Planinski vestnik Already 130 Years, Film Preview

Did you know that mountaineers, half a century before Prešeren's Day became the Slovenian cultural holiday, sealed February 8 as their holiday? On February 8, 1895, the first issue of Planinski vestnik was published, which this year celebrates a venerable 130 years. The oldest still published Slovenian magazine has entered the jubilee year also as an e-magazine. In honor of the 130th anniversary, on March 30 in the Slovenian Mountain Museum in Mojstrana, there will be a public trial hearing of editor Vladimir Habjan before a jury, and in the fall, a documentary film about Planinski vestnik will also be on view.

The magazine Planinski vestnik has been delighting mountain lovers for 130 years, and in the same year, the Aljažev Tower was erected on Triglav. Its first issue was published as the bulletin of the Slovenian Mountaineering Society in Ljubljana on February 8, 1895, and the jubilee February issue will be the 1344th in sequence. The magazine was conceived at its beginning at the end of the 19th century as a bulletin through which the Slovenian Mountaineering Society would inform its membership about its mission during the time of German pressures on Slovenes, as aggressive Germanization with the construction of mountain huts and paths at that time sought to take possession of our mountains as well.



Over the decades of publication, Planinski vestnik has become part of the national wealth and cultural heritage and the most complete archive of Slovenian mountaineering. "Due to the extensive fire that incinerated the building of the Alpine Association of Slovenia in 1958, we were left without the entire archive from the time of the beginnings of organized mountaineering on our soil in the post-war years, and the magazine thus became practically the only mirror and the most complete archive of the activities of our ancestors, who enabled us to realize that Slovenes rightfully count ourselves among the Alpine nations. The Vestnik probably has greater significance for our nation than we realize. That it is our oldest magazine, published for 130 years and having survived two wars - this has not happened with any other. We must be proud of it!" explains editorial board member Dušan Škodič and reveals the recipe for the magazine's longevity: "The recipe is one and only: that Planinski vestnik has never been commercial. If it had been, it would have been gone long ago. Instead, it is tied primarily to its loyal subscribers, and there are not a few who have been subscribers for decades or even inherit loyalty to the magazine."

Vladimir Habjan, only the eighth editor of Planinski vestnik in 130 years, reveals what his recipe is for 24 years of editing this magazine: "The recipe is full of strong spices. I admit that for such a long period, quite a few qualities, abilities, or virtues are needed. For example, persistence, stubbornness, and thick skin. In any case, the goal must prevail over the obstacles that appear on the path to that goal. I have somehow managed this, and neither hills nor mountains on this path have succeeded in stopping me; on the contrary, they have spurred me on. But if we talk about the editorial board, a lot of what generally applies to groups was needed: it is necessary to cooperate, respect different opinions, seek the best solutions in dilemmas, and more. I think I have succeeded in ensuring that at least each editor is responsible for exactly the area of work that suits them best. And one must know how to praise and motivate. For now, the recipe works, but there might still be some pepper added ..."

"Hiking in the mountains, hill climbing, mountaineering, or alpinism has had multiple meanings from the very beginning of organized activity - both elsewhere and with us. In today's time, we would say that popularization and communication are indispensable, for many even the most important building blocks on the path to success. Therefore, the Alpine Association of Slovenia is extremely proud of the fact that the Slovenian Mountaineering Society began publishing - now we can say - the oldest Slovenian magazine, which has been continuously published for 130 years, since 1895. Planinski vestnik is the herald of everything we understand under mountaineering and in the broadest sense shows the image of our organization and everything connected with it. Writing, describing, painting, and photographing mountains, mountain experiences, or our activities is recording events and also a space for cultural engagement, which was and still is part of the mountaineering mission. We are simply glad that we can take Planinski vestnik in our hands or view it in digital format. It is interesting and valuable," the significance of the magazine is outlined by the vice-president of the Alpine Association of Slovenia, Martin Šolar.

This year's jubilee is also an opportunity to more broadly illuminate mountaineering press. According to Škodič's opinion, we can place Planinski vestnik alongside the oldest mountaineering magazine in the world: "The Alpine Journal is the first publication about mountains that the London mountaineering club The Alpine Club began publishing in 1863. The English have the oldest mountaineering club in the world, and if we had founded the Slovenian Mountaineering Society at the same time as the Germans, we would lag behind the Alpine Journal by only about a decade with our magazine. Planinski vestnik is confirmed as the oldest magazine here that is still published, just like the English one, our magazine is also non-commercial, and in terms of the number of issues, we have long surpassed the English, as we are a monthly, while the Alpine Journal is published only once a year.

"The biggest step is that we are still publishing, that time has not run us over like many other magazines. The most visible change is the increase in format in 2010, which gave us greater opportunity for better magazine design. From a bulletin that mostly published unsolicited articles, we became a magazine that plans its content and thus creates its own editorial policy. The content is sufficiently diverse and current that we still have a loyal subscriber base. This year, the biggest challenge is the e-magazine, with which we hope to attract mainly younger readers, of whom there are hardly any now," achievements and challenges are presented by responsible editor Habjan and announces events in the jubilee year: "We are preparing the theme of the month for the February issue, otherwise it will be more work-oriented. A trial hearing awaits me as well. I am accused that Planinski vestnik publishes too much and too little about alpinism, trail markers, cyclists, ski touring, domestic hills, foreign hills, literature, history ... It may happen that this long-term fairy tale ends soon."

The people against Vladimir Habjan or We won't give up Haubi! On Sunday, March 30, 2025, at 6 p.m., in the Slovenian Mountain Museum in Mojstrana, in honor of the 130th anniversary of Planinski vestnik, a public trial hearing will take place before a jury composed of distinguished and important names from the world of mountaineering. You can help the responsible editor prove his innocence by attending the hearing and/or with a full-year subscription to Planinski vestnik. The event will be interpreted into Slovenian sign language.

What is it that keeps the magazine Planinski vestnik, the oldest magazine in Slovenia that is still published, alive for 130 years? Who are the people who devote a large part of their free time to work for the leading mountaineering publication in our area? Why do they persist, some for decades? The preview of the documentary film, which is being made on the occasion of the high jubilee of the magazine's publication, answers some questions, poses even more. The colorful magazine, rich with photographs, experiences, useful information, full of stories and interesting people, is being created right now and will continue to be created ... as long as we read it. So announce Mojca Volkar Trobevšek and Andrej Podbevšek, the authors of the documentary film, whose production is held by #Najs production.

The editorial board of Planinski vestnik consists of Vladimir Habjan, Emil Pevec, Mateja Pate, Irena Mušič Habjan, Dušan Škodič, Marta Krejan Čokl, Zdenka Mihelič, Mire Steinbuch, and Tina Leskošek. "Planinski vestnik is a magazine that has left or is still leaving a very important trace in Slovenia. Slovenes are a mountaineering nation and can identify with it. It is truly an important pillar of Sloveneness," in the film preview, among other things, highlights long-time technical editor Emil Pevec, and editorial board member Marta Krejan Čokl adds: "The Vestnik is the chronicler of mountaineering, alpinism here, it is not just a hill magazine, but also a professional and educational one, while at the same time we care for beautiful language.

Some interesting facts about Planinski vestnik
In 130 years, 125 volumes of the magazine have been published.
The first issue of the magazine was published on February 8, which is our greatest cultural holiday. This was merely a coincidence, as the first issue was supposed to come out in January. The reason was a century record in snow depth, which measured as much as 149 cm in Ljubljana.
There have been only eight chief editors in all this time. The average editing lasted 16 years. The most volumes were edited by Tine Orel (30), the least by Milan Cilenšek (1). The current editor Vladimir Habjan has edited 24 volumes. More volumes besides Orel were edited only by Josip Tominšek (26).
During the First World War, the magazine was not published, but right after it, a transitional issue 1915-1919 was published.
During the Second World War, Planinski vestnik was published in a reduced form, but throughout all the years of the war.
All Planinski vestniks stacked in a pile measure almost four and a half meters in height. This pile of magazines weighs 145 kilograms.
The Planinski vestnik that will be published in February has the sequential number 1344. Currently, eleven issues are published each year, but it wasn't always so. There were years when there were twelve issues, in post-war years it happened that due to financial or technical difficulties, a few issues were published annually, sometimes double or even triple editions.
All magazines together comprise about 63,000 pages.
Planinski vestnik is today our most complete mountaineering archive, as practically nothing remains from the beginnings of the Slovenian Mountaineering Society. When in 1958 the premises of the Alpine Association of Slovenia on Likozarjeva Street burned down, more than 60 years of old archive burned with them.
Even if you don't have all physical copies of the magazine, you won't be deprived. The magazine is digitized. Without weight and height, it is easily accessible on the website planinskivestnik.com, and from this year it is also published as an e-magazine.
* The data was collected by editorial board members Dušan Škodič and Emil Pevec.