Along the Paths of Folk Tales

Along the Paths of Folk Tales – the first family guide from the PZS Mountaineering Publishing House.

Who built such big mountains? Giants! Who causes earthquakes? Dragons! And who filled Lake Bled? Fairies! Folk tales and legends inspire the newly published guide Along the Paths of Folk Tales, which offers 30 excursions along the banks of the Sava and represents a groundbreaking novelty for the Mountaineering Publishing House of the Alpine Association of Slovenia, as it is the first family guide in its otherwise rich portfolio. The book was created with the collaboration of folk heritage expert Dušica Kunaver, who prepared the descriptions of the mountaineering excursions, Irena Mušič Habjan, and enriched with illustrations by Jernej Myint.



The new guide for families with children (from the youngest to teenagers) Along the Paths of Folk Tales takes us along the banks of the Sava - from the Ljubljana dragon to the Podkoren hag - upstream along the right bank of the river and back to Ljubljana along the left bank. "The book Along the Paths of Folk Tales was created at the initiative of the editor of Planinski vestnik and the Mountaineering Publishing House, Vladimir Habjan, and it is the work of a group of collaborators who were aware that we are doing something beautiful and valuable for today's time and also for the future - since the mountains will not move, folk tales will be preserved and will always remain a folk treasure," emphasizes Dušica Kunaver, who made a select choice of folk tales for the guide: "Our book brings to today's time a memory of centuries when mysterious ancient beings lived near our villages. From the nearby forest, one could hear the gentle singing of forest fairies, dwarves lived in the mountains, a water sprite lived in the whirlpool of the village stream, in the thunder of the storm one could hear the voices of the wild hunt ... The mountainous and fairy-tale beautiful Upper Carniola region was once full of these ancient mythical beings. Giants built the big mountains, fairies filled Lake Bled, the rocky and steep Triglav mountains were torn apart by Zlatorog with his golden horns ..."

From the hundred tales preserved in the Upper Carniolan folk treasury, the guide revives thirty and describes the paths and destinations we follow along the Sava valley. We start on its right bank from Ljubljana with Ljubljana Castle, continue with Jeterbenk, Lubnik, the Valley of the Triglav Lakes and the Za Akom cirque. The journey on this side of the Sava ends with the Tamar Valley and the three sister rivers Drava, Sava and Soča, we turn downstream along the left bank of the Sava, visit Dovška Baba, pass by Krvavec and end with Smledniški grad and Šmarna gora. "Old folk tales that passed from generation to generation have brought messages to today's time about the way of life and thinking of our ancestors, but not only that, folk tales also preserve the memory of real historical events. If we combine these old precious folk tales with excursions in the mountains and valleys along the Sava banks, we will beautify and enrich the lives of our young generation and ourselves," adds Kunaver.

How it was to walk the mountaineering paths of folk legends selected by Dušica Kunaver from the treasure trove of cultural heritage speaks Irena Mušič Habjan, the author of the descriptions of mountaineering excursions in the guide: "I am very honored that we could collaborate so with Dušica Kunaver, who for years has been ensuring that diverse and vivid tales, which are part of our cultural heritage, still live among us. Although simple, they contain wisdom from which we can learn a lot - not only children, but also adults. For me, it was particularly interesting that while creating the guide, I myself discovered some places and curiosities for which there had been no time before. Moreover, sometimes easier excursions are a greater challenge to describe, as there are more details and one must take care not to get lost in them as a writer. Folk heritage has always been quite close to me, and I am glad that we have also presented and preserved the tale of Srebrnokrilec in the Martuljek Mountains this way, which is less known than Zlatorog but no less important."

Excursions and tours are described in the same way: in the introduction, the destination, path characteristics and possible curiosities are briefly presented. The descriptions of ascent and descent are condensed and contain, in addition to the path course, additional reference points in the selected area. In the sidebar, the most basic data on the destination are collected: elevation, starting point elevation and elevation gain. The difficulty rating indicates the path difficulty, and the tours are classified into three levels: easy, demanding and very demanding mountaineering path. Information on required equipment is also added, the route to the starting point is described, possible mountain huts along the way are listed, timings, the most suitable season for the excursion and the appropriate map of the area. The maPZS app on smartphones can also be helpful on the ground.

"The guide is primarily intended for families. Younger children sometimes need to be encouraged to set off and persevere on the excursion, perhaps precisely through conversation or searching for characters from the tales we present in the new book. There are quite a few easy excursions suitable for them, e.g. ascent to Ljubljana Castle, walk to the camp Ursa or from Škofja Loka to Crngrob, to Tamar ... Then there are excursions in the book that require more perseverance, e.g. Lubnik, Golica, Kamniško sedlo, which slightly older children with more trodden feet can manage, and the excursion can also be extended time-wise. Mostly the excursions or tours are easy, but the difficulty increases if there are spots on the path where one grabs a peg or cable, as is the case e.g. on the path to the Za Akom cirque. Perhaps the crown is the ascent to the Valley of the Triglav Lakes via Komarča, which is already a full-day tour, and due to its variety and safety features for children, it is also the most interesting," presents the difficulty of mountaineering destinations and challenges for young mountaineers Mušič Habjan, also a mountain rescuer.

So that the youngest readers and mountaineers will take the guide as their own, each of the 30 excursions or each folk tale is adorned with a unique illustration by Jernej Myint, who thus created the image of folk heroes and gave wings to the imagination of readers of all generations: "The book is a treasure trove of fairy tales and stories that will attract the interest of both younger and older. We will read it ordinary people, somewhere alone, in silence and with a beautiful view - at the top of the imaginary world of the present time."

The Alpine Association of Slovenia publishes guides, both mountaineering, hiking and climbing, specialist literature, fiction and youth literature, and Along the Paths of Folk Tales is the first family guide in its book backpack - and thus breaks new ground, as announced by the editor of the Mountaineering Publishing House Vladimir Habjan: "The programs of the Mountaineering Publishing House are heading in the future towards the broad masses who visit the mountains, which was especially evident during the period of limited movement last year and this year. Our wish is also to approach families and offer them possible excursions with an addition. These are tales, legends, also natural sights in the latest book. We want to equip families with knowledge too, so a handbook on the basics of mountaineering is in preparation, already written and will be published at the end of this year or the beginning of the next. We will continue with similar textbooks for the general public, as we have textbooks on sport climbing and ski touring in preparation. We are planning more similar guides to the beauties of Slovenia, but they are currently still in the negotiation or preparation phase."

The PZS Mountaineering Publishing House has previously published several works for young mountaineers: workbooks on mountains with tasks for fun, creativity, learning and education Planinski zabavnik and Planinski zabavnik 2, collections of fairy tales by Kristina Menih Pravljičarija pod Triglavom and Nove dogodivščine v Pravljičariji, picture book by Stanka Klakočer Pravljica o gamsku Viliju in gorskih rožicah, fairy tale collection by Anka Rudolf Čez drn in strn, CD Greva pod objem gora and board game Spomin s planin.