Begunjščica is a ridge mountain in the

Karawanks The Karawanks or Karavankas or Karavanks (; , ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps on the border between Slovenia to the south and Austria to the north. With a total length of in an east–west direction, the Karawanks chain is o ...

. It rises from the western Smokuč mountain pasture () to St. Anne () on its eastern side. The mountain has three main peaks, the highest being Big Peak (, ). The western Middle Peak () lies a little lower, and the lowest is Begunje Mount Vrtača (, ). Its southern slopes rise over the Draga Valley. The ascent of the mountain is relatively easy and possible throughout the year. In the winter and early spring conditions are favourable for

ski touring Ski touring is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas. Touring is typically done off-piste and outside of ski resorts, and may extend over a period of more than one day. It is similar to backcountry skiing but excludes the ...

Starting points

* 4½ hrs from Begunje (), over the Preval Pass and Begunje Mount Vrtača. * 3½–4 hrs from Podljubelj, over the Preval Pass and Begunje Mount Vrtača. * 2½ hrs from the Zelenica Lodge (; ) and across the Slovene Mountain Hiking Trail. * 1 hr from the Roblek Lodge at Begunjščica (; ), across the Slovene Mountain Hiking Trail. Begunjscica

Panoramic view

There is a nice panoramic view from the summit. Towards the west there is

Bohinj Bohinj (; ), or the Bohinj Valley () or Bohinj Basin (), is a 20 km long and 5 km wide basin in the Julian Alps, in the Upper Carniola region of northwestern Slovenia. It is traversed by the Sava Bohinjka river. Its main feature is the ...

with its

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

, Lake Bled, and

Triglav Triglav (; ; ), with an elevation of , is the highest mountain in Slovenia and the highest peak of the Julian Alps. The mountain is the pre-eminent symbol of the Slovene nation, appearing on the Coat of arms of Slovenia, coat of arms and Flag ...

. The Martuljek Group with Škrlatica,

Stol A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft that can takeoff/land on short runways. Many STOL-designed aircraft can operate on airstrips with harsh conditions (such as high altitude or ice). STOL aircraft, including tho ...

, Vrtača and Košuta can be seen to the north. On the eastern side lie the Kamnik Savinja Alps with Storžič prominent, and the Ljubljana Basin can be seen to the south.

Manganese ore

Begunjščica was once an important mining area for

manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

ore in Slovenia. These mines contributed to 79% of all Slovene manganese ores processed in the ironworks of

Jesenice Jesenice (, ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru'', vol. 6: Kranjsko. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 144.) is the tenth-largest town in Slovenia, located in the traditional province of Upper C ...

. They were used in 1872 by the engineer Lambert von Pantz to make

ferromanganese Ferromanganese is an alloy of iron and manganese, with other elements such as silicon, carbon, sulfur, nitrogen and phosphorus. The primary use of ferromanganese is as a type of processed manganese source to add to different types of steel, such ...

, a manganese and iron alloy, in a

blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being supplied above atmospheric pressure. In a ...

, with significantly higher manganese content than was previously possible (37% instead of the previous 12%). This won the Carniolan Industrial Company 22 international recognitions, including a gold medal at the 1873 World Exposition in Vienna and an award at the

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition, officially the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876. It was the first official wo ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

in 1876. The manganese ore was dug at Begunjščica until 1915. Altogether were dug, containing on average 30% manganese.

References

External links

*
Photos, Route and Description

Begunjščica on summitpost.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Begunjscica Karawanks Mountains of the Alps Mountains of Upper Carniola Manganese mines Mines in Slovenia Ridges of Slovenia Two-thousanders of Slovenia