16th annual meeting of mountain villages of the entire Alps in Luče

The mountain village of Luče will host the 16th annual meeting of the Mountain Villages network from May 31 to June 2, 2024, which includes 40 villages from Austria, Slovenia, Germany, Italy, South Tyrol, and Switzerland. In addition to Luče, the Slovenian mountain villages are also Jezersko and Dovje-Mojstrana. The theme of this year's meeting will be heritage: a friendly companion of today's life in the Alps. Mountain villages as carriers of a sustainable approach represent a pillar of preserving cultural values, traditional crafts and customs, architecture, and lifestyle developed over centuries. These villages are not just quiet, somewhat remote geographical areas, but living communities that enrich their daily lives by nurturing their own cultural heritage. The 16th annual meeting in Slovenia will be an opportunity for exchanging ideas, experiences, and good practices, as well as for discussing ways to better preserve, promote, and usefully utilize cultural heritage for the benefit of mountain villages and their inhabitants.
Mountain villages (Bergsteigerdörfer) are a special tourist brand that includes villages in the Alpine region and represent good practice in the field of tourism and local development within the Alpine Convention. This is a network of mountain villages offering tourist experiences based on hiking, nature observation, landscape, enjoying peace, with a basic level of accommodation and catering. The idea is to offer different tourism from that which uses mass infrastructure and is based on mass attendance, thereby enabling the preservation of mountain landscape and nature on one side, and additional income for smaller localities or their inhabitants on the other, allowing them to remain in mountain areas.

Places united in the mountain villages network are true alpine pioneers in their regions. Mountains and alpinism hold great value for locals and guests in terms of cultural identity. This is a living awareness of the need for harmony between nature and humans, where humans respect natural boundaries. Mountain villages thus fulfill the goals of the Alpine Convention in a special way, which strives for sustainable development across the entire Alpine space.

The Mountain Villages project or initiative was begun twenty years ago by the Austrian Alpine Association. Subsequently, the alpine associations of Slovenia, Germany, Italy, South Tyrol, and Switzerland joined this initiative. Currently, 40 villages are included in the mountain villages network in the Alpine region, half from Austria, and three also from Slovenia: Jezersko as the first mountain village in 2018, Luče, and Dovje-Mojstrana. The current candidate for inclusion in the network is also Baška grapa.

The network organizes an annual meeting of mountain villages every year. The purpose of the event is the presentation and exchange of knowledge, experiences, and good practices on topics important for mountain villages and their further development. This year's annual meeting is hosted by the mountain village of Luče and will take place from May 31 to June 2, 2024. The central theme of the meeting is heritage - a friendly companion of today's life in the Alps.

You are invited to attend the event!

At the same time, we would be grateful for a contribution from the event for the wider public that you address through your media.

Contact for event registration and additional information is the professional associate of the Alpine Association of Slovenia, Dušan Prašnikar, reachable at dusan.prasnikar@pzs.si and 031 694 134.

PROGRAM OF THE 16TH MOUNTAIN VILLAGES MEETING

Friday, May 31, 2024
Luče Sports Center

Morning, from 10:30 to 13:30
Greetings and addresses
Lecture: dr. Janez Bogataj - How to understand the gastronomic heritage in the Upper Savinja Valley and in the Alps?
Lecture: dr. Borut Juvanec - Pastoral architecture of the Alps and Slovenia

Afternoon, from 15:00 to 18:00
Lecture: mag. Simona Moličnik - Intangible cultural heritage of Luče with special reference to the polyphonic singing tradition
Walk through the mountain village of Luče with a tour of good practices: Juvanova hiša - Šlanger Workshop - Hiša Raduha


Saturday, June 1, 2024
Luče Sports Center

Morning, from 9:00 to 12:30
Lecture: Maša Čas Zajc, Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia - Cultural heritage of the mountain pastures in Luče
Lecture: Anton Žunter, Mountain Club - Supplying mountain huts in the Savinja Alps
Lecture: Metod Rosc - Population of Luče through history
Lecture: Ana Kaker - "Let the granaries be full" - story of the renovated granaries on the Koklej homestead
Lecture: Janko Rožič and Martina Breznik, Hiša Raduha - Food and architecture

Afternoon, from 14:00 to 17:00
Field tour with tasting of local delicacies (one option by choice):
Koklej Homestead - tour of the ecological farm, preserved architectural heritage and ethnographic collection, and tasting of home-cooked dishes. Access to the farm is possible via a scenic footpath (45 minutes, 250 m elevation gain). Upon request, transport by vans will also be organized for participants.
Podvolovljek Valley - tour of the renovated Žagerski mill and presentation of dry-cured meat processing at Selišnik Farm with tasting of home specialties. Access to the valley is provided by bus transport (15 minutes, 10 km).

Meeting participants will attend a concert by the Folk Singers from Luče on May 31 at 19:30, and a concert by the Upper Savinja Valley Band on June 1 at 19:00.

On Sunday, June 2, 2024, participants will take part in a mountain hike in the Raduha range or a hike to the Dleskovška Plateau (assembly at 8:00 in front of the Luče Sports Center).