sunday in September), when mostly the pilgrims from Kočevsko came. During the Rogation Week in May processions of inhabitants of the Črnomelj and the Semič Parishes came in request of nice weather in plentiful crops. In recent years the solemn blessing occurs on December 3rd. There is also a revival of offering Masses for fields, wheat and wine.
Planina (Stockendorf), once a village of the central type in Kočevsko, is situated on a small karst plateau on the south foot of the Mirna gora. It is first mentioned in written sources in 1574. In 1880 there were 34 houses with 176 inhabitants living there, while in 1930 there were 30 inhabited and 6 deserted houses with around 130 people living in the village. The majority of the inhabitants (115 people from 22 houses) moved away in December of 1941. After the war farm and forest workers were lodged there.
The people subsisted mostly on timber, firewood and woodenware trade until World War II. The inhabitants of Gorenjci near Semič and Rodine also had a few vineyards. A two-class school was set up already in 1866, where after World War I Slovene teachers were also employed. In the village of Planina a succursal church administration unit was founded in 1737 and a local church administration unit in 1791. The latter was promoted to a parish in 1875. Abolished in 1987, its territory was then incorporated into the Parish of Semič. The church of sv. Elija (St Elijah) was built around 1730. It is at present adorned by the paintings of Štefan Šubic and Matija Bradaška.
During World War II the deserted Planina and its hinterland offered shelter to the partisan resistance movement. In the great offensive of Kočevski rog in 1942 Italian soldiers burnt down the village and there attacked the Cankar brigade in September of the same year. A national farm cultivated the deserted land to provide for the Kremen hospital and the reconvalescence hospital in the village. A partisan invalid choir was also formed in the village.
Natural characteristics
Mirna gora is the highest peak of the hilly outskirts of Bela krajina, measuring 1048 m. It is situated on the southeastern part of the undulating karst plateau of Kočevski rog and is connected to Poljanska gora. It has characteristically indented eastern slopes that steeply fall into the valley of the Divji potok and Vrčice streams but gently slope towards the low karst flat land of Bela krajina across poorly defined ledges and slopes.
Mirna gora and its closest surroundings form an island of dolomite rock within karst carbonate rock. The dolomite rock provides water to many springs, most generously to those at the Ponikve and Planina villages. The steep eastern slopes towards Gače are indented with headwater valleys.
The hilltops are covered by rich forest vegetation with the prevailing subalpine beech forest with Hacquetia epipactis and the Dinaric forest of fir and beech. The forests form a part of the extensive woodland of Kočevski rog, which together with the neighbouring Dinaric plateaus represent one the largest wooded areas in Europe. They are well known shelters of big beasts. The forests around Mirna gora are also one of the rare breeding grounds of capercaillie in Kočevski rog.
In the vicinity of the deserted villages of Planina, Kleč, Ponikve, and Sredgora the once cultivated land is slowly changing into a wide band of overgrown areas and plantations of coniferous trees. The hayfields above Planina are partly even left to natural succession as a forest reservation.
The alpine hut on Mirna gora was built in 1929 on the incentive of Ivan Zagožen, a schoolmaster in Planina who was also the first president of the Mountaineering Club of Bela krajina. Italian soldiers burnt the hut down in the summer of 1942. It was renovated in 1953 and at the same time the church belfry was transformed into a lookout tower. The home offers 50 beds and is run by the Črnomelj Mountaineering Club. It is the only maintained alpine post in Kočevski rog.
Mirna gora and Planina are the starting points of several walking routes.
The Forest Education Route Planina - Mirna gora
(Length: 3.5 km; duration: 2.5 h)
The circular route leads across the southern slope of Mirna gora up to its summit. Along it the rich forest vegetation is presented together with various tree and shrub species and the importance of forests in the preservation of water. There is an Information Room set up in the forester's hut and old forestry tools, a car of the former forest railroad, a charcoal-, and a lime-kiln are on display in its vicinity.
Along the forest railroad Rog - Črnomelj
(Length: 4 km; duration: 1.5 h)
The route leads along the partly preserved line of the former forest railroad between Luža near Sredgora and Štale. Waymarked paths lead from Planina and Mirna gora to the starting point at Luža near Sredgora.
Shepherd's Path
(Length: 10 km; duration: 4 h)
The path leads along the former shepherd's paths around Mirna gora. There are vast hayfields in the vicinity of the ruins of the Ponikve and Škrilj villages. A feature of the route is also the overgrowing areas that bear witness to the disappearing cultural landscape.
The Trdina Way
Mirna gora is included in the Trdina Way that connects Kočevski rog and Gorjanci with the outskirts of the Krško hills. From the summit the route leads to adjoining control points at:
Gače: 955 m above sea-level; distance: 4.5 km; duration: 1.5 h
Smuk: 546 m above sea-level; distance: 10.5 km; duration: 3 h
In kot sem obljubila, še nekaj zgodovinskih detajlov o Mirni gori. Uživajte!
Na Mirni gori (Friedensberg) je stala vse do 2. svetovne vojne znamenita cerkev sv. Frančiška Ksaverija, ki je slovela kot božja pot za odvrnitev hude ure. Pozidana je bila okoli 1743, med 2. svetovno vojno je bila požgana in 1993 delno obnovljena.
Tako kot pri mnogih drugih božjepotnih cerkvah, je tudi njen nastanek povezan z ljudskim izročilom. To pripoveduje, da je v votlini na gori domoval zloben zmaj. Ko je v dolini dozorelo žito in zorelo grozdje, je bruhal hudourne oblake, iz katerih se je vsipala debela toča. Nekoč pa je toča uničila ves pridelek kar sedem let zapovrstjo, zato je zavladala lakota. Ljudje so se v stiski zatekali po pomoč k sv. Frančišku Ksaveriju kot varuhu pred vremenskimi neprilikami. Nad zmajevo votlino so pozidali njemu posvečeno cerkev in hude ure so prenehale. Ker je na gori zavladal mir, je dobila ime Mirna gora.
K svetemu Frančišku, varuhu zoper vremenske ujme in proti viharju, patronu zoper kugo in varuhu za srečno zadnjo uro, so se do 2. svetovne vojne zatekali Kočevarji, Belokranjci in Hrvatje. Glavni romarski shodi so bili na 4. nedeljo po Veliki noči, godu sv. Aleša (17. julij) najbližja nedelja in na angelsko nedeljo (1. nedeljo v septembru), ko so prihajali zlasti Kočevarji. V maju mesecu so v križevem tednu na goro prihajale prošnje procesije predvsem iz črnomaljske in semiške župnije ter prosile za lepo vreme in dobro letino. V zadnjih letih je slovesno žegnanje 3. decembra, oživlja pa tudi darovanje poljskih, žitnih in vinskih maš.
Planina (Stockendorf, 737 m. n.m.v.), nekdanja kočevarska vas središčnega tipa, stoji na manjši kraški planoti ob južnem vznožju Mirne gore. V pisanih virih je prvič omenjena 1574, 1880 je štela 34 hiš in 176 prebivalcev, 1930 je bilo v vasi 30 naseljenih in 6 praznih hiš ter okoli 130 prebivalcev. Večina kočevarskega prebivalstva (115 ljudi iz 22 hiš) se je odselila decembra 1941. Po vojni so v vasi nastanili kmetijske in gozdne delavce.
Prebivalstvo se je do 2. svetovne vojne preživljalo predvsem s prodajo lesa, drv in suhe robe, nekaj vinogradov so imeli prebivalci v Gorenjcih pri Semiču in Rodinah.
Dvorazredna šola je bila ustanovljena že 1866, na njej pa so po prvi svetovni vojni poučevali tudi slovenski učitelji. Cerkvenoupravno je bila na Planini 1737 ustanovljena kuracija, 1791 pa lokalija, ki je bila 1875 povzdignjena v župnijo. Ta je bila 1987 ukinjena, njeno ozemlje pa priključeno župniji Semič. Cerkev sv. Elije je bila pozidana okoli 1730. V njej visijo slike Štefana Šubica in Matije Bradaške. Opuščeno kočevarsko pokopališče je bilo obnovljeno 1998, cerkev pa 2002.
Med 2. svetovno vojno sta opustela Planina in njeno zaledje nudila zavetje partizanskemu odporniškemu gibanju. V veliki roški ofenzivi 1942 so italijanski vojaki požgali vas in septembra tu napadli Cankarjevo brigado. Na opuščenih posestvih preseljenih Kočevarjev je 1944 delovala narodna kmetija. Oskrbovala je bližnjo bolnišnico Kremen in rekonvalescentno bolnišnico v vasi, kjer je bil ustanovljen tudi Partizanski invalidski pevski zbor.
Naravne značilnosti
Mirna gora je s 1048 metri najvišji gora na hribovitem obrobju Bele krajine. Dviga se na skrajnem jugovzhodnem delu razgibane kraške planote Kočevskega Roga , na jugu pa se stika s Poljansko goro. Prepoznavna so njena razčlenjena vzhodna pobočja, ki strmo padajo v dolino Divjega potoka in Vrčice, proti nizkemu belokranjskemu kraškemu ravniku pa se zložno spuščajo preko neizrazitih polic in rebri.
Mirna gora z bližnjo okolico je zaradi dolomitne kamninske osnove pravi otok sredi zakraselih karbonatnih kamnin. Dolomitna podlaga napaja več studencev, najbolj vodnata sta na Planini in Ponikvah, strma vzhodna pobočja Gač pa so razčlenjena s povirnimi dolinami.
Vrhove prerašča sklenjen gozd s pestro sestavo gozdnih združb, med katerimi sta prevladujoči predgorski bukov gozd s tevjem ter dinarski gozd jelke in bukve. Gozdovi so del prostranih roških gozdov, ki tvorijo skupaj s sosednjimi dinarskimi planotami eno največjih gozdnih območij v Evropi. Prepoznavni so kot zatočišča velikih zveri. Tu je tudi eno redkih rastišč divjega petelina na Kočevskem rogu. V okolici opuščenih kočevarskih vasi Planina, Kleč, Škrilj, Ponikve in Sredgora prehaja nekdaj skrbno obdelana zemlja v širok pas zaraščajočih se površin in nasade iglavcev. Nad Planino je del košenic celo prepuščen naravni sukcesiji kot gozdni rezervat.
Planinski dom na Mirni gori je bil pozidan 1929 na temeljih nekdanje romarske hiše.
Pobudnik njegove izgradnje je bil Ivan Zagožen, tedanji šolski upravitelj na Planini in prvi predsednik Planinskega društva Bele krajine. Italijanski vojaki so dom požgali poleti 1942. Obnovljen je bil 1953, ko so cerkveni zvonik tudi preuredili v razgledni stolp. Dom, ki ima 50 ležišč in ga upravlja Planinsko društvo Črnomelj, je edina stalno oskrbovana planinska postojanka na Kočevskem rogu.
Planinske poti
Mirna gora in Planina sta izhodišče večim pohodnim potem.
Gozdna učna pot Planina - Mirna gora
dolžina poti: 3,5 km; čas obhoda: 2,5 h
Krožna pot vodi po južnem pobočju Mirne gore do njenega vrha. Ob njej so predstavljene pestre gozdne združbe, drevesne in grmovne vrste ter pomen gozda pri ohranjanju vode. V gozdarskem domu je urejena informativna soba, v okolici pa je na ogled staro gozdarsko orodje, vagon nekdanje gozdne železnice, oglarska kopa in apnenica.
Po sledi gozdne železnice Rog - Črnomelj
dolžina poti: 4 km; čas obhoda: 1,5 h
Pot vodi po delno ohranjeni trasi nekdanje gozdne železnice med sredgorsko Lužo in Štalami. Ob poti so označene informativne točke, ki predstavljajo posebnosti narave in nekdanje železnice. Do izhodišča pri sredgorski Luži vodita markirani poti iz Planine in Mirne gore.
Pastirska pot
dolžina poti: 10 km; čas obhoda: 4 h
Pot vodi po nekdanjih pastirskih stezah okoli Mirne gore. Zanjo so značilne prostrane košenice v okolici ruševin kočevarskih vasi Ponikve in Škrilj, ter zaraščajoče se površine, ki pričajo o nekdanji podobi kulturne krajine.
Trdinova pot
Mirna gora je vključena v Trdinovo poti, ki povezuje Kočevski rog in Gorjance z obrobjem Krškega hribovja. Z vrha vodi pot do sosednjih kontrolnih točk:
Gače: 955 metrov n.m.v, 4,5 km, 1,5 h
Smuk: 546 metrov n.m.v, 10,5 km, 3 h
Source: http://www.slovenia-heritage.net/mirna-gora/eindex.htm
Mirna gora ima tudi svojo Facebook stran, tako da jo kar obiščite – Klikni tukaj!
In case you missed my previous wordless Wednesday posts:
What gorgeous shots. i love them.
OdgovoriIzbrišiLovely pictures!
OdgovoriIzbriši