The proposal for the protection of the Triglav Lakes Valley area was first put forward by the seismologist Albin Belar in 1906 or 1908. However, the proposal was not accepted, as there was no legal base for it and the laws of the time prohibited any restriction of pasture.[1] The strategic basis for the protection of the area, titled The Memorandum (Spomenica), and which explicitly mentioned the proposal of Belar, was submitted to the Provincial Government for Slovenia in 1920.[1] The idea was finally implemented in 1924.[1] Then, at an initiative by the Nature Protection Section of the Slovene Museum Society together with the Slovene Mountaineering Society, a twenty-year lease was taken out on the Triglav Lakes Valley area, some 14 km². It was destined to become an Alpine Conservation Park; however, permanent conservation was not possible at that time. The name Triglavski narodni park was first used in 1926 by Fran Jesenko.[1][2]

In 1961, after many years of effort, the protection was renewed (this time on a permanent basis) and somewhat enlarged, embracing around 20 km². The protected area was officially designated as Triglav National Park. It was named after Mount Triglav, a symbol of Slovenia and of Slovene character. However, all objectives of a true national park were not attained and for that reason over the next two decades new proposals for expanding and modifying this protection were put forward.

Finally, in 1981, Triglav National Park was officially established in the modern form. A rearrangement was achieved and the park was given a new concept and expanded to 838 km². In 2010, the park expanded to include the settlement Kneške Ravne (Tolmin), according to wishes of its inhabitants, thus the new park area amounts to 880 km², which is 4% of the area of Slovenia.[3]