Explore Slovenia's military past on the Rupnik Line Trail, a string of old bunkers and fortifications that once marked the country's border with Italy.
Conflict may be a dirty business, but it keeps the world’s cartographers in a job redrawing frontiers. The Rupnik Line is proof of this. The once heavily fortified border now lies so far inside modern day Slovenia it is hard to believe that it once marked the country’s western boundary.
Walking the Rupnik Line Trail
The string of military installations was built by the Yugoslav Army in response to the 1920 Treaty of Rapallo, which handed Italy a large chunk of Slovenia. The lie of the land has changed significantly since then and were it not for the remains of Rupnik’s Line, there would be little physical evidence of past instability. And to their credit the Slovenian tourist authorities are keen to promote this chapter of their history, promoting it as one of Europe’s more unusual walking trails.
Following the trail map from Ziri to Soriski planini
The 70km (44 mile) hike from Ziri to Soriski planini has been marked out and a trail map published. It highlights a plethora of sites, all lying on or near the path. But they are not always so easy to find on the ground. Many are concealed amid leafy woodland or dense undergrowth.
It is a great game of hide and seek for grown ups - scouring the countryside for glimpses of crumbling concrete and rusting ironwork. When the fortifications finally reveal themselves there is always a satisfying sense of discovery, which is quickly overtaken by the desire to explore, to seek out cracks in the concrete that will allow exploration of the dark, eerie inner recesses. A torch is an invaluable companion.
Exploring the military bunkers
One of the first encountered is at Goli vrh. Here there is a complex of machine gun bunkers and artillery houses and a labyrinth of underground tunnels. Clambering through these gloomy subterranean passageways and peering out of narrow metal gun holes intended to keep an eye on the Italians kindles a real sense of adventure and you don’t have to be a military historian to appreciate the scale of this operation.
The construction project, which began in 1937 and continued until the outbreak of the Second World War, was massive, employing 40,000 men at its peak. Vast loads of concrete and iron were hauled up onto the hills and fashioned into solidly utilitarian and utterly impenetrable structures.
Log your progress at checkpoints
Goli vrh is the first point on the walk where you can collect a special trail stamp to mark your passage. There are six in all, located at strategic points along the way and each checkpoint has a logbook where you can record comments.
A chain of smaller fortifications continues to the small town of Gorenja vas, the first staging post on the route and, to the north, more bunkers and machine gun posts pepper the grassy meadows. Intrinsic to the landscape, they are largely ignored by the locals. A few have been pressed into service, as wood stores or bases for beehives.
Climb Blegos, the region's highest peak
The largest concentration of bunkers and observation posts is to be found on the summit of Blegos, the highest peak in the area. There are over 20 fortifications on the mountain, suggesting General Leon Rupnik considered it strategically important. They litter the landscape, offering shelter from the elements or a flat seat for weary hikers savouring well-earned sandwiches.
It is reassuring to find they still have their uses, for they never did the job they were intended to do. The outbreak of the Second World War and the subsequent capitulation by the Yugoslav Army rendered the line obsolete before it was complete.
Since then the map has again been redrawn, leaving these redundant border defences without even a border.
For more information visit the region's tourist office.
 |
 |
 |
