Triglav (; ; ), with an elevation of ,
is the highest
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...
in
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 ...
and the highest peak of the
Julian Alps
The Julian Alps (, , , , ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretches from northeastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 m at Mount Triglav, the highest peak in Slovenia. A large part of the Julian Alps is inclu ...
. The mountain is the pre-eminent symbol of the
Slovene nation, appearing on the
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
and
flag
A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...
of Slovenia. It is the centrepiece of
Triglav National Park, Slovenia's only national park. Triglav was also the highest peak in
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
before
Slovenia's independence in 1991.
Name
Various names have been used for the mountain through history. An old map from 1567 used the Latin name ''Ocra mons'', whereas
Johann Weikhard von Valvasor
Johann Weikhard Freiherr von Valvasor or Johann Weichard Freiherr von Valvasor (, ) or simply Valvasor (baptised on 28 May 1641 – September or October 1693) was a natural historian and polymath from Carniola, present-day Slovenia, and a Li ...
called it ''
Krma'' (the modern name of an Alpine valley in the vicinity) in the second half of the 17th century. According to the German mountaineer and professor
Adolf Gstirner, the name ''Triglav'' first appeared in written sources as ''Terglau'' in 1452, but the original source has been lost. The next known occurrence of ''Terglau'' is cited by Gstirner and is from a court description of the border in 1573. Early forms of the name ''Triglav'' also include ''Terglau'' in 1612, ''Terglou'' in 1664 and ''Terklou'' around 1778–1789. The name is derived from the compound ''*Tri-golvъ'' (literally 'three-head'—that is, 'three peaks'), which may be understood literally because the mountain has three peaks when viewed from much of
Upper Carniola
Upper Carniola ( ; ; ) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The largest town in the region is Kranj, and other urban centers include Kamnik, Jesenice, Jesenice, Jesenice, Domžale and ...
. It is unlikely that the name has any connection to the Slavic deity
Triglav
Triglav (; ; ), with an elevation of , is the highest mountain in Slovenia and the highest peak of the Julian Alps. The mountain is the pre-eminent symbol of the Slovene nation, appearing on the Coat of arms of Slovenia, coat of arms and Flag ...
.
In the local dialect, the name is pronounced (with a second-syllable accent, as if it was written ''Trglov'', with the
dark L experiencing
vocalization) in contrast to standard Slovene . The highest peak is sometimes also called Big Mount Triglav ( ) to distinguish it from Little Mount Triglav ( , ) immediately to the east.
History
The first recorded ascent of Triglav was achieved in 1778, at the initiative of the industrialist and polymath
Sigmund Zois. According to the most commonly cited report, published in the newspaper ''
Illyrisches Blatt'' in 1821 by the historian and geographer
Johann Richter, these were the surgeon Lovrenz Willomitzer (written as ''Willonitzer'' by Richter), the chamois hunter Štefan Rožič, and the miners Luka Korošec and Matevž Kos. According to a report by
Belsazar Hacquet
Belsazar de la Motte Hacquet (also Balthasar or Balthazar Hacquet) ( – 10 January 1815) was a Carniolan physician of French people, French descent in the Enlightenment Era. He was a war surgeon, a surgeon in the mining town of Idrija, and a prof ...
in his ''
Oryctographia Carniolica'', the ascent took place towards the end of 1778, by two chamois hunters, one of them being Luka Korošec, and one of his former students, whose name is not mentioned.
Triglav's height was first measured on 23 September 1808 by
Valentin Stanič.
The first to put the name of the mountain on a map, written as ''Mons Terglou'', was
Joannes Disma Floriantschitsch de Grienfeld, who in 1744 published the map ''
Ducatus Carniolae Tabula Chorographica''.
The first map its name appeared on written as ''Triglav'' was ''
Zemljovid Slovenske dežele in pokrajin'' (Map of the Slovene Land and Provinces) by
Peter Kosler, completed from 1848 until 1852 and published in Vienna in 1861.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Triglav symbolically captured the primary drive by the Slovene resistance to the
Fascist
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
and
Nazi
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
armies.
The
Slovene Partisans wore the
Triglav cap from 1942 until after 1944.
Triglav was the highest peak of the now defunct
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
; it was both countries' highest and most prominent peak. The expression "from Triglav to the
Vardar
The Vardar (; , , ) or Axios (, ) is the longest river in North Macedonia and a major river in Greece, where it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of ...
" (a river in southern
Macedonia) was a common synecdoche for Yugoslavia, referring to two prominent features at the geographic extremes of the nation.
Landmarks
Aljaž Tower
At the top of the mountain stands a small metal structure, the
Aljaž Tower (). It acts as a storm shelter and a
triangulation point. Along with Triglav, it is also a landmark of Slovenia and a symbol of the
Slovenes
The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, and History of Slove ...
and Slovene territorial sovereignty.
The tower's namesake was the priest, mountaineer and patriot
Jakob Aljaž. In early 1895, he drew up, with a piece of chalk on the floor of his room in the parish of
Dovje, plans for a cylindrical tower with a flag on its top. In April that year he purchased the summit of Triglav for the sum of one
florin
The Florentine florin was a gold coin (in Italian ''Fiorino d'oro'') struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time.
It had 54 grains () of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a pu ...
. Having done so, he secured himself the right to erect a building on the mountain top. The tower was constructed from iron and
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...
coated
sheet steel
Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process.
Thicknesses can vary significantly; extremely thin sheets are considered foil or leaf, and pieces thicker than 6 mm (0.25 in) are considered plate, ...
by Anton Belec from
Šent Vid nad Ljubljano. He and four workers brought the parts of the tower to the summit of Triglav and put the tower together in only five hours on 7 August 1895. The opening took place that same day. Aljaž donated the shelter to the Slovene Alpine Society today
Alpine Association of Slovenia.
In the beginning, there were three four-legged chairs, a summit register, a
spirit stove, and the image ''Triglav Panorama'' by
Marko Pernhart in the tower.
It was later repainted and renovated several times by
Alojz Knafelc and others. In the
Communist era, as the highest point of the former Yugoslavia, it was painted red and decorated with a red star.
However, it has now more or less been restored to its original appearance.
The star was removed shortly before the dissolution of Yugoslavia.
On the proclamation of Slovene independence in June 1991, the
flag of Slovenia
The national flag of Slovenia () features three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red, with the coat of arms of Slovenia located in the upper hoist side of the flag centred in the white and blue bands. The coat of arms is a shield ...
was raised on top of the tower.
Stanič Shelter
In 1895, due to a lack of space, Aljaž also commissioned the building of the Stanič Shelter. It is located below the top of Triglav and is named after the poet and mountaineer
Valentin Stanič. The shelter has dimensions of and has room for 8 people sitting or 16 standing. Originally it also had a wooden door, benches, a table, and a chair. Its significance diminished after the
Kredarica Lodge was erected in 1896.
Triglav Glacier

The Triglav Glacier () was located below the summit on the
karst
Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...
ified Triglav Plateaus (), part of the northeastern side of the mountain. Covering over at the end of the 19th century, the glacier had shrunk to by 1946, and after further shrinkage had fallen into two parts by 1992.
By 2011 it covered an area of only 1–3 hectares, depending on the season.
It was no longer considered a glacier in 2019.
Cultural significance
Folk literature
The Triglav area is the setting of an old Slovene folk tale concerning a hunter seeking a treasure guarded by an enchanted
chamois
The chamois (; ) (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope native to the mountains in Southern Europe, from the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Dinarides, the Tatra Mountains, Tatra to the Carpa ...
buck named ''
Zlatorog'' (, after its golden horns).
Arts
The earliest known depiction of Triglav is on the front page of the work ''
Oryctographia Carniolica'', written by
Belsazar Hacquet
Belsazar de la Motte Hacquet (also Balthasar or Balthazar Hacquet) ( – 10 January 1815) was a Carniolan physician of French people, French descent in the Enlightenment Era. He was a war surgeon, a surgeon in the mining town of Idrija, and a prof ...
. It was a copper engraving made in 1778 by C. Conti after a drawing by Franz Xaver Baraga. Among later visual artists who depicted Triglav, the most well known are
Anton Karinger (1829–1870) from Ljubljana,
Marko Pernhart (1824–1871) from
Klagenfurt,
Valentin Hodnik (1896–1935) from
Stara Fužina,
Edo Deržaj (1904–1980) from Ljubljana, and more recently
Marjan Zaletel (born 1945), living in Ljubljana.
Among the musical works related to Triglav, a special place is held for the poem "Oh, Triglav, My Home" (). It was written in 1894 by the priest and poet
Matija Zemljič and quickly became very popular among Slovene mountaineers. In 2007, its first stanza, accompanied by a melody of Jakob Aljaž, became the official anthem of the
Alpine Association of Slovenia. An instrumental version of the poem, written by
Bojan Adamič
Bojan Adamič a.k.a. Master (; 9 August 1912 – 3 November 1995), Slovene Partisans nom de guerre Gregor, was a well-known Slovene composer of jazz, the Slovenian song festival music, and particularly film scores. He was also an avid photograph ...
, is part of the start and end credits of the annual
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 ...
broadcasts from
Planica. In 2023, the Slovenian
industrial act
Laibach released their rendition of the song, titled "O, Triglav, moj dom."
The first Slovene-language full-length film, recorded in 1931 by
Janko Ravnik, was titled ''
In the Kingdom of the Goldhorn'' () and features an ascent by a group of students to the top of Triglav. The second Slovene full-length film, recorded the following year, was titled ''
The Slopes of Mount Triglav'' (). It was directed by
Ferdo Delak and was a romantic story featuring a wedding on the top of Triglav.
Since 1968, Triglav has become a theme of avant-garde artists. The first instance was a manifestation by the art group
OHO, called ''Mount Triglav'', which took place in December 1968 at Ljubljana's
Congress Square
Congress Square () is one of the central squares in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. In the late 1930s, the square was renovated by the prominent Slovene architect Jože Plečnik. Since August 2021, it has been inscribed as part of Plečnik ...
. In 2004, the group
IRWIN produced a series of paintings named ''Like to Like/ Mount Triglav''. In 2007, an artistic performance was held atop Mount Triglav by the artists
Janez Janša (director),
Janez Janša (visual artist) and
Janez Janša (performance artist) called ''Mount Triglav on Mount Triglav''.
National symbol

A stylized depiction of Triglav's distinctive shape is the central element of the
Slovene coat of arms, designed by the sculptor
Marko Pogačnik, and is in turn featured on the
flag of Slovenia
The national flag of Slovenia () features three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red, with the coat of arms of Slovenia located in the upper hoist side of the flag centred in the white and blue bands. The coat of arms is a shield ...
.
Alongside San Marino and Slovakia, Slovenia is the only other country in Europe and one of the few in the world to feature a mountain on its coat of arms.
Formerly, it was featured on the coat of arms of the
Socialist Republic of Slovenia.
The first to depict Triglav as the symbol of the Slovenes was the architect
Jože Plečnik, who in 1934 put it besides other coats-of-arms of the nations of the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...
on the coat of the statue of the Mother of God in front of the parish church in
Bled.
During World War II, the stylised Triglav was the symbol of the
Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation resistance movement.
The distinctive three-pronged caps worn by
Slovene Partisans during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
were known as ''
triglavkas''.
A relief map of the mountain is the design on the national side of the Slovene
50 eurocent coin.
The former Slovene president
Milan Kučan
Milan Kučan (; born 14 January 1941) is a Slovenian former politician who served as the first President of Slovenia from 1991 to 2002. Before being president of Slovenia, he was the 13th President of Slovenia#Socialist Republic of Slovenia, Pres ...
once proclaimed that it is a duty of every Slovenian person to climb Triglav at least once in their lifetime.
See also
*
Triglav Lakes Valley
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Julian Alps: TriglavHribi.net. Detailed information and images.
SummitPost.org. Detailed information, maps and images.
{{Authority control
Mountains of the Julian Alps
Triglav National Park
Two-thousanders of Slovenia
Highest points of countries
National symbols of Slovenia