Triglav
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Triglav (; german: Terglau; it, Tricorno), with an elevation of , is the highest
mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
in
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 ...
and the highest peak of the
Julian Alps The Julian Alps ( sl, Julijske Alpe, it, Alpi Giulie, , ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretch from northeastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 m at Mount Triglav, the highest peak in Slovenia. A large pa ...
. The mountain is the pre-eminent
symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
of the
Slovene nation The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovene as their n ...
. It is the centrepiece of
Triglav National Park Triglav National Park (TNP) ( sl, Triglavski narodni park) is the only national park in Slovenia. It was established in its modern form in 1981 and is located in the northwestern part of the country, respectively the southeastern part of the Alp ...
, Slovenia's only national park. Triglav was also the highest peak in
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
before
Slovenia's independence 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, and ...
in 1991.


Name

Various names have been used for the mountain through history. An old map from 1567 named it ''Ocra mons'', whereas
Johann Weikhard von Valvasor Johann Weikhard Freiherr von Valvasor or Johann Weichard Freiherr von Valvasor ( sl, Janez Vajkard Valvasor, ) or simply Valvasor (baptised on 28 May 1641 – September or October 1693) was a natural historian and polymath from Carniola, pr ...
named it ''Krma'' in the second half of the 17th century. According to the German mountaineer and professor Adolf Gstirner, the name ''Triglav'' first appeared in written sources as ''Terglau'' in 1452, but the original source has been lost. The next known occurrence of ''Terglau'' is cited by Gstirner and is from a court description of the border in 1573. Early forms of the name ''Triglav'' also include ''Terglau'' in 1612, ''Terglou'' in 1664 and ''Terklou'' around 1778–89. The name is derived from the compound ''*Tri-golvъ'' (literally 'three-head'—that is, 'three peaks'), which may be understood literally because the mountain has three peaks when viewed from much of
Upper Carniola Upper Carniola ( sl, Gorenjska; it, Alta Carniola; german: Oberkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The centre of the region is Kranj, while other urban centers include Jeseni ...
. It is unlikely that the name has any connection to the Slavic deity Triglav. In the local dialect, the name is pronounced (with a second-syllable accent, as if it was written ''Trglov'', with the
dark L The voiced alveolar lateral approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents dental, alveolar, and postalveolar lateral approximants is , and the e ...
experiencing vocalization) in contrast to standard Slovene ''Tríglav''. The highest peak is sometimes also called Big Mount Triglav ( sl, Veliki Triglav) to distinguish it from Little Mount Triglav (, ) immediately to the east.


History

The first recorded ascent of Triglav was achieved in 1778, at the initiative of the industrialist and polymath
Sigmund Zois Sigmund Zois Freiherr von Edelstein, usually referred as Sigmund Zois ( sl, Žiga Zois, formerly Slovenized as ''Cojs'' or ''Cojz''; ) (23 November 1747 – 10 November 1819) was a Carniolan nobleman, natural scientist and patron of the arts. He ...
. According to the most commonly cited report, published in the newspaper '' Illyrisches Blatt'' in 1821 by the historian and geographer Johann Richter, these were the surgeon Lovrenz Willomitzer (written as ''Willonitzer'' by Richter), the chamois hunter Štefan Rožič, and the miners Luka Korošec and Matevž Kos. According to a report by
Belsazar Hacquet Belsazar de la Motte Hacquet (also Balthasar or Balthazar Hacquet) (c. 1739 – 10 January 1815) was a Carniolan physician of French descent in the Enlightenment Era. He was a war surgeon, a surgeon in the mining town of Idrija, and a professor o ...
in his ''
Oryctographia Carniolica ''Oryctographia Carniolica'' (Carniolan Mineralogy; with the subtitle 'or a Physical Geography of the Duchy of Carniola, Istria, and in Part the Neighboring Lands') is a four-volume work by Belsazar Hacquet, published in Leipzig in 1778, 1781, 1 ...
'', this happened towards the end of 1778, by two chamois hunters, one of them being Luka Korošec, and one of his former students, whose name is not mentioned. Triglav's height was first measured on 23 September 1808 by
Valentin Stanič Valentin Stanič or Stanig (12 February 1774 – 29 April 1847) was a Slovene Roman Catholic priest, mountaineer, poet, writer, translator, teacher, and cultural activist. He was born in Bodrež and died in Gorizia. Stanič spelled his surna ...
. The first to put the name of the mountain on a map, written as ''Mons Terglou'', was Joannes Disma Floriantschitsch de Grienfeld, who in 1744 published the map '' Ducatus Carniolae Tabula Chorographica''. The first map its name appeared on written as ''Triglav'' was '' Zemljovid Slovenske dežele in pokrajin'' (Map of Slovene Lands and Provinces) by
Peter Kosler Peter Kosler or Kozler (16 February 1824 – 16 April 1879) was a Carniolan lawyer, geographer, cartographer, activist, and businessman. He was of ethnic German origin, but also identified with Slovene culture and advocated the peaceful coexi ...
, completed from 1848 until 1852 and published in Vienna in 1861. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Triglav symbolically captured the primary drive by the Slovene resistance to the
Fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
and
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
armies. The
Slovene Partisans The Slovene Partisans, formally the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Slovenia, (NOV in POS) were part of Europe's most effective anti-Nazi resistance movement Jeffreys-Jones, R. (2013): ''In Spies We Trust: The Story of Western ...
wore the Triglav cap from 1942 until after 1944. Triglav was the highest peak of the now defunct
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
; it was both countries' highest and most prominent peak and, together with the southern
Vardar River The Vardar (; mk, , , ) or Axios () is the longest river in North Macedonia and the second longest river in Greece, in which it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . Th ...
(now in
North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
), was the symbol of Yugoslavian "
brotherhood and unity Brotherhood and unity was a popular slogan of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia that was coined during the Yugoslav People's Liberation War (1941–45), and which evolved into a guiding principle of Yugoslavia's post-war inter-ethnic polic ...
".


Landmarks


Aljaž Tower

At the top of the mountain stands a small metal structure, the Aljaž Tower ( sl, Aljažev stolp). It acts as a storm shelter and a
triangulation point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...
. Along with Triglav, it is also a landmark of Slovenia and a symbol of the
Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovene as their n ...
and Slovene territorial sovereignty. The tower's namesake was the priest, mountaineer and patriot
Jakob Aljaž Jakob Aljaž (July 6, 1845 – May 4, 1927) was a Slovene Roman Catholic priest, composer and mountaineer. Aljaž was born in a small Upper Carniolan village of Zavrh pod Šmarno Goro, northeast of Ljubljana, in what was then the Austrian Empi ...
. In early 1895, he drew up, with a piece of chalk on the floor of his room in the parish of Dovje, plans for a cylindrical tower with a flag on its top. In April that year he purchased the summit of Triglav for the sum of one
florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...
. Having done so, he secured himself the right to erect a building on the mountain top. The tower was constructed from iron and
zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
coated
sheet steel Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and it can be cut and bent into a variety of shapes. Thicknesses can vary significantly; ex ...
by Anton Belec from Šent Vid nad Ljubljano. He and four workers brought the parts of the tower to the summit of Triglav and put the tower together in only five hours on 7 August 1895. The opening took place that same day. Aljaž donated the shelter to the Slovene Alpine Society. In the beginning, there were three four-legged chairs, a summit register, a spirit stove, and the image ''Triglav Panorama'' by Marko Pernhart in the tower. It was later repainted and renovated several times by Alojz Knafelc and others. In the
Communist era A Communist Era is a sustained period of national government by a single party following the philosophy of Marxism–Leninism. Many countries have experienced such a period of Communist rule. Current communist states China The Chinese Communist P ...
, as the highest point of the former Yugoslavia, it was painted red and decorated with a red star. However, it has now more or less been restored to its original appearance. The star was removed shortly before the dissolution of Yugoslavia. On the proclamation of Slovene independence in June 1991, the
flag of Slovenia The national flag of Slovenia ( sl, zastava Slovenije) features three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red, with the Coat of arms of Slovenia located in the upper hoist side of the flag centered in the white and blue bands. The c ...
was raised on top of the tower.


Stanič Shelter

In 1895, due to a lack of space, Aljaž also commissioned the building of the Stanič Shelter. It is located below the top of Triglav and is named after the poet and mountaineer
Valentin Stanič Valentin Stanič or Stanig (12 February 1774 – 29 April 1847) was a Slovene Roman Catholic priest, mountaineer, poet, writer, translator, teacher, and cultural activist. He was born in Bodrež and died in Gorizia. Stanič spelled his surna ...
. The shelter has dimensions of and has room for 8 people sitting or 16 standing. Originally it also had a wooden door, benches, a table, and a chair. Its significance diminished after the Kredarica Lodge was erected in 1896.


Triglav Glacier

The Triglav Glacier () was located below the summit on the
karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
ified Triglav Plateaus (), part of the northeastern side of the mountain. Covering over at the end of the 19th century, the glacier had shrunk to by 1946, and after further shrinkage had fallen into two parts by 1992. By 2011 it covered an area of only 1–3 hectares, depending on the season. It was no longer considered a glacier in 2019.


Cultural significance


Folk literature

The Triglav area is the setting of an old Slovene folk tale concerning a hunter seeking a treasure guarded by an enchanted
chamois The chamois (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of goat-antelope native to mountains in Europe, from west to east, including the Alps, the Dinarides, the Tatra and the Carpathian Mountains, the Balkan Mountains, the Ril ...
buck named ''
Zlatorog In Slovene folklore, Goldhorn or Goldenhorn ( sl, Zlatorog) is a legendary white chamois buck, or alternatively, an Alpine ibex, that had his realm in the heights of Mount Triglav. The legend is well known throughout Slovenia (specifically Cari ...
'' (, after its golden horns).


Arts

The earliest known depiction of Triglav is on the front page of the work ''
Oryctographia Carniolica ''Oryctographia Carniolica'' (Carniolan Mineralogy; with the subtitle 'or a Physical Geography of the Duchy of Carniola, Istria, and in Part the Neighboring Lands') is a four-volume work by Belsazar Hacquet, published in Leipzig in 1778, 1781, 1 ...
'', written by
Belsazar Hacquet Belsazar de la Motte Hacquet (also Balthasar or Balthazar Hacquet) (c. 1739 – 10 January 1815) was a Carniolan physician of French descent in the Enlightenment Era. He was a war surgeon, a surgeon in the mining town of Idrija, and a professor o ...
. It was a copper engraving made in 1778 by C. Conti after a drawing by Franz Xaver Baraga. Among later visual artists who depicted Triglav, the most well known are Anton Karinger (1829–1870) from Ljubljana, Marko Pernhart (1824–1871) from
Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...
,
Valentin Hodnik Valentin is a male given name meaning "strong, healthy, power, rule, terco". It comes from the Latin name ''Valentinus'', as in Saint Valentin. Commonly found in Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Scandinavia, Latin America ...
(1896–1935) from
Stara Fužina Stara Fužina () is a settlement in the Municipality of Bohinj in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. Name The name ''Stara Fužina'' literally means 'old foundry, old forge'. Like other places with similar names (e.g., '' Fužina'', '' Fužine ...
, Edo Deržaj (1904–1980) from Ljubljana, and more recently Marjan Zaletel (born 1945), living in Ljubljana. Among the musical works related to Triglav, a special place is held for the poem '' Oh, Triglav, My Home'' (). It was written in 1894 by the priest and poet Matija Zemljič and quickly became very popular among Slovene mountaineers. In 2007, its first stanza, accompanied by a melody of Jakob Aljaž, became the official anthem of the
Alpine Association of Slovenia The Alpine Association of Slovenia ( sl, Planinska zveza Slovenije) is the association of voluntary association, volunteer Alpine clubs () providing the conditions for the development and exercising of mountaineering and hill walking in Slovenia a ...
. An instrumental version of the poem, written by
Bojan Adamič Bojan Adamič a.k.a. Master ( sl, Mojster; 9 August 1912 – 3 November 1995), Slovene Partisans nom de guerre Gregor, was a well-known Slovene composer of jazz, the Slovenian song festival music, and particularly film scores. He was also an avid ...
, is part of the start and end credits of the annual
ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...
broadcasts from
Planica Planica () is an Alpine valley in northwestern Slovenia, extending south from the border village of Rateče, not far from another well-known ski resort, Kranjska Gora. Further south, the valley extends into the Tamar Valley, a popular hiking d ...
. The first Slovene-language full-length film, recorded in 1931 by
Janko Ravnik Janko Ravnik (7 March 1891 – 2 September 1981) was a Slovenian pianist, teacher, film director and composer.Booklet to Bernarda Fink ''Slovenija!'' 2010 Harmonia Mundi He was born in Bohinjska Bistrica and died in Ljubljana. In 1928 and 1929, he ...
, was titled ''
In the Kingdom of the Goldhorn ''In the Kingdom of the Goldhorn'' ( sl, V kraljestvu Zlatoroga) was the first List of Slovenian films, Slovene feature film. It was filmed in 1928 and 1929 and was directed, shot and edited by Janko Ravnik. It was a silent film shot in the blac ...
'' () and features an ascent by a group of students to the top of Triglav. The second Slovene full-length film, recorded the following year, was titled '' The Slopes of Mount Triglav'' (). It was directed by Ferdo Delak and was a romantic story featuring a wedding on the top of Triglav. Since 1968, Triglav has become a theme of avant-garde artists. The first instance was a manifestation by the art group OHO, called ''Mount Triglav'', which took place in December 1968 at Ljubljana's
Congress Square Congress Square ( sl, Kongresni trg) is one of the central squares in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. History The square was built in 1821 at the site of the ruins of a medieval Capuchin monastery, which had been abolished during the reign ...
. In 2004, the group
IRWIN Irwin may refer to: Places ;United States * Irwin, California * Irwin, Idaho * Irwin, Illinois * Irwin, Iowa * Irwin, Nebraska * Irwin, Ohio * Irwin, Pennsylvania * Irwin, South Carolina * Irwin County, Georgia * Irwin Township, Venango County, Pe ...
produced a series of paintings named ''Like to Like/ Mount Triglav''. In 2007, an artistic performance was held atop Mount Triglav by the artists Janez Janša (director), Janez Janša (visual artist) and Janez Janša (performance artist) called ''Mount Triglav on Mount Triglav''.


National symbol

A stylized depiction of Triglav's distinctive shape is the central element of the Slovene coat of arms, designed by the sculptor
Marko Pogačnik Marko Pogačnik (born 11 August 1944) is a Slovenian artist and author. Background Pogačnik studied at the Academy of Arts in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, where he graduated in 1967. He was a co-founder of the neo-avantgarde artistic ...
, and is in turn featured on the
flag of Slovenia The national flag of Slovenia ( sl, zastava Slovenije) features three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red, with the Coat of arms of Slovenia located in the upper hoist side of the flag centered in the white and blue bands. The c ...
. Alongside San Marino and Slovakia, Slovenia is the only other country in Europe and one of the few in the world to feature a mountain on its coat-of-arms. Formerly, it was featured on the coat of arms of the
Socialist Republic of Slovenia The Socialist Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Socialistična republika Slovenija, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Slovenija, Социјалистичка Република Словенија), commonly referred to as Sociali ...
. The first to depict Triglav as the symbol of the Slovenes was the architect
Jože Plečnik Jože Plečnik () (23 January 1872 – 7 January 1957) was a Slovene architect who had a major impact on the modern architecture of Vienna, Prague and of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, most notably by designing the iconic Triple Bridge and ...
, who in 1934 put it besides other coats-of-arms of the nations of the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
on the coat of the statue of the Mother of God in front of the parish church in
Bled Bled (; german: Veldes,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 146. in older sources also ''Feldes'') is a town on Lake Bled in the Upper C ...
. During World War II, the stylised Triglav was the symbol of the
Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation The Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation ( sl, Osvobodilna fronta slovenskega naroda), or simply Liberation Front (''Osvobodilna fronta'', OF), originally called the Anti-Imperialist Front (''Protiimperialistična fronta'', PIF), was a Slovene ...
resistance movement. The distinctive three-pronged caps worn by
Slovene Partisans The Slovene Partisans, formally the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Slovenia, (NOV in POS) were part of Europe's most effective anti-Nazi resistance movement Jeffreys-Jones, R. (2013): ''In Spies We Trust: The Story of Western ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
were known as '' triglavkas''. A relief map of the mountain is the design on the national side of the Slovene 50 eurocent coin. The former Slovene president
Milan Kučan Milan Kučan (; born 14 January 1941) is a Slovene politician who served as the first President of Slovenia from 23 December 1991 until 22 December 2002. Before being president of Slovenia, he was the 13th President of the Presidency of SR Slov ...
once proclaimed that it is a duty of every Slovenian person to climb Triglav at least once in their lifetime.


See also

*
Triglav Lakes Valley The Triglav Lakes Valley ( sl, Dolina Triglavskih jezer) is a rocky hanging valley in the Julian Alps in Slovenia, below the sheer sides of Mount Tičarica and Mount Zelnarica southwest of Triglav. The valley is also called the Seven Lakes Val ...


Notes


References


External links


Julian Alps: Triglav
Hribi.net. Detailed information and images.

SummitPost.org. Detailed information, maps and images. {{Authority control Mountains of the Julian Alps Triglav National Park Two-thousanders of Slovenia Highest points of countries National symbols of Slovenia