Written Mountains, 130 Years of Planinski Vestnik

Planinski vestnik, the oldest still published Slovenian magazine, has been delighting mountain lovers since the times of Jakob Aljaž. Its first issue was published as the bulletin of the Slovenian Mountaineering Association on February 8, 1895, and on February 12, 2026, the premiere of the documentary film Written Mountains, 130 Years of Planinski Vestnik will take place at the 20th Mountain Film Festival in Ljubljana. The documentary by Mojca Volkar Trobevšek and Andrej Podbevšek, which is a multifaceted and dynamic portrayal of the mission, history, and contemporary pulse of Planinski Vestnik and the people who create it with heart, will also be shown on February 21 at the Slovenian Alpine Museum in Mojstrana.

Planinski vestnik has been a companion to mountaineers since 1895, when Aljaž Tower was erected on Triglav - and their missions are shared, as both arose in response to the increasing Germanization of Slovenian mountains and have been carriers of Slovenian cultural identity and national consciousness. Planinski vestnik, together with its first readers, witnessed the erection of Aljaž Tower on the summit of Triglav, rejoiced with them at the first hut on Kredarica, reported on the opening of our first paths into the high mountains ... and later relived the boldness of the first climbers at home, and when the time was ripe, also on the highest peaks of the world. Planinski vestnik rejoiced at the setting of important historical milestones and sincerely mourned the tragedies, an inevitable part of all successful stories. In all periods of its publication, it has been a mirror of the work of the mountaineering organization, mountaineering culture, a reflection of general conditions and the Slovenians' experience of the mountains, and today it is part of the national wealth and cultural heritage, as well as the most complete archive of Slovenian mountaineering and its umbrella organization, the Alpine Association of Slovenia (PZS).

The oldest Slovenian magazine, which survived both world wars and has been published in 1355 issues, entered its 130th anniversary last year as an e-magazine, hand in hand with the traditional printed form. In the jubilee year, the documentary film Written Mountains, 130 Years of Planinski Vestnik was also created, which viewers will be able to see for the first time at the 20th Mountain Film Festival in Ljubljana, on Thursday, February 12, at 4 p.m. in the Kosovel Hall of Cankarjev dom; just four days after the magazine's 131st anniversary. On Saturday, February 21, at 6 p.m., the film will also be screened at the Goroventure film festival at the Slovenian Alpine Museum in Mojstrana, followed by a discussion with the film's and magazine's creators. The documentary will then travel to mountaineering clubs across Slovenia, and it will also be available to watch on TV Slovenija.



"The film focuses on the current state, follows the current editorial team, their relationships and motives for work. It documents the process of creating the magazine, from concept to printing, as well as the transition to digital form. The average viewer is most interested in the current state, as they can identify with it and comment on it from their own experience. The documentary also looks back at the history of its creation and reflects mainly on the reasons for founding the magazine, which is directly linked to national consciousness, Slovenianness, and the Slovenian language. It does this (also) in a somewhat playful way in the form of animation, which certainly gives the film a special character and watchability," describes the screenwriter and co-director of the film Mojca Volkar Trobevšek, who knows Planinski vestnik well, as she has followed it since childhood, and has also signed numerous articles in it. In her creation, she swears by a good story: "If the story is well told, the result of creative work is a good artistic product that speaks to people. This is what I strive for in my work - whether in teaching or in writing and creating documentaries."

The central part of the film's narrative is dedicated to the editorial team of Planinski vestnik, which under the auspices of the Alpine Association of Slovenia creates a modern, also digital, monthly magazine about mountaineering, alpinism, and other sports activities in the mountains, as well as about mountain nature and culture. From the perspective of the editor-in-chief, we learn about the demanding work of preparing articles, which never ends. His close collaborators, journalists and editors, are also in constant search and recording of good stories, and the technical team is indispensable. In a short retrospective, the film returns to the 19th and 20th centuries, to the beginning and through the turbulent years when the magazine's publication was threatened several times, but its founding significantly contributed to the preservation of the Slovenian word and strengthened national consciousness.

Mojca Volkar Trobevšek invited editor Andrej Podbevšek to the project, with whom she also harmoniously co-directed the film, and Mitja Legat, the cameraman and director of photography, both of whom - like her - are avid hillwalkers, accustomed to working in demanding conditions and on all terrains. The production is signed by #Najs produkcija, and the finishing touches are added by the original music of Simon Skalar and the animation of Ana Lucija Čuk. In addition to the editorial board of Planinski vestnik, consisting of Vladimir Habjan, Emil Pevec, Mateja Pate, Irena Mušič Habjan, Dušan Škodič, Marta Krejan Čokl, Zdenka Mihelič, Mire Steinbuch, and Tina Leskošek, the film also features the curator of the Slovenian Alpine Museum Neli Štular and literary historian Miran Hladnik. "This was my first film project where I had all the strings in my hands, and at the same time it brought enormous responsibility - to the client, the performers, the viewers, to the theme itself. Since we are a small team, there is a lot of work, and the responsibility per person is incomparably greater than in large productions. The film was made over a year and a half, and during that time all of us involved also performed our jobs and other projects, so this period was very intense," explains Volkar Trobevšek, also the author of several scripts for RTV Slovenija films: Those Beautiful Years, Mira Marko, Small Things, Breath of Another, and The Second Life of the Larch.

Planinski vestnik has had only eight editors-in-chief in almost 131 years, with an average editorship lasting 16 years. The most volumes were edited by Tine Orel (30), followed by Josip Tominšek with 26 volumes, and the current responsible editor Vladimir Habjan with 25, proud before the upcoming film premiere: "Mountains have always been a stage for stories, legends, and myths for Slovenians, later also carriers of national identity and a mirror of time. When the mountaineering word began to be recorded in Planinski vestnik 130 years ago, it gained a permanent form; on this high anniversary, it has moved to film tape and thus gained its own face, movement, and voice. The film Written Mountains was created in a period of intense growth of visual images and, on the other hand, the increasing fragility of printed media. The film is a document of the present time and a message for posterity, so it was very important that we did this now and not sometime in the future - retrospectively."



"On the approaching 131st anniversary of Planinski vestnik, the magazine that is the chronicler of the history of Slovenian mountaineering, we are proud to present a documentary film that celebrates this long tradition. Vestnik is a space for exchanging ideas, discovering new mountains, and preserving mountaineering history and culture, so we hope the film will inspire new readers to browse Planinski vestnik and perhaps become our regular readers. I thank all editors and collaborators for their dedicated work and loyalty. Preserving such a rich tradition while following the novelties dictated by today's time, where reading is increasingly under attack, requires a special passion for the magazine - and we feel that in the film!" emphasizes Damjan Omerzu, General Secretary of the Alpine Association of Slovenia.