Way of St James in the Postojna Region

The Way of St James, or Camino de Santiago, is a network of ancient pilgrimage routes that once led pilgrims from various parts of Europe to the shrine of St James in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The Slovenian Way of St. James consists of four branches. The best known, the Šentjakob Branch, begins in the east of Slovenia, in Slovenska vas on the border with Croatia and continues all the way to the western border in Trieste, Italy. The seventh and eighth stages of the Primorska section of the Šentjakob Branch pass through the Postojna region.

Stage 7: Logatec – Planina – Studeno (21.4 km)

This stage begins in Logatec and leads hikers across the Planina Polje towards Planina, home to the Church of St Margaret. During periods of autumn flooding, when the road to Laze is submerged, a detour is required, adding approximately one and a half hours to the journey. When you arrive in Planina, the trail continues on to Planinska Gora to the pilgrimage church of St Mary, and then through Lohača and Strmca to the village of Studeno.

Stage 8: Studeno – Podraga (31.3 km)

From Studeno, the Way of St James winds through Belsko and Bukovje to Predjama. Here, you can visit the famous Predjama Castle, which is closely linked to the legend of Erasmus of Predjama, the famous robber knight. The trail then continues to Šmihel pod Nanosom (Šmihel under Nanos) and onwards to the foothills of Mount Nanos, reaching the village of Strane. In front of the village Church of the Holy Cross you can see Slovenia’s thickest yew tree and, according to local tradition, also its oldest. Based on the circumference of its trunk, foresters estimate the tree to be between 500 and 600 years old. Local legend, however, claims it was planted as early as 350 AD. A tree more than 11 meters tall stands in front of the village church, and its circumference measures 385 centimetres. According to a legend circulating among the locals, Saints Cyril and Methodius are said to have even preached under this yew tree while traveling through the Balkans on their way to Rome.

From here, the Way of St James offers two routes. One climbs to the right along the slope of Nanos toward the Church of St Brice and on to the summit of Nanos. From there, the trail descends to the Church of St Jerome and further down to the Church of St Nicholas above Podnanos. The other route runs through Veliko Ubeljsko, via Rebrnice to Podraga in the Vipava Valley.