KulTURA
EXPERIENCE THE CULTURAL HERITAGE ROUTE
KulTURA is a cultural heritage route along which, in the immediate vicinity of the FORMA VIVA sculptures, the visitors can see and experience our most important cultural sights. From the renovated Ravne Castle housing a rich book collection and precious documents, the 'Štauharija' iron-making museum displaying a centuries-long tradition of steelmaking, and the old market-town centre of Ravne, all the way to the Prežihov Voranc Cottage, (Prežihov Voranc ethnological and memorial museum), and the idyllic rural village Strojna with the collection by Blaž Mavrel, a self-taught folk poet ('bukovnik').
RAVNE CASTLE
THE DR. FRANC SUŠNIK CENTRAL CARINTHIAN LIBRARY
The most important cultural historical object in the municipality is the Ravne Castle with its dominant position on a plateau above the ironworks. The last thorough renovation respected the strict requirements of cultural heritage protection and at the same time provided functional premises for the Central Carinthian Library (Koroška osrednja knjižnica dr. Franca Sušnika). The library prides itself on its rich book collection, the local-studies collection and valuable writings, among which Dalmatin's Bible dating back to the 16th century is of a special significance.
ŠTAUHARIJA
THE IRON-MAKING MUSEUM
The technical heritage, especially in the field of the iron and steel industry, has a special significance in the cultural heritage of Ravne na Koroškem. A centuries-long tradition has left a heritage which is preserved in the Ravne museum, in the ironworks and in the town, the inhabitants of which still keep a number of tiny pieces of evidence of everyday life with the industrial past. Three buildings, situated at the edge of the ironworks close to the Saint Anthony's church (Sveti Anton), have preserved their original form to date: a manufacturing plant - 'štauharija', the workers' residential building and a laboratory - all of them being unique cultural monuments reminiscent of the steel-making tradition.
FORMA VIVA RAVNE
STEEL ART AT THE HEART OF TOWN
The Forma Viva steel sculptures are the most outstanding sights of the town Ravne na Koroškem. They were created during nine international sculpture symposiums in the years from 1964 to 2014. More than 30 exceptional works of art made of iron and steel which enrich the architectural image of the town and the surrounding places were created by artists – sculptors from fifteen different countries in cooperation with the experts of steel-making from the Ravne ironworks.
OLD STREET
THE OLD MARKET-TOWN CENTRE DATING BACK TO 17th CENTURY
The Ravne market-town centre, covering the area as described by the historian Janez Vajkard Valvasor in the second half of 17th century, is listed among important historical heritage settlements in Slovenia. The most beautiful part of the historical centre is the Old Street (Stara ulica), which leads from the town square to the Saint Egidium's (Sveti Egidij) parish church.
PREŽIH COTTAGE
MEMORIAL AND ETHNOLOGICAL MUSEUM WITH THE VORANC ROUTE
The Prežihov Voranc Memorial Museum is situated on the Preški Vrh slope above the village of Kotlje. The Prežihov Voranc Cottage is an ethnological and memorial site exhibiting a traditional dwelling of a small farmer (a cottager) and displaying the life and work of a great Slovenian author, Lovro Kuhar - Prežihov Voranc, and his family.
The Voranc Route is a unique way to remember the author. It leads through Kotlje, Podgora and the Preški Vrh slope, where the hard soil gave eternal force to the beauty of the written word describing this region by Lovro Kuhar - Prežihov Voranc. The route is well marked by signposts and information boards. Starting in the centre of Kotlje at the statue of a little boy with a bunch of lilies of the valley, a figure from a text by Prežih, and ending at the author's grave on the village cemetery, the route takes us past the places of the author's life.
'BUKOVNIŠTVO' OF STROJNA VILLAGE
IDYLLIC VILLAGE WITH A COLLECTION OF 'BUKOVNIŠTVO' (SELF-TAUGHT FOLK AUTHORS AND THEIR WRITINGS)
Among the hamlets of Strojna lonely farms above the village centre with the church of Saint Ulric (Sveti Urh), the Janež homestead, one of the most beautiful examples of wooden rural architecture in Carinthia (Koroška), is situated. An outstanding example of folk architecture, the mighty residential building is listed as cultural heritage. Apart from the arched 'black kitchen' and the cellar, the house is completely made of wood. Beside the house there are also a typically T-shaped barn and a wooden granary.
Blaž Mavrel, a Carinthian self-taught folk poet ('bukovnik') used to live in Strojna. In a renovated building in the village centre a memorial room with a permanent 'bukovništvo' exhibition is to display the work of Carinthian folk authors on both sides of the border. It will be the hub of linked activities: themed hiking trails embracing the cultural and natural sights of Strojna and the typical local cuisine of Carinthia (Koroška).
