Most na Soči (; formerly ''Sveta Lucija'' or ''Sveta Lucija na Mostu'', german: Sankt Luzia) is a town in the

Municipality of Tolmin The Municipality of Tolmin (; sl, Občina Tolmin) is a municipalities of Slovenia, municipality in northwestern Slovenia. Its seat and largest settlement is Tolmin. History In ancient times the area was inhabited by the Illyrians and then by th ...

in the

Littoral The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal areas ...

region of

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. It is located on a rocky crest above the confluence of

Soča The Soča ( in Slovene) or Isonzo ( in Italian; other names fur, Lusinç, german: Sontig, la, Aesontius or ') is a long river that flows through western Slovenia () and northeastern Italy (). An Alpine river in character, its source lies in ...

and

Idrijca The Juridical is a river flowing through the Idrija Hills and Cerkno Hills. It is long. It rises near Vojsko, flows towards northeast and after passing through Idrija turns to the northwest. After passing through Spodnja Idrija and Cerkno it jo ...

rivers. In the past these two riverbeds, deeply carved into the rocky slopes, provided the settlement with excellent protection from intruders. Due to the nearby Doblar hydro plant, the basins of the river were entirely inundated and below the settlement a vast

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

was formed, which now attracts both

fishermen A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreat ...

and visitors, who can stroll along some well-kept panoramic paths.

Name

Most na Soči was first attested as ''In Ponte Sancti Mauri'' (literally, 'at Saint Maurus' bridge') in reference to the local church.Svoljšak, Drago. 1993. "Most na Soči." ''Enciklopedija Slovenije'', vol. 7, pp. 223–225. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga. In the 17th century, the name ''ad Pontem'' 'at the bridge' was recorded, and a church built between 1584 and 1612 was the source of the name ''Sveta Lucija (na Mostu)'' 'Saint Lucy (on the bridge)'. Under Italian administration, the settlement was known as ''Santa Lucia (di Tolmino)'' 'Saint Lucy (of Tolmin)', and after the Second World War the Slovene name ''Sveta Lucija ob Soči'' 'Saint Lucy on the Soča River' was established. Other historical names include German ''St. Luzia'' and ''Maurus Brücke''. The name of the settlement was changed from ''Sveta Lucija ob Soči'' to ''Most na Soči'' (literally, 'bridge on the Soča River') in 1955. The name was changed on the basis of the 1948 Law on Names of Settlements and Designations of Squares, Streets, and Buildings as part of efforts by Slovenia's postwar communist government to remove religious elements from toponyms.

History

Exceptional archaeological finds – more than 7,000

grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...

sites discovered so far – rank this location among the most important prehistoric settlements in Europe. Rich finds date back in the period from the late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

period. Most of them originate from an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

community which was named the ''Sveta Lucija Culture''. The finds are on display at many museums, i.e. in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

, and

Tolmin Tolmin (; it, Tolmino,trilingual name ''Tolmein, Tolmino, Tolmin'' inGemeindelexikon, der im Reichsrate Vertretenen Königreiche und Länder. Bearbeit auf Grund der Ergebnisse der Volkszählung vom 31. Dezember 1900. Herausgegeben von der K.K. ...

. Archeologists from the Tolmin Museum are still discovering stunning finds.

Cultural heritage

The restored and protected remains of a

Roman house In Ancient Rome, the ''domus'' (plural ''domūs'', genitive ''domūs'' or ''domī'') was the type of town house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. It was found in almost all the ma ...

are located in Most na Soči. The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the settlement is dedicated to

Saint Lucy Lucia of Syracuse (283–304), also called Saint Lucia ( la, Sancta Lucia) better known as Saint Lucy, was a Roman Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ...

and belongs to the

Diocese of Koper ) , cocathedral = Co-Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Nova Gorica() , area_km2 = 4,386 , parishes = 100 , population = 266,403 , population_as_of = 2013 , catholics = 181,230 , catholics_percent= 68 , pope ...

. A second church in the parish is dedicated to

Saint Maurus Maurus (french: Maur; it, Mauro) was the first disciple of Benedict of Nursia (512–584). He is mentioned in Gregory the Great's biography of the latter as the first oblate, offered to the monastery by his noble Roman parents as a young bo ...

( sl, sveti Maver).Župnija Most na Soči
The first written record of the church dates from 1192. Another interesting site is a monument to soldiers from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

at Postaja. The birthplace of the writer

Ciril Kosmač Ciril Kosmač (28 September 1910 – 28 January 1980) was a Slovenian novelist and screenwriter. Life He was born in a Slovene family in the village of Slap ob Idrijci near Sveta Lucija (now Most na Soči), in what was then the Austro-Hung ...

is part of the ''Genius Loci'' European program, which connects birthplaces of famous artists:

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/Proto-Renaissance period. Giot ...

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and ...

, Lorca,

Novalis Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (), was a German polymath who was a writer, philosopher, poet, aristocrat and mystic. He is regarded as an idiosyncratic and influential figure of ...

, and Kosmač.

Natural heritage

The principal natural feature of Most na Soči is its

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

. Although artificial, it is the same unique color as the

. It gives the settlement an atmosphere of tranquility and softness and offers many opportunities for recreation. Flat

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

layers at Pod Ključem are a feature of geological interest.

References

External links

*
Most na Soči on Geopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Most Na Soci Populated places in the Municipality of Tolmin Populated places in the Soča Valley