Hotels in Osilnica: Trails, Water and History

Osilnica combines trails along rivers, mountain landscapes and an unusually dense array of cultural traces. The Dežela Petra Klepca region lies along the Kolpa and is surrounded by mountains. The difference in elevation between its lowest and highest points is more than 800 metres. As a result, very different landscape areas exist side by side in and around Osilnica, while history, crafts and regional cuisine add their own distinctive touches.

Nature

The municipality’s tourism information lists eleven hiking routes in the area of Osilnica and its surroundings. The Peter Klepec Adventure Trail is an approximately 2-kilometre circular hiking trail through Osilnica. It is aimed primarily at families and children and offers games such as archery, skittles, horseshoe throwing and tug of war. A longer circular route is the 43-kilometre „Po poteh Petra Klepca 2“ trail, which begins in Osilnica and passes numerous sights.

For further hiking stages, the Osilnica–Šajbnik–Osilnica route, with a stated duration of four hours, and the Osilnica–Kupari–Source of the Kolpa–Razloge–Osilnica route, with a stated duration of four and a half hours, are listed. The Obkolpska Trail begins in Osilnica and can be completed on foot, by bicycle or in a paddle boat.

Water and Trails

Cycling and paddling routes also extend beyond Osilnica. The 220-kilometre cycling route leads from Osilnica to Metlika and Črnomelj, via Vinica and back to Osilnica. The paddling route begins in Osilnica and ends in Metlika. Both routes place Osilnica within a larger area for movement along the Kolpa and its surroundings, without following the same route.

The Beaver Trail offers its own access to the river landscape. It begins in the centre of Osilnica at the Petra Klepec Cultural and Tourism Centre and runs along the Čabranka and the Kolpa to their confluence. An information board about beavers is located there. On the central section of the Beaver Trail, visitors can also see old houses and the house names of the Osilnica Valley.

The nearby Mirtoviči is home to the natural Orlovska stena climbing wall, with 61 routes ranging from difficulty grade 5a to 8a.

Culture

The present-day Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Osilnica was built in 1876. The parish church of Saints Peter and Paul in Osilnica was rebuilt in 1875 and 1876 and consecrated on 11 September 1887. Its floor plan is shaped like a Greek cross with very short arms. The church’s oldest bell dates from 1644.

Church history in Osilnica goes back further: as early as 1363, the settlement had its own clergyman. In the upper Kolpa Valley, which on the Slovenian side extends from Osilnica to Kostel, itinerant trade in various types of clocks was widespread from the end of the 19th century until the second half of the 20th century.

In autumn 2001, the Galerija Staneta Jarma was opened in the birthplace of the sculptor Stane Jarm. It was open to registered groups until his death. In nearby Mirtoviči, Jože Gorše and his wife Katarina established a blacksmith museum in his birthplace in 2002, commemorating three generations of blacksmiths.

The unit „Govori ob Čabranki in zgornji Kolpi“ encompasses the entire area of the Municipality of Osilnica.

Regional Cuisine

Traditional dishes named by the Municipality of Osilnica for its region include Nadevavanje, Pohance, Žnite, Gumboci, Suha župa with white potato dumplings, Žulca, Pogačice and Proja.

Further Destinations

Discover further destinations via Kočevje, Banja Loka, Vrh pri Fari.

For the higher-level travel overview: Kočevje.