France Stele first met ethnologist Tone Cevc (1932-2007) in 1979, when Cevc invited him to work as a photographer on the project entitled Architectural Traditions of Shepherds, Woodcutters and Charcoal Makers in Slovenia. They first visited the alpine pastures of Bohinj in the summer of 1980, and continued in the autumn in the alpine pastures of Zilje and Ukve/Ugovizza. The photographs from the Ukve/Ugovizza alpine pastures, which are on display, were taken during the research on temporary dwellings in 1980 and 1981.
The alpine pastures of the farmers from Ukve (Italian: Ugovizza, German: Uggowitz, Frisian: Ugovize) lie north of the village, on the slopes of the Carnic Alps. In the past, whole families moved to the alpine pastures with their livestock during the summer to mow the meadows and prepare fodder for the winter. In the alpine pastures, the landowners from Ukve had their own cabin, some of them even two, a lower and an upper one, with a sleeping room, a cheese storage room and a cabin, a central room with a fireplace and a cheese-making cauldron. Next to the cabin, there was a stable, a wooden hut, with a place below for the cattle and above for the hay.
When the photographs were taken in the early 1980s, a quarter of the households in Ukve still had livestock, and about twenty families moved to the mountain with their livestock during the summer, while individuals stayed on the mountain over the winter. Some owners turned the huts into summer or holiday homes, either for their own use or to rent out to tourists. Only a few buildings were sold.
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The exhibition was created in cooperation with the Slovenian Cultural Centre Planika Kanalska dolina, the Institute of Slovenian Ethnology and the Fran Ramovš Institute of the Slovenian Language at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The exhibition in Info Centre Dom Trenta was prepared with the support of the Triglav National Park Public Institution.
Text taken from the exhibition catalogue.
On display every day between 10 am – 6 pm until the end of October.
