Solkan
Jože Srebrnič Square, the main square of Solkan ©Photo: Blaž Kosovel
1 / 11
The fountain on Jože Srebrnič Square, symbolising the Soča River between the nearby hills (by Sadar+Vuga), was created on the occasion of the celebration of the millennium of the first written mention of Solkan in 2001. ©Photo: Blaž Kosovel
2 / 11
Monument to the fallen fighters and victims of the National Liberation War, unveiled in 1954, designed by architect Vinko Glanz and sculptor Boris Kalin.
3 / 11
©Photo from the collection of Goriški muzej Kromberk - Nova Gorica
4 / 11
5 / 11
A portal in Solkan ©Photo: Blaž Kosovel
6 / 11
7 / 11
8 / 11
9 / 11
On the occasion of the celebration of the millennium of the first written mention of Solkan in 2001, the town also received a monument with the Latin inscription of the first recorded mention of Gorizia (author Vinko Torkar). ©Photo: Blaž Kosovel
10 / 11
11 / 11
Solkan lies at the entrance to the Soča Valley, where the river widens from a narrow gorge onto a broader plain. Solkan and Gorica were first mentioned together in 1001 as Silicanum. The first Church of St Stephen is also believed to date from that time. The present church was built in 1566 and remodelled in the Baroque style in 1657, as was common for Slovenian churches during the Counter-Reformation.
Solkan is best known for its carpentry, a tradition preserved in the extensive museum collection at Soška cesta 31. Carpentry also laid the foundations for the Meblo factory, one of Yugoslavia's most important furniture manufacturers.
Solkan is the oldest part of the Nova Gorica area, but it has always jealously guarded its independent identity. For a long time, it did not consider itself part of the new town. As the construction of Nova Gorica progressed slowly, regional authorities began counting Solkan's population as part of the town to create the impression that it was larger. Solkan regained independent town status only in 1987.
Solkan features a large monument to the fallen fighters and victims of the National Liberation War, unveiled in 1954. It was designed by architect Vinko Glanz and sculptor Boris Kalin, who had earlier collaborated on the Nova Gorica municipal building.
The town is also home to Villa Bartolomei, a late Baroque mansion from the second half of the 18th century. Today, it houses exhibition spaces and restoration workshops of the Goriški muzej. To the left of the entrance is the museum administration, while to the right stands the only prison in the Goriška region, which holds sentences of up to six months.
To mark the millennium of Solkan's first written mention in 2001, the town received two new monuments: a fountain on Jože Srebrnič Square depicting the Soča River between two nearby hills, designed by Sadar+Vuga, and a wall beside the church with a Latin inscription commemorating the first recorded mention of Gorica, designed by Vinko Torkar.
Avtor: Blaž Kosovel
Kraj: Solkan
