RSS 4/48 Idrija, Slovenia
Filed in BlogIdrija is where my Mam comes from, and is my other childhood home. While we were only able to go every few years, each moment spent there was precious and counts among the fondest memories I have. In fact, my earliest memory is of standing on one of the intensely wobbly swing bridges, feeding bread to the giant trout in the river below.
Idrija was part of former Yugoslavia, but gained its independence in 1991. It’s the only country I know that has ever had astrology on its postage stamps, as it printed signs featuring the constellation of Cancer in honor of its late June “birthday.” To my delight, the New Idria in California that I visited (well, okay, not the town but its historical marker) is named for “my” Idrija. It was famous for its mercury mining, and my family name has apparently been spotted as far back as the 13th century–though we can’t trace a direct line.
On top of the hill is St. Anton’s church. Dad proposed to Mam there and my brother proposed to my SIL with a view of it (it was the middle of a thunderstorm). Our family home is gone now, but there is still a lot of family in the old, beautiful town of Idrija. One day I hope to return–it is a dream of mine to ride a motorcycle all round Slovenia. The place is irretrievably interwoven with my childhood; ice cream in the town square, the sound of oom-pah music, walks to the old dam, the hidden lake, and the rebel hospital, deep down a gorge.
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7 Comments, Comment or Ping
beautyredefined
Wow, that sounds fabulous and romantic. Such family history - I don’t know as much of my roots as that, unfortunately.
Jul 28th, 2007
Linda R. Moore
I really, really miss going “home” to Slovenia.
I can’t trace the family–the records were in a church that was flattened during WWII.
Jul 28th, 2007
Taliesin
Go Linda
You hang in there girl.
Jul 28th, 2007
Linda R. Moore
Taliesin! So *lovely* to hear from you :)
Jul 28th, 2007
Polliwog (48 comments.)
Oh so many places to look up now. How romantic about the proposals that took place there.
Jul 28th, 2007
Marina (86 comments.)
Someday, when I get to visit Italy, tops on my list is to go see the family home (distant cousins still own it) and the church, see if I can trace our roots a bit further than what we currently have. Lucky me, both my maternal grandparents were from the same village.
Is there anything stopping you from going back, aside from the time/money issue (which plagues many of us)?
Jul 28th, 2007
Linda R. Moore
Polli: oh, definitely :)
Marina: good luck with the genealogy.
It’s money/time, really. I can’t do it all — one year I need to just not to the UK and join my parents on one of their trips there.
Jul 28th, 2007
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