kronika 73 � 2025 3 | 457–458 Zgornja Savinjska dolina – gorski raj in še mnogo več Leta 2017 je pri Kroniki izšla tematska številka o zgodovini Spodnje Savinjske doline in že tak- rat se je pojavila zamisel, da bi eno od prihodnjih številk posvetili še Zgornji Savinjski dolini ter ta- ko zajeli Savinjsko dolino v celoti. Ideja je zorela in se letos končno uresničila. V vmesnem času je Slovenijo prizadela najhujša naravna nesreča v zgodovini – avgusta 2023 so močni nalivi povzro- čili katastrofalne poplave, med drugim je reka Sa- vinja s pritoki poplavila ali popolnoma odrezala od sveta številne kraje v Zgornji Savinjski dolini. Tudi to je bil eden od razlogov, da smo pri Kroniki to območje uvrstili na koledar tematskih številk – da dolina ne bo poznana le po katastrofi, ampak da opozorimo tudi na njeno zanimivo in bogato preteklost. Zgornjesavinjska Kronika tako prinaša 18 znanstvenih prispevkov, objavo fotografskega gra- diva (stare razglednice) in predstavitve treh mu- zejskih zbirk, ki razkrivajo manj znane ali še pov- sem neznane zgodovinske drobce z območja, ki ga danes pokrivajo občine Gornji Grad, Ljubno, Luče, Mozirje, Nazarje, Rečica in Solčava. Tako kot pri drugih tematskih številkah Kronike tudi pri pričujoči ni bil namen predstaviti celotne zgo- dovine, temveč opozoriti na tematike, ki so bile doslej prezrte ali pozabljene. Območje Zgornje Savinjske doline je bilo po- membno že v visokem srednjem veku, ko je zelo verjetno s kraljevo darovnico prišlo v roke plemi- ča Diepolda de Chagere, ta pa je skupaj z ženo Truto leta 1140 posest podaril delno oglejskemu patriarhu, delno novoustanovljenemu benedik- tinskemu samostanu v Gornjem Gradu. Šlo je za eno največjih sklenjenih zemljiških gospostev v današnjem slovenskem prostoru, ki ga je vse do srede 15. stoletja obvladoval in kultiviral gornje- grajski samostan. Neizbrisen pečat na zgodovini območja pa so pustili tudi gospodje Žovneški/ grofje Celjski, ki so bili odvetniki in veliki pod- porniki samostana; tu je bila tudi njihova zgodnja grobnica. Celotna Zgornja Savinjska dolina je so- dila v grofijo Celje, grofje pa so obvladovali tudi vse gradove v regiji (Miha Kosi). Samostan Gornji Grad je bil v 15. stoletju ukinjen, iz njegovih do- hodkov pa so financirali novoustanovljeno ljub- ljansko škofijo. V začetku 17. stoletja, ko je gor- njegrajsko gospostvo upravljal ljubljanski škof Tomaž Hren, je zaradi previsokih dajatev izbruh- nil kmečki upor, v katerem je apostolski nuncij razsodil v škofovo korist. Zaradi Hrenove dvojne vloge – kot ljubljanskega škofa in zemljiškega gospoda – se je ob uporu podložnikov postavilo vprašanje sodne pristojnosti. (Nina Ošep, Lucija Pečnik) Drugi pomemben samostan v Zgornji Savinj- ski dolini je frančiškanski v Nazarjah, ki je nastal v 17. stoletju ter se lahko še danes pohvali z bo- gato in zanimivo knjižnico. Ta je začela nastajati takoj ob ustanovitvi samostana, v 20. stoletju pa je doživela številne pretrese, kot so bili izgube in uničenje gradiva med drugo svetovno vojno, po- znejše razselitve, pa tudi najdbe knjig, ki so velja- le za izgubljene. V knjižnici hranijo nekaj zanimi- vih srednjeveških fragmentov, ki pričajo o različ- nih načinih nastajanja nazarskega knjižničnega fonda (Jan Dominik Bogataj, Anja Božič, Bernardin Domen Ilijaš). Poleg knjižnice je (bila) v Nazarjah znamenita samostanska cerkev Matere Božje, ki je kmalu postala romarska. Za romarje so začeli tiskati podobice, na katerih je bil danes izginuli Marijin kip. Zgornja Savinjska dolina je bila sicer posejana s cerkvami, od katerih jih je kar 12 imelo značaj romarske cerkve. Najširši sloves je dosegla cerkev sv. Frančiška Ksaverja v Radmirju, ki se je kmalu po letu 1715 razvila v najbolj obiskano te- mu svetniku posvečeno cerkev v vsej Habsburški monarhiji. (Metoda Kemperl) Od cerkvenih tematik je treba omeniti tudi stike škofa Antona Martina Slomška z Mozirjem. Slomšek je v župniji Mozirje opravil tri kano- nične vizitacije, posvetil podružnično cerkev sv. Miklavža v Ljubiji, poleg tega pa je z mozirsko župnijo vzdrževal številne stike, ki jih lahko spremljamo po uradni korespondenci med žup- nijo in škofijskim ordinariatom. (Lilijana Urlep) V 20. stoletju sta ne le Evropo, temveč ves svet najbolj zaznamovali obe svetovni vojni. Tudi Zgornja Savinjska dolina ni bila izjema. Kako je potekalo versko in družbeno življenje v drugem desetletju 20. stoletja v Nazarjah, razkrivajo šte- vilne časopisne notice iz tistega časa, pa tudi kro- nika tamkajšnjega samostana. (Miha Šimac) Med prvo svetovno vojno so se na obravnavano obmo- čje zatekli primorski begunci iz Mirna, organizi- rani v čevljarsko zadrugo, ki so v gradu Vrbovec našli primerne prostore za svoje delavnice. (Petra Svoljšak) Med drugo svetovno vojno pa je bilo eno od prelomnih obdobij leto 1944, ko so partizani zaradi začasne oslabljenosti okupatorjevih sil za 458 | kronika 73 � 2025 3 zgornja savinjska dolina – gorski raj in še mnogo več kratek čas osvobodili celotno Zgornjo Savinjsko dolino. Ker je obstoj takega svobodnega ozemlja ogrožal strateško prehodnost na območju Spo- dnje Štajerske in Slovenije, je okupator ponovno zavzel Zgornjo Savinjsko dolino in obdržal nad- zor nad njo do konca druge svetovne vojne. (Kle­ men Kocjančič) Od kulturne dediščine Zgornje Savinjske do- line moramo poleg cerkva omeniti tudi gradove. Že v drugi polovici 12. stoletja je bil zgrajen grad Vrbovec, ki še danes velja za eno najprepoznav- nejših historičnih stavb v Zgornji Savinjski doli- ni. Čeprav večkrat porušen in prezidan, je trmas- to kljuboval zobu časa in obstal vse do današnjih dni. (Igor Sapač) Manj sreče v tem pogledu je imel grad Rudenek, ki je bil mlajši od Vrbovca, a z njim tesno povezan, tako po lastništvu kot po namembnosti (oba sta bila v določenem obdob- ju škofovska rezidenca). Konec 17. stoletja so ga opustili in danes o njem pričajo le še skromni os- tanki. (Igor Sapač) Pisna dediščina Zgornje Savinjske doline raz- kriva vrsto slovenskih besedil, nastalih pred sre- do 19. stoletja. Nekaj je bilo poznanih že prej, od- kritja zadnjih let pa so prinesla na površje še nove dokumente, zlasti desetinske registre, pa tudi dve posebnosti v celotnem slovenskem prostoru: edi- ni slovenski podložniški inventar in edino pod- ložniško oporoko, ki jo je zapisal duhovnik. (Boris Golec) Poleg teh dokumentov so pomembne dob- ro ohranjene matične knjige in zapisniki duš (sta­ tus animarum) za župnijo Mozirje, od katerih je najstarejši nastal že leta 1657. Prinaša pomembne in zanimive podatke o trgu Mozirje in njegovih prebivalcih sredi 17. stoletja. (Boris Golec) Ko govorimo o Zgornji Savinjski dolini, ne mo- remo mimo njenega gorskega sveta, zaradi katere- ga slovi daleč naokoli. Gorski turizem se je začel v teh krajih razvijati že zgodaj v 19. stoletju. Za- nimivo sled so v zgodovini gorništva pustili štirje mladeniči, ki so se avgusta 1880 želeli povzpeti na Ojstrico. Vzpon se sicer ni posrečil vsem štirim, so pa svoj podvig pisno ovekovečili v vpisni knjigi gostilne Herle v Solčavi. (Branko Šuštar) Na prelo- mu iz 19. v 20. stoletje gore niso bile le prostor za preživljanje prostega časa, temveč tudi prizorišče narodnostnega in kulturnega boja. Zaznamovale so tudi učitelja, kulturnega delavca in dolgolet- nega tajnika Savinjske podružnice Slovenskega planinskega društva Branka Zemljiča, ki si je v prvi polovici 20. stoletja močno prizadeval za utr- jevanje slovenske navzočnosti v savinjskem de- lu Kamniško-Savinjskih Alp. (Peter Mikša, Matija Zorn) Konec 19. stoletja se pojavijo prve razgledni- ce z gorskimi motivi s Solčavskega, ki jih tokrat predstavljamo v rubriki Gradivo. (Davorin Lenko) Z gorskim svetom Zgornje Savinjske doline so povezane specifične oblike bivanja, med katere sodi tudi pašništvo v planinah. Planine v Sloveni- ji so večinoma v skupni lasti oziroma rabi, med- tem ko Solčavsko zaznamujejo skoraj izključno zasebne planine. Med njimi izstopa skupna pla- nina Grohot, ki je hkrati edino pastirsko naselje na obravnavanem območju. (Elizabeta Vršnik) Solčavsko je znano tudi po številnih samotnih gorskih kmetijah, kjer je življenje teklo drugače kot v dolini. Ena takšnih je kmetija Gradišnik z večstoletno tradicijo; s kmetije je izhajal tudi glasbenik Karli Gradišnik. (Marina Gradišnik) O kmečkem življenju Zgornje Savinjske doline pri- čajo številni ohranjeni predmeti, zbrani v večjih ali manjših zaokroženih zbirkah. Eno takšnih je ustvaril pravni zgodovinar Sergij Vilfan, ki je leta 1971 kupil kmetijo Zgornji Kovšak na Florjanu pri Gornjem Gradu. Na kmetiji se je do takrat ohra- nilo več poljedelskih orodij in razni gospodinjski pripomočki, ki jih je Vilfan restavriral in uredil v zbirko. (Irena Bruckmüller, Ernst Bruckmüller, Vero­ nika Pflaum) Zgornja Savinjska dolina pa je znana še po nečem – po sorazmerno pogostih vodnih ujmah. Spremljanje podnebnih in hidroloških razmer od 60. let 20. stoletja kaže na rast povprečnih let- nih temperatur, padanje letne količine padavin ter močno skrajšano trajanje snežne odeje, hkrati pa se opazno spreminjajo vodni pretočni režimi. To se je pokazalo tudi v obliki hudih poplav leta 2023. (Mauro Hrvatin, Matija Zorn) Zgornjesavinjsko številko Kronike zaključu- jemo s predstavitvijo lokalnih muzejskih zbirk. Prvi se predstavi Muzej gozdarstva in lesarstva, ki s stalno razstavo od leta 2000 deluje v gradu Vrbovec (Barbara Šoster Rotar). Osrednja knjižni- ca Mozirje je po drugi strani zastopana s kar dve- ma zbirkama – z zbirko Mozirje in Mozirjani, ki jo je ustvaril Muzej novejše zgodovine Celje in jo predal v upravljanje knjižnici, ter zbirko lokalne- ga domoznanca in zbiratelja Aleksandra Videčni- ka (1920–2019). (Petra Širko Poljanšek) Tematska številka Kronike dokazuje, da Zgor- nja Savinjska dolina ni le raj za planince in druge ljubitelje privlačnih turističnih destinacij, pač pa tudi območje z bogato in pestro zgodovino, ki bo tudi v prihodnje nedvomno predmet novih razi- skav. Za finančno podporo se najlepše zahvaljuje- mo Občinam Solčava, Gornji Grad, Mozirje in Ljubno ter podjetju Projektiva NVG d.o.o. Celje. Miha Preinfalk odgovorni urednik Kronike kronika 73 � 2025 3 | 459–461 The Upper Savinja Valley: So Much More than a Mountain Paradise In 2017, when Kronika published its thematic issue on the history of the Lower Savinja Valley, the idea arose to dedicate one of its future issues to the Upper Savinja Valley and thus complete the discussion on the Savinja Valley as a whole. The idea evolved and finally came to fruition this year. In the meantime, Slovenia was hit by the worst natural disaster in history: in August 2023, intense rainfall caused disastrous flooding, dur- ing which the Savinja River and its tributaries also flooded much of the Upper Savinja Valley, completely cutting them from the outside world. This was also one of the reasons that prompted the Kronika team to place this area on the cal- endar of thematic issues and make certain that the valley is recognized not only for the natural disaster but also, and more significantly, for its abundant and fascinating past. Kronika’s issue on the Upper Savinja Valley brings forth eighteen research articles, along with the presentation of photographic material (old picture postcards) and three museum collec- tions that shed light on lesser known or previous- ly completely unknown snippets from the history of the area covered today by the municipalities of Gornji Grad, Ljubno, Luče, Mozirje, Nazarje, Rečica, and Solčava. The current thematic issue, as its predecessors, seeks not to offer a compre- hensive history of the area concerned but rather to draw attention to topics that have primarily gone unnoticed or remained forgotten. The Upper Savinja Valley already held signif- icance in the High Middle Ages, when it passed into the hands of the nobleman Diepold de Chag- ere, most probably as a royal donation. In 1140, Diepold and his wife Truta donated one part of the estate to the Aquileian patriarch and the oth- er to the newly founded Benedictine monastery in Gornji Grad (Ger. Oberburg). This was one of the largest continuous seigniories in the territo- ry of present-day Slovenia, which was controlled and cultivated by the Gornji Grad monastery un- til the mid-fifteenth century. Another indelible mark on the history of the area was left by the Lords of Sanneck or the Counts of Cilli, the law- yers and great supporters of the monastery, which was also the original location of their tomb. The entire Upper Savinja Valley fell under the Coun- ty of Cilli, in addition to which the counts con- trolled all castles in the region. (Miha Kosi) In the fifteenth century, the Gornji Grad monastery was dissolved and its revenue used to fund the newly established Diocese of Ljubljana. In the early sev- enteenth century, when the seigniory was admin- istered by the Ljubljana Bishop Tomaž Hren, the exorbitant taxes sparked a peasant revolt, which the papal nuncio decided in the bishop’s favour. Due to Hren’s dual capacity as Ljubljana’s bishop and a feudal lord, the peasant revolt also raised the question regarding judicial jurisdiction. (Nina Ošep, Lucija Pečnik) The other important monastery in the Up- per Savinja Valley was founded by the Francis- can Order in Nazarje in the seventeenth century and still boasts a rich and engaging library today. The library began to be compiled on the estab- lishment of the monastery and survived many upheavals, such as loss and destruction of mate- rial during the Second World War, subsequent relocations, but also the recovery of books that had been considered lost. It holds a few inter- esting medieval fragments that testify to various methods with which the Nazarje library collec- tion was compiled. (Jan Dominik Bogataj, Anja Božič, Bernardin Domen Ilijaš) Another Nazarje’s major landmark is (was) the monastery Church of Our Lady, which soon turned into a pilgrim- age church, and the parish began to create mi- raculous images for pilgrims, featuring the now lost statue of Mary. The Upper Savinja Valley was dotted with churches, no fewer than twelve set up for pilgrims. Soon after 1715, the greatest rec- ognition was attained by the Church of St. Fran- cis Xavier in Radmirje, which grew into the most visited house of worship honouring this saint across the entire Habsburg Monarchy. (Metoda Kemperl) In the same context, mention should also be made of ties that Bishop Anton Martin Slomšek had with the parish of Mozirje. Slomšek made three canonical visitations there, consecrated the branch Church of St. Nicholas in Ljubija, and his numerous contacts with the Mozirje parish can be followed via the official correspondence be- tween the parish and the diocesan ordinariate. (Lilijana Urlep) 460 | kronika 73 � 2025 3 the upper savinja valley: so much more than a mountain paradise In the twentieth century, Europe and the en- tire world were most profoundly marked by the two world wars, and the same also holds for the Upper Savinja Valley. Numerous newspaper re- ports, alongside the local monastery’s chronicle, describe the religious and social life in the set- tlement of Nazarje during the second decade of the twentieth century. (Miha Šimac) In the First World War, people from Miren, a settlement in the Gorizia region, sought refuge here organ- ized as a shoemaker cooperative and set up their workshops at Altenburg Castle (modern Vrbo- vec). (Petra Svoljšak) One of the watershed peri- ods of the Second World War was the year 1944, during which the Partisans took advantage of the invading army’s momentary weakness and brief- ly liberated the entire Upper Savinja Valley. Be- cause the existence of such a liberated territory jeopardized the strategic passage through Lower Styria and Slovenia, the occupier retook the Up- per Savinja Valley and retained control over the area until the end of the Second World War. (Kle­ men Kocjančič) Castles constitute a crucial element of the Upper Savinja Valley’s cultural heritage. Vrbovec Castle, still considered one of the most recogniz- able historical buildings in the area, was built as early as the second half of the twelfth century. Al- though repeatedly demolished, it has steadfastly defied the ravages of time and survived until the present day. (Igor Sapač) A less fortunate fate was in store for Rudenek Castle, which was of later origin but closely connected to Vrbovec Castle in terms of ownership and purpose (during a cer- tain period, both served as diocesan residences). Rudenek Castle was abandoned at the end of the seventeenth century, with only modest remnants having survived to the present day. (Igor Sapač) The written heritage of the Upper Savinja Val- ley boasts a number of Slovenian texts produced prior to the mid-nineteenth century. While a few have already been known, the latest discoveries have brought to light new documents, most no- tably tithe registers and two documents that are unique in the entire Slovenian area: the only pro- bate inventory of a serf in Slovenian and the only last will of a serf drawn up by a priest. (Boris Golec) Equally significant are the well-preserved parish registers and states of souls (status animarum) for the parish of Mozirje, the earliest of which was produced in 1657, providing interesting and im- portant details about the market town of Mozirje and its inhabitants in the mid-seventeenth centu- ry. (Boris Golec) When discussing the Upper Savinja Valley, we would be greatly remiss if we did not mention its mountainous world, which made the area famous fire and wide. Local mountain tourism began to develop early in the nineteenth century. An inter- esting mark in the history of mountaineering was left by four young men who attempted to climb Mount Ojstrica in August 1880. Although not all of them made a successful ascent, their feat was eternalized in the logbook of Herle’s tavern in the village of Solčava. (Branko Šuštar) At the turn of the twentieth century, mountains were not on- ly a place to spend leisure time but also a site of national and cultural struggle. Mountains pro- foundly inspired Branko Zemljič, a teacher, cul- tural worker, and longstanding secretary of the Savinja branch office of the Slovenian Mountain- eering Society, who invested enormous efforts into strengthening the Slovenian presence in the Savinja part of the Kamnik–Savinja Alps dur- ing the first half of the twentieth century. (Peter Mikša, Matija Zorn) At the end of the nineteenth century, the first picture postcards emerged dis- playing mountain motifs from the Solčava area, which are presented under the section “Gradivo” of the current thematic issue. (Davorin Lenko) The mountain realm of the Upper Savinja Valley is associated with specific forms of living, including high-altitude pastoralism. While most mountain pastures in Slovenia are communally owned or used, the vast majority in the Solča- va area are privately owned. A prominent place among them is held by the Grohot mountain pas- ture, which is the only shepherd’s settlement in the Upper Savinja Valley. (Elizabeta Vršnik) The Solčava area is also famous for many of its remote high-altitude farms, where life ran a much differ- ent course than in the valley. One such example is the Gradišnik farm with its centuries-long tra- dition and the birthplace of the musician Karli Gradišnik. (Marina Gradišnik) Other witnesses to the rural life of the Upper Savinja Valley are many preserved objects, which today form part of various major and minor complete collections, including the one compiled by the legal historian Sergij Vilfan, who purchased the Zgornji Kovšak farm at Florijan pri Gornjem Gradu in 1971. Until then, the farm had preserved several agricultur- al tools and various household appliances that Vilfan restored and organized into a collection. (Irena Bruckmüller, Ernst Bruckmüller, Veronika Pflaum) Finally, the Upper Savinja Valley is also known for its rather frequent floods. The trend in weath- er and hydrological conditions since the 1960s points to increasing average annual tempera- tures, a decreasing annual amount of rainfall, as well as a drastically shorter period of snow cover, 461 | kronika 73 � 2025 3 the upper savinja valley: so much more than a mountain paradise accompanied by noticeable changes in river re- gimes. This has also been demonstrated in the form of severe flooding in 2023. (Mauro Hrvatin, Matija Zorn) The thematic issue of Kronika on the Upper Savinja Valley concludes by presenting local museum collections. The first is the permanent collection of the Museum of Forestry and Wood- working, which has operated at Vrbovec Castle since 2000. (Barbara Šoster Rotar) The Mozirje Central Library presents itself with two collec- tions: the collection Mozirje and Its Inhabitants, which was created by the Celje Museum of Recent History and passed into the library’s administra- tion, and the collection of Aleksander Videčnik, a local historian and collector (1920–2019). (Petra Širko Poljanšek) The thematic issue of Kronika demonstrates that the Upper Savinja Valley is not only a para- dise for mountaineers and other lovers of attrac- tive tourism destinations but also an area with a rich and diverse history, which will undoubtedly continue to be the subject of research in the fu- ture. We like to express our sincere gratitude for the financial support provided by the municipalities of Solčava, Gornji Grad, Mozirje, and Ljubno, as well as the company Projektiva NVG d.o.o. Celje. Miha Preinfalk Managing Editor of Kronika