Most na Soči (; formerly ''Sveta Lucija'' or ''Sveta Lucija na Mostu'', ) is a town in the Municipality of Tolmin in the

Littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral 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 i ...

region of

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

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

Soča Soča (, in Slovene) or Isonzo (, in Italian; other names: ; ; or ') is a long river that flows through western Slovenia () and northeastern Italy (). An Alpine river in character, its source lies in the Trenta Valley in the Julian Alps ...

and

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

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 (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

was formed, which now attracts both fishermen 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 cadaver, dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is burial, buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of buria ...

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 () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

to Roman period. Most of them originate from an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

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

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

, and

Tolmin Tolmin (; ,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. Statistische ...

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

Cultural heritage

The restored and protected remains of a Roman house are located in Most na Soči. The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

in the settlement is dedicated to

Saint Lucy Lucia of Syracuse ( – 304 AD), also called Saint Lucia () and better known as Saint Lucy, was a Roman people, Roman Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution. She is venerated as a saint in Catholic Church, Catholic, Angl ...

and belongs to the Diocese of Koper. A second church in the parish is dedicated to Saint Maurus ().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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

at Postaja. The birthplace of the writer Ciril Kosmač 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, was an List of Italian painters, Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the International Gothic, Gothic and Italian Ren ...

, Goya, Lorca,

Novalis Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (; ), was a German nobility, German aristocrat and polymath, who was a poet, novelist, philosopher and Mysticism, mystic. He is regarded as an inf ...

, and Kosmač.

Natural heritage

The principal natural feature of Most na Soči is 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 ...

. 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 is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

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