Some tourist facilities in flood-stricken areas remain closed

Tadej Kuzmič, who runs the company that operates the Radlje ob Dravi Water Park, told the STA on Thursday that the "weather was not very kind to us in the first part of the season, and now when the temperatures are finally summer-like, we had to close the swimming pool for the year."

This natural swimming pool along the Drava River, in which the water is purified by means of plants and microorganisms, was fully flooded on 4 August, with a huge quantity of silt being deposited in the swimming pool, engine room, toilets and the surroundings.

Glamping facilities were the only part of this hospitality and bathing complex near the town of Radlje ob Dravi in northern Slovenia to have been spared by the swollen Drava, Kuzmič said.

He assessed the damage as enormous because, in addition to the destroyed engine room, the operator will suffer a loss of turnover as the swimming pool is closed.

Many guests are attracted to the pool, and since it has been closed, both Slovenian and foreign guests are cancelling their bookings. The pool bar remains open.

Also remaining closed due to a landslide is the Snow Cave on Mt Raduha in the Kamnik-Savinja Alps, the highest-lying tourist cave in Slovenia and among the highest-lying caves in Europe.

The operator of the cave says on its website that the recent heavy rains triggered a landslide and damaged the floor of the sinkhole and the entrance, so the cave remains closed to visitors until further notice.

Repair work will start when the situation in the Upper Savinja Valley stabilises and the roads are passable again, said the Črni Galeb Prebold caving club.

The Podzemlje Pece mine museum, south of Mežica, will meanwhile be reopened on Friday after suffering only minor damage in the floods that have otherwise devastated the area along the Meža River.

One of the consequences was that the water level in the shafts where kayak tours are organised was raised, but it receded to the normal level on Wednesday.

The former mine was closed for the last two weeks as the access to Mežica and Črna na Koroškem was limited, and now it is being reopened for pedestrians and kayakers. The entrance for cyclists is still blocked, director Darja Komar told the STA.

Damage will be substantial mainly due to the loss of turnover. "August is the month with the largest number of bookings. More than 3,000 visitors are usually recorded in August. So the two weeks of closure means a huge loss of income," said Komar.