120th Anniversary of Triglav Tower Marked
Mojstrana, 7 August - A series of events was held on Friday to mark the 120th anniversary of the erection of the Aljaž Tower, a storm shelter and a triangulation point standing on the summit of Mount Triglav, Slovenia's highest mountain.
Triglav
The Aljaz Tower on the peak of Slovenia's highest mountain.
A memorial ceremony was held in the morning on top of the mountain, attended by around 150 mountaineers, followed by an afternoon ceremony in front of the Slovenian Mountaineering Museum in the town of Mojstrana.
Miro Eržen, who led the efforts to open the museum, took the opportunity to highlight pressing issues in mountaineering, notably volunteering, who he said was plagued by red tape while being a key to preserving the mountain huts culture in Slovenia at its present level.
Along with Triglav, the sheet steel storm shelter is a landmark of Slovenia and a symbol of Slovenehood. It was designed and erected by Jakob Aljaž (1845-1927), a priest, author, poet, composer, and a patriot.
The patriotic aspect was also stressed today by the president of the Slovenian Mountaineering Association Bojan Rotovnik, who said that "we can thank patriotic Slovenians, who were also great enthusiasts, that Slovenian mountains preserved a Slovenian face".
Aljaž, who was also a trailblazer in the Julian Alps, bought 16 square meters on top of Triglav from the local authorities in 1895 for a symbolic sum. He paid for the construction of a tower on top, which he then presented as a gift to the Alpine Association of Slovenia.
Aljaž's move is seen as an attempt to keep the mountains in Slovenian hands at the time when foreigners were increasingly interested in them. Apart from the tower, he paid for the construction of several buildings and paths in the Slovenian Alps.
The tower and its immediate surroundings were proclaimed a site of national cultural importance in 1999, presenting a symbol of national pride along with the country's highest peak.
Today, the tower is owned by the Slovenian state and managed by the Slovenian Mountaineering Association.