9 Slovenia

Scientific Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts

Upper Carniola, Municipality of Žiri, Slovenia

46°2’31.988” N, 14°6’25.988” E

The doily on display is a handmade lace product made by crossing, twisting, and weaving linen threads attached to a bobbin. The process follows a pattern a drawing on paper attached to a cylinder cushion in a wicker basket or on a wooden base. In addition to linen, which is used for the doily on display, the craftsmen make bobbin lace from cotton threads, silk, wool, artificial materials, metal threads and even ropes. Lace is used to adorn clothing and fashion accessories, church and home textiles, and representative spaces. It is also an inspiration for artistic creations in fashion, contemporary visual arts, design, architecture, and culinary design. Doilies have been particularly used to protect furniture surfaces from heat or scratches caused by crockery and for decoration.

The bobbin lace used for the doily is called “Slovene lace”. This name began to be used during the World Wars for lace in which the traditional patterns were supplemented by the versions of Slovene folk ornamentation. Slovene lace was therefore also referred to as “lace with a national character”. Lacemaking was allegedly already widespread in the Slovene lands in the 16th century among the nobility and in monasteries for decorating ecclesiastical textiles. In the second half of the 17th century, it became a domestic craft; the sale of bobbin lace was documented in Ljubljana (current capital of Slovenia) and Idrija (a town with a mercury mine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site). In the second half of the 19th century, lace production began to decline with the exception of Idrija, from where it then spread to the Poljanska Valley (where the lace doily comes from), the Selška Valley, Tolmin, and Gorizia, and later to other parts of present-day Slovenia. Despite the activity’s decline in the 1960 due to the employment of women and the machine production of lace, it continued to spread throughout Slovenia until the end of the 20th century, albeit mostly as a leisure activity and much less often as a source of income. The knowledge of bobbin lacemaking has been passed down from generation to generation in schools and courses. Most bobbin lace makers are women. There are currently around 120 active lacemaking societies, sections, and groups in Slovenia. Additionally, three lacemaking schools operate in Idrija, Žiri and Železniki. Lacemaking is presented at the Lacemaking Days in Železniki, the Idrija Lace Festival, and the Slovene Lacemaking Days in Žiri. The making of Slovene bobbin lace is inscribed in the Register of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Slovenia and in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Cvetke Žiri Lacemaking Society, which made the doily on display, is registered as the bearer of this tradition.

The area of Škofja Loka, where the society of lacemakers comes from, is located in the northwestern part of Slovenia. The town of Škofja Loka has been the historical centre of the Poljanska Valley and the Selška Valley. It is known for its castle, mediaeval town centre, and the Škofja Loka Passion Play, which has been inscribed on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list. The valleys have been famous for the ironworks and linen production, both of which declined as early as the 19th century, but the heritage is well preserved in museums and at the tourism events. The Davča Tourist Association (in the Selška Valley) organises the annual Flax Dressers’ Day with a presentation of flax production and processing, and the Loški Museum presents linen production, weaving, dyeing, lacemaking, and other important traditional crafts from the area. Local traditions are also presented at lacemaking days in Žiri and Železniki, Charcoal Burners’ Day at Stari Vrh, old-style skiing and cycling events, traditional fairs, and other festivals. The Poljanska Valley spreads along the Poljanska Sora River in the southeast of the Gorenjska region. It is surrounded by the Polhograjski, Škofjeloški, Cerkljanski and Rovtarski mountains. It has around 12.500 inhabitants who live in Gorenja vas, Poljane, Žiri, and smaller settlements or villages. The main employers are the shoe factory in Žiri and the marble quarry in Hotavlje. Inhabitants also work in agriculture (mainly cattle breeding and cheese production), tourism, and small business. The largest town is Žiri at the end of the valley. It has been known for its traditions of shoe and lacemaking. The shoemaking tradition gave rise to the Alpina factory, which has made a name for itself around the world with sports footwear. The art of lacemaking has been preserved for almost 120 years by the Žiri Lacemaking School and promoted at the Slovene Lacemaking Days organised annually in April by the Cvetke Žiri Lacemaking Society.

Author: Saša Poljak Istenič

References:

Municipality Žiri. “O Žireh” (About Žiri). Accessed March 1st, 2024. https://www.ziri.si/objave/175

Poljanski salamarji. “Poljanska dolina” (Poljanska Valley). Accessed March 1st, 2024. https://poljanskisalamarji.si/ poljanska-dolina/

Slovene Ethnographic Museum. Klekljanje idrijske čipke (Making Idrija Bobbin Lace). Description of the practice for the Slovenian Registry of the intangible cultural heritage, 2013. Accessed March 1st, 2024. https://www.gov.si/assets/ ministrstva/MK/DEDISCINA/NESNOVNA/RNSD_SI/Rzd-02_00028.pdf

Slovene Ethnographic Museum. Klekljanje slovenske čipke (Making Slovene Bobbin Lace). Description of the practice for the Slovenian Registry of the intangible cultural heritage, 2015. Accessed March 1st, 2024. https://www.gov.si/assets/ ministrstva/MK/DEDISCINA/NESNOVNA/RNSD_SI/Rzd-02_00040.pdf

Sora Development Agency. “The Škofja Loka area”. Accessed March 1st, 2024. https://www.visitskofjaloka.si/en/ Stanonik, Marija. “Čipkarstvo v Žirovski kotlini” (Lacemaking in Žiri Basin). Loški razgledi 17, (1970): 180–196.

Šifrer Bulovec, Mojca. Klekljane čipke, “špice” na Žirovskem. Žiri: Municipality of Žiri, 2022.

UNESCO. Bobbin Lacemaking in Slovenia. Nomination form for the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, 2018. Accessed March 1st, 2024. https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/bobbin-lacemaking-in-slovenia-01378

Verbič, Marija. O začetkih slovenskega čipkarstva s posebnim ozirom na Idrijo (On the beginnings of Slovenian lacemaking with a special focus on Idrija). Kronika 17/3, (1969): 157-160.

To learn more about this initiative or artisan:

Interview with the members of the Bobbin Lace Society Cvetka Žiri https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkhMHfM0fyE