Ideological border
The range is made up of a characteristic series of ridges and villages that extend like a caravan from Tarvisio in the west to Slovenj Gradec in the east. Because of their specific position and shape, in the years following the Second World War they symbolised an ideological border between East and West, a border that was slowly erased following the break-up of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Smuggling
Wars, harsh regimes and the consequent shortages of basic goods meant that smuggling flourished in the Karavanke throughout the twentieth century. Official figures record the seizure of 250 kilograms of sweetener at the border in 1927. Austerity policies in the 1980s meant that almost everyone engaged in some form of smuggling. The most common items that people hid away in secret corners of their cars included washing powder, coffee, chocolate, margarine and bananas.
The legend of the stone girl
Once upon a time, a powerful but hard-hearted family lived in an old castle below Belščica. One year the family decided to organise a hunt for the local gentry to mark the Feast of St Michael. The local peasants and their dogs drove the wild animals from their lairs, while the hunters waited for them in the safe shelter of the forest. Below the rock on which the lord of the castle’s only daughter was standing, one of the hunted beasts pounced on a peasant and proceeded to tear him to pieces. Because the girl refused to come to his aid, she was turned to stone in punishment. She still stands there today, awaiting a rescuer.