Vintgar Gorge () or Bled Gorge () is a

gorge A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...

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 ...

in the municipalities of Gorje and Bled, four kilometers northwest of Bled. It is located on the edge of Triglav National Park. Carved by the

Radovna Radovna may refer to: * Radovna (river), a river in Slovenia * Radovna Valley, a valley in Slovenia * Radovna, Gorje, Radovna, a village in the Municipality of Gorje, Slovenia * Zgornja Radovna, a village in the Municipality of Kranjska Gora, Sloven ...

River, it is the continuation of the

Radovna Valley The Radovna Valley (, ) is an alpine valley in the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia, traditionally part of Upper Carniola. It is included in Triglav National Park in its entirety. Geography The Radovna Valley is surrounded by the northern e ...

. The sheer canyon walls are high, with a total slope measuring about . The stream has created many erosive features such as pools and

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...

, and terminates in the picturesque Šum Falls (literally, 'noisy falls'), the largest river waterfall in Slovenia.

History

Until 1890, the gorge was mainly inaccessible, except for two points at which the Radovna could be reached, and a bridge over Šum Falls was already built in 1878. The rest of the gorge was explored in 1891 by the mayor of Gorje, Jakob Žumer, and by Benedikt Lergetporer, a prominent photographer of the era. In 1893 the gorge was equipped with wooden observation walkways and bridges with great effort and was opened to the public on August 26, 1893. The walkways, which were later named Žumer Galleries () in the most prominent part of the gorge, have been renovated several times since. A

hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

has also been built below the gorge and an arch railway bridge for the Bohinj Railway. The bridge, built in 1904 and 1905 of cut stone, is the largest stone arch railway bridge preserved in its entirety in Slovenia. It is long, wide and high.

Name

The word ''vintgar'' is derived from German ''Windegg(er)'' 'place exposed to the wind' via the hamlet of Vintgar at the head of the gorge in the village of Podhom. Another explanation claims that it derives from the German name ''Weingarten'' 'vineyard', referring to vineyards in Podhom or to the gorge resembling a wine glass in shape. As the first mountain gorge in the area to be made accessible to tourists, the word ''vintgar'' has been generalized in Slovene to refer to other scenic, protected gorges, e.g. the (), the () on Pohorje, and the Ribnica Gorge () in Bohinj.

Geology

Before the last ice age, the Radovna River flowed eastward. After being dammed by the ice and detritus of the Bohinj Glacier, the resulting lake cut a new path northeast through a soft layer of

Triassic The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...

limestone between the hills Boršt () and Hom (), towards the Upper Sava Valley.

References

External links

*
Vintgar Gorge at the Bled municipal websiteVintgar

{{Coord, 46.390, N, 14.083, E, display=title, source:dewiki Triglav National Park Tourist attractions in Slovenia Canyons and gorges of Slovenia Municipality of Bled Municipality of Gorje Landforms of Upper Carniola Articles containing video clips