Franja Partisan Hospital

Cerkno is a small nondescript village in the Cerknica river valley in western Slovenia (the remote Pasica valley) with an important historical attraction. About 5 km northwest of the town is the former partisan hospital Franja. Despite several attempts by the Nazis in World War II to find the hospital, this was never successful - a visit will reveal the reason for this.

The hospital complex
The partisan hospital hidden near Dolnica Novaki is a national monument to humanity, inspiration, sacrifice and courage during the internal struggle against the Germans. the second World War. It was populated by Slovenian partisans from December 1943 until the end of the war as part of a widespread resistance movement against the Nazi occupiers and their allies. The construction of the complex was carried out by local partisans and contained at most about fourteen barracks and several outbuildings, some of which were built above a flowing stream in the narrow valley. Already during the war, the hospital was named after the Partisan doctor "Franja Bojc Bidovec" who was also in charge of it for the longest time.

It was striking that in addition to wounded partisans and Allies, Italian and Austrian soldiers, for example, were also cared for here. In total, some 578 seriously injured patients were treated here and another 300 more lightly injured patients in the outer wards.

Security
The entrance to the hospital was hidden in the forest and the hospital could only be reached by bridges and along narrow paths along a deep ravine. These bridges could be removed when the enemy came close. To ensure safety and keep the hospital secret, patients transported to and from the hospital were blindfolded.

At the beginning and at the end of the valley (gorge) several watchtower bunkers had been built, almost inconspicuously between the rocks. In addition, minefields had been laid around the site and machine gun nests had been built and were constantly manned. The narrow gorge in which the hospital was built and covered by trees and camouflaged buildings made it unrecognizable from the air.
Despite several attempts by the Nazis to find the hospital, it went unnoticed.

Museum visit
In 1963 the hospital barracks near Cerkno were opened as a museum. In 2007 it was ravaged by a flood and was extensively damaged by heavy rain and flooding. The entire camp has been renovated since then, open to the public again and the only original barracks is number 9.

For current visiting hours, please contact the museum.

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Source

• Text: Cheapskatetravel.nl
• Photos: Danny Morees