in 1985, the old town centre of Tržič was designated the status of a cultural and historical monument. Though, as with so many town centres these days – and not only in Slovenia – the old town centre itself is not the thriving hub it once was. It is, however, still home to some interesting and unique buildings and features, particularly the portals embellished with flowers, and the windows, known as ‘firbec okno’ – the word ‘firbec’ refers to a nosey person – from where nosey residents could look at the goings-on in the town by looking through the glass pane at the bottom of the protruding window, without the need to lean out of the window. Today, just one of these remains and can be seen on display on the main road through the old town, Koroška cesta, as seen in the photo below. Another of the features of the town are the red roofs on the buildings in the historic part of the town.

Tržič is most known for its shoemaking industry; it is home to the company Peko which, in its heyday, was a major player in the industry. Though the company still exists, it is sadly no longer the force it once was and many of the town’s residents have lost their livelihoods but the firm’s products can still be brought throughout Slovenia. Tržič also gets somewhat overlooked in terms of tourism, which is a shame, as it does contain some architectural and cultural treasures, as well as many sights of natural interest in the surroundings.

The Dovžan Gorge, which I wrote about in a previous blog ( https://adeleinslovenia.wordpress.com/2013/09/) is one such place and, in the past few years, has been ugraded with a new walking path and renovated bridges. The gorge is located a few kilometres north of Tržič where the waters of the Tržiška Bistrica river have carved out their path through the gorge, which is particularly known for its rich geological conditions and palaeontologic sites. One of the biggest events in Tržič is Shoemaker’s Sunday (Šuštarska nedelja), held annually on the first Sunday in September. At this time the streets of the old centre come to life as up to 10,000 visitors descend on the town. The event was originally intended to showcase shoemaking in the area, with demonstrations and sales of products at bargain prices. These days however, since the shoemaking industry is all but lost, the event continues but with a wider range of other products and stalls, together with local food and an accompanying programme of entertainment. Talking of food, which I do like to do – and especially about food in the Radovljica area, particularly the restaurants that participate in Taste Radol’ca – it seems I’m not the only one singing the praises of Slovene food these days as can be seen in this article which mentions one of the Taste Radol’ca restaurants too – can you guess which one? http://www.afar.com/magazine/is-slovenia-the-worlds-next-great-food-destination © AdeleinSlovenia 2015