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The decision on whether Idrija, with its 500-year-old mercury mine and related heritage, is to be included on the World Heritage List has been deferred for a year. This decision was taken at the session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Seville (Spain) at the end of June. With this year's candidature falling just one vote short of the number required for inscription on the list, it was decided that The Mercury and Silver Binomial on the Intercontinental Camino Real, which connects Almadén in Spain, Idrija in Slovenia and San Luis Potosí in Mexico, may re-submit its candidature next year with appropriate modifications.

Mercury mining in Idrija began in 1490. Today the oldest part of the now decommissioned mine, Anthony's Shaft, is open to visitors, who thus have the opportunity to view a part of the town's technical heritage and experience the mysteries of the underworld.

 

Besides Idrija, which is hoping to be inscribed on the World Heritage List as part of the first intercontinental candidature, the other World Heritage Site in Slovenia is the Škocjan Caves, which boast the largest underground canyon yet discovered anywhere in the world, a rich ecosystem and a number of endangered animal species. The caves can be visited every day - with a guide.

The Franja Partisan Hospital, recently awarded the European Heritage symbol, has also been included in the nomination procedure for the UNESCO World Heritage List, although two years ago it was almost completely destroyed in a flood following torrential rain. The partially rebuilt hospital in its narrow gorge can be visited on Sundays by prior arrangement at the museum in Idrija.

Other sites in the submissions for nomination phase are the Sečovlje saltpans as part of the Mediterranean saltpans category, the architectural legacy of Jože Plečnik, the intermittent Lake Cerknica, the Alps as part of a joint nomination of the Alps as a whole, and the Claustra Alpium Iuliarum as part of the European fortifications from late antiquity category. In terms of cultural and mixed heritage, preparations are under way for the nomination of the Kozolci (hayracks) project and the Kolišča (stilt-dwellings) project in the Ljubljansko Barje wetlands.

 

 

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