Begunje na Gorenjskem

Few villages have given world culture as much as Begunje. Here the brothers Slavko and Vilko Avsenik were born — with an accordion and a quintet they created Slovenian folk-pop, the “Oberkrainer” sound that conquered the Alpine world from Slovenia to Switzerland. Their tune “Na Golici” (Trumpet Echoes) is considered the most frequently played instrumental melody in the world, performed millions of times from Munich beer halls to Japanese radio. At the family’s Pri Jožovcu inn and the Avsenik Museum, the polka lives on — on weekends quite literally.

Begunje is also the cradle of a Slovenian skiing miracle: in 1945 the Elan factory rose here, whose skis carried Ingemar Stenmark to record victories and took the village’s name to every ski slope on earth.

Yet the village carries a darker memory too: Katzenstein Manor served as a Gestapo prison in the Second World War, with more than 11,000 prisoners passing through it. The Hostage Museum and the memorial park with two pavilions by architect Jože Plečnik preserve their memory — Begunje’s story of joy and suffering is Slovenia’s whole story in miniature.