Vintgar Gorge

Video of Žumer Galleries

Until 1890, the gorge was mainly inaccessible, except for two points at which the Radovna could be reached, and a bridge over Šum Falls was already built in 1878.[1] The rest of the gorge was explored in 1891 by the mayor of Gorje, Jakob Žumer, and by Benedikt Lergetporer, a prominent photographer of the era.[2]

In 1893 the gorge was equipped with wooden observation walkways and bridges with great effort[3] and was opened to the public on August 26, 1893.[2] The walkways, which were later named Žumer Galleries (Žumrove galerije) in the most prominent part of the gorge,[3] have been renovated several times since.

A hydroelectric dam has also been built below the gorge and an arch railway bridge for the Bohinj Railway. The bridge, built in 1904 and 1905 of cut stone, is the largest stone arch railway bridge preserved in its entirety in Slovenia. It is 65 m (213 ft) long, 4.5 m (15 ft) wide and 33 m (108 ft) high.[4]

Stone arch railway bridge over the Radovna

Rapids in the upper Vintgar Gorge

^ Božo, Benedik (1989). "Jakob Žumer - župan v Gorjah" [Jakob Žumer – the Mayor of Gorje]. Kronika (in Slovenian). Zveza zgodovinskih društev Slovenije, sekcija za krajevno zgodovino. 37 (3): 309–311. ISSN 0023-4923. COBISS 16928768. ^ a b Božič, Dragan (January 2011). "Pozabljeni Benedikt Lergetporer" [The Forgotten Benedikt Lergetporer] (PDF). Blejske novice. No. 1. p. 9. ISSN 1855-4717. COBISS 32234285. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 June 2015. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference DEDI was invoked but never defined (see the help page). ^ "29611: Blejska Dobrava - Železniški most čez sotesko Blejski Vintgar" [29611: Blejska Dobrava – The Railway Bridge Across the Vintgar Gorge]. Register nepremične kulturne dediščine [Registry of Immovable Cultural Heritage] (in Slovenian). Ministry of Culture, Republic of Slovenia. Retrieved 8 June 2015.