Planica () is an Alpine

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

in northwestern

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 ...

, extending south from the border village of Rateče, not far from another well-known ski resort,

Kranjska Gora Kranjska Gora (; ) is a town in northwestern Slovenia, on the Sava Dolinka River in the Upper Carniola region, close to the Austrian and Italy, Italian borders. It is the seat of the Municipality of Kranjska Gora. The tripoint between Austria, It ...

. Further south, the valley extends into the Tamar Valley, a popular hiking destination in

Triglav National Park Triglav National Park (TNP; ) is the only national park in Slovenia. It was established in its modern form in 1981 and is located in the northwestern part of the country, respectively the southeastern part of the Alps, Alpine massif. Mount Trigla ...

. Planica is famous for

ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

. The first ski jumping hill was constructed before 1930 at the slope of Mount Ponca. In 1933, Ivan Rožman constructed a larger hill, known as the Bloudek Giant ('' Bloudkova velikanka'') after Stanko Bloudek, which later gave rise to

ski flying Ski flying is a winter sport discipline derived from ski jumping, in which much greater distances can be achieved. It is a form of competitive individual sport, individual Nordic skiing where athletes descend at high speed along a specially de ...

. The venue was completed in 1934. The first ski jump over in history was achieved at the hill in 1936 by Sepp Bradl. At the time, it was the biggest jumping hill in the world. In 1969, a new K185 hill, the Gorišek Brothers Flying Hill ('' Letalnica bratov Gorišek'') was built by Vlado and Janez Gorišek. The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2023 were held in Planica.

References

External links

Planica.info
* {{Authority control Valleys in Upper Carniola Valleys of the Julian Alps Municipality of Kranjska Gora