Hiking trail 4a: Mule Track

There is a cavern below the church and a memorial plate with touching lines by historian Janez Kavčič:

“Welcome visitors! A century ago, we drilled and carved into stone this cold and dark shelter, where we dreamt of the warmth of our hearths and the embrace of our loved ones.
Remember us every now and then, and give your dreams to the ones you love. Unknown soldiers.”

The walls of St. Ivan and the scenic viewpoint on the right offer beautiful views. There is the Idrijca Valley deep below us, Peč (the Rocky Mountains of Bohinj), with the mighty Rodica in the back, the Cerkno region with its villages, the broad Kojca and the proud Porezen, in the front, and Blegoš on the right.

You are standing in the northernmost part of the Šebrelje plateau, at an important strategic point. An ancient fort supposedly already stood here during Roman times, and our ancestors, the Slavs, set up a sanctuary dedicated to the god of the sun. The original church was built in 1152 as the succursal Church of St Vitus in Šentviška Gora. The church was demolished in 1763 and rebuilt in 1870. Today, the succursal Church of St. John the Baptist (John the Baptist – altar painting) stands here, refurbished and with a painting of Moses on the outer wall. You can still see the trenches built by the Bosnians during WWI below the church and in its immediate vicinity. These trenches served as the defence line from Bukovo to Reka, and to St. Ivan and along the western edge of the plateau to Oblakov vrh and Vojsko (rear echelon lines of the Isonzo Front).