Planinski vestnik magazine receives state award

President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor awarded the oldest Slovenian magazine Planinski vestnik with the order for merits in the Presidential Palace. The President recognised the cultural and professional value of 126 years of the magazine's publication. In all these years, the magazine has indeed marked the Slovenian cultural space by preserving the Slovenian language and enriching the mountaineering heritage.



Planinski vestnik is the oldest Slovenian magazine that continues to be published uninterruptedly to this day. The first issue of Planinski vestnik was published in February 1895 by the Slovenian Alpine Association, the predecessor of the Alpine Association of Slovenia (PZS), which had been established just a few years earlier, in a stormy time of strong national sentiments and great expectations. On the cover, the publishers wrote: "So that the Slovenian alpine association achieves its purpose (to publish, promote and support interesting mountaineering writings and images), the board of 'Sl. pl. dr.' has decided from 1895 onwards to begin publishing a monthly dedicated to blessed mountaineering, which will publish interesting lectures and various mountaineering writings and images." 126 years have passed since then; during this time, the magazine has stood on the brink of collapse several times, survived three wars, changed two formats and only eight main editors, and remained faithful to its legacy. It was shaped by a pleiad of exceptional writers who marked the Slovenian cultural space also with the preservation of the Slovenian language and rich mountaineering heritage.



"The magazine was able to survive and has lived for so long primarily because it was never commercial. If some publishing house had taken it under its wing at any time in the past, it probably wouldn't exist today. The magazine never generated profit. The magazine's editorial team was never professional; it was always edited and created by enthusiasts who found satisfaction and joy in their work and did not seek material benefits. It is like in the mountains, where we say we like to venture into the unprofitable world, but we don't know why. Because they are there, because it is beautiful there, and because the mountains fulfil us. My editorial team and I are also fulfilled by the work on Planinski vestnik," says Vladimir Habjan, editor of Planinski vestnik since 2001.


Planinski vestnik has been a reliable mirror of the alpine organisation's activities in all periods, as well as Slovenian mountaineering culture. It is an echo of each era's state and a pointer to the peaks of the nation's experience of mountains. "Planinski vestnik is our faithful companion, like a true mirror of the alpine organisation's activities and events in the mountains. With attractive content, in images and selected words, respectful to the past and looking to the future. We open it with pleasure and are proud of it," proudly adds PZS President Jože Rovan.



Planinski vestnik is intended for hikers, alpinists, skiers, cyclists, cavers and all those interested in the world and who want to know it. It records information about events in mountaineering, from organisational, club and social to sports and expeditions; it publishes scientific and professional articles from the history of mountaineering, orography, meteorology, glaciology, speleology, toponymy and other sciences, as well as mountaineering-alpinistic travelogues, articles on nature and nature conservation, literary contributions, poems and literary reviews.


In 126 years of uninterrupted publication, almost 1300 issues of the magazine have been published on more than 55,000 pages, and almost 11,000 authors have collaborated in their creation. Ten years ago, the creators of Planinski vestnik ensured complete digitisation of all issues, and issues from 1895 onwards are freely accessible online and equipped with an electronic index, so Planinski vestnik is a reliable chronicle of events that help understand the times. "Our loyal subscribers are the foundation of this magazine's existence. There are by no means few cases where someone was a subscriber for decades, and then the next generation took over the subscription after them. The magazine is probably a unique phenomenon in this sense, but in reality, it is not surprising. Love for the mountains is often passed down from grandparents to their children and later to grandchildren," adds the editor.


Since 2010, Planinski vestnik has been published in a larger format and can be compared to the world's most prestigious mountaineering magazines. It is a modern and reputable medium that knows how to adapt to changes. "We are pleased that the state has recognised the role the magazine plays in the Slovenian space. The state award is a reward for all who created the magazine in the past and create it today, thereby contributing to its existence and development. It is also recognition for the leadership of the alpine organisation, which has always supported its medium. The saying of former PZS President Miha Potočnik is known: Planinski vestnik is the last thing that will go with the association. We are happy and proud. We will continue our work with even greater pleasure," concludes Vladimir Habjan.