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Bilje Hills and Sv. Ot-134m

velkavrh8. 01. 2019 10:48:02

So, we Ponedeljkovci from PD Škofja Loka made the first hike of the New Year 2019. We walked the vineyard area of the Bilje Hills and visited the prominent hill Sv. Ot-134m. The start was in Bilje. We headed through the vineyards towards Sv. Ot. But here the vineyard hills are completely different from those we saw last autumn in Styria. There are huge numbers of vineyards, but sadly half are abandoned—already blackberries are overgrowing them. Nowhere are there any wine cellars to be seen either. We did see some abandoned larger wooden structures. I don't know whose these vineyards are. Actually, the Bilje-Vrtojba hills lie between the settlements Šempeter pri Gorici, Volčja Draga, Bukovica, Bilje and Vrtojba. Somewhere in the middle on the dominant hill reigns Sv. Ot-134m. There used to be a church of St. Oton. By the end of the 18th century it was no more. Not even one stone remained from it. Today it is a place of remembrance of the hard times of WWI and WWII, of the Rapallo Border time, when almost all Primorska was under the Kingdom of Italy. Ultimately it is a place of peace, rest, recreation and beautiful nature. The view reaches far into Italy to Friuli, to the Gulf of Trieste, etc.