Solkan: Bridge, Soča and Culture

Solkan combines an exceptional railway structure with water sports on the Soča, culture and local traditions. The Solkan Bridge has a stone arch spanning 85 metres, the largest stone arch on railway lines anywhere in the world.

Culture

The architectural heritage includes Villa Bartolomei, a two-storey late Baroque building with a stone portal on the ground floor and an iron balcony on the first floor. Outside regular opening hours, it can be visited by prior reservation. The Solkan Bridge also has protected status: since 1985, it has been a technical monument.

The present-day Church of St Stephen in Solkan was built in 1566 and given a Baroque makeover in 1657. Different periods therefore stand side by side in one place, from the villa’s late Baroque architecture to the older church, later given a Baroque makeover.

Water

The Solkan Kayak Centre on the Soča is Slovenia’s national centre for whitewater kayaking. It offers kayaking courses, rafting, guided tours and equipment rental. The kayak centre also organises national and international competitions. The range therefore extends from courses and guided activities to sporting events with national and international participation.

Soča Fun Park is an adventure park on the right bank of the Soča in Solkan. It comprises five courses and 55 different elements. There is a separate area for children aged five to nine. In addition, a central area at heights of three to twelve metres is available for teenagers and adults.

On the left bank of the Soča in Solkan, there is an easily accessible, prepared area that invites visitors to cool off in summer. Another special activity is bungee jumping from the road bridge in Solkan, which has been offered since 1993.

Nature

Above Solkan, the hiking route to Sveta Gora passes through tunnels and trenches from the First World War. The route therefore combines hiking with preserved traces of wartime history, with the historical elements inseparable from the course of the trail.

Local traditions

A culinary speciality of the surrounding area is Goriški radič, also known as “sukénski régut”. It is a local speciality whose cultivation has been preserved particularly in the area around Solkan. In its production, the plants are dug up in late autumn and placed in warm indoor spaces to form heads.

The ethnological collection “Stara solkanska mizarska delavnica” recalls Solkan’s old carpentry tradition. It complements the historic buildings by offering an insight into a traditional craft associated with the place.

For getting around, a mobility hub with charging stations for electric cars and bicycles, as well as a smart bench, has been established at a turning area in Solkan.

Further destinations: Šempas, Renče, Kambreško, Podsabotin, Miren, Kanal, Plave, Kojsko

To the higher-level travel overview: Nova Gorica.