The route begins at the statue of Prežihov Voranc in the center of the Kotelje overlooking the Uršlja gora. On the main road, we first go to Rimski vrelec. The once-famous Carinthian resort hides the spring of the “hotuljska” mineral water, and we can feel the former glory in a mighty building with bushy linden trees and a lake. The route continues along the meadow in the back of the building, past the ski slope, then cross the bridge and continues along the asphalt road. After ten minutes of walking, we reach a sign showing the birth house of Prežihov Voranc in the former image, and in the vicinity we can already see the renovated house with a memorial plaque. Along the asphalt road, we continue to the stream, where the route turns right into the forest. On the way, we see the wild torrents and the remains of the mill. The route rises steeply in some places, and the noise of the stream continuously accompanies us. When we get to the road, we turn right and cross the torrent by which we have been walking. We come to Toni’s house, the home of Voranc’s grandfather.
We continue under the slope of Uršlja gora along the winding macadam road towards the hill Kogel. Here, Voranc spent his youth and has experienced the stories of his novelettes. If we descend from the farm down, we reach the gorge Pekel, where Voranc grazed the sheep and picked up lilies of the valley for his mother. From here we go back to the macadam road and continue to Ivarčko lake. Pass the parking lots by the Ivarčko lake along the side road, we continue along the left side of the hill to Preški vrh. We descend to the remains of the castle Šrotnek, and a little further on stands the church of Sv. Mohor and Fortunat, which stands on the defense ditch “turške šance”, which were built in defense against the Turks. The route of Prežihov Voranc then turns from the main road to a parallel road, follows the “turške šance” and leads us to “Prežihovina” or the house of Prežihov Voranc. On the meadow in front of the farm stands a great monument to the writer with a beautiful view on Uršlja gora and the hills where Prežih spent his youth. Past the house, the route leads down and through the meadows and fields to a church. By the church there is the grave of Prežihov Voranc. By the presbytery, we cross the stream and arrive back to the Voranc’s statue where we started our route.
The route of Prežihov Voranc is an interesting and diverse circular route which winds under the slopes of Uršlja gora with picturesque canyons and sunny clears in the midst of forests. The route outlines the lives of people in these places in the times when Prežihov Voranc lived.
Download Route (GPX) Route of Prežihov Voranc