100th anniversary
100th anniversary of the signing of the lease agreement to establish the Alpine Conservation Park, the predecessor of Triglav National Park.
The early initiatives aimed at protecting natural landmarks, launched in the second half of the 19th century, were a spontaneous response to the increasing threats to the environment posed by human activities after the Industrial Revolution. The first efforts to protect part of the Julian Alps, dating back to 1906, stemmed from the ideas of seismologist and naturalist Albin Belar.
On 4 April 1924, on the initiative of the Nature Conservation and Natural Monuments Protection Department operating within the Museum Society of Slovenia, the Ministry of Forests and Mines in the Belgrade-based government of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, approved the designation and protection of an area of approximately 1,400 hectares in the Triglav Lakes Valley. At the time, the estates of the Carniolan Religious Fund were under state administration, and this made it possible for the area’s managing authority, i.e. the Forest Directorate in Ljubljana, and the two park initiators, namely the Museum Society of Slovenia and the Slovenian Mountaineering Society, to conclude a lease agreement.
Following the signing of the agreement, the Alpine Conservation Park was established on 1 July 1924. This milestone marks the first legal protection regime aimed at preserving nature to be established in Slovenia.
The lease term was 20 years, until 1 July 1944. The annual lease fee was set, park boundaries were marked, and a list of cadastral parcels making up the park was compiled. The designation was temporary since the laws at the time did not allow grazing areas to be permanently removed from commercial use.
The Alpine Conservation Park covered 1,400 hectares, while today's Triglav National Park spans almost 84,000 hectares, or four percent of Slovenian territory.
History of Triglav National Park - map
The centennial celebrations will be held under the slogan "Protection is Existing". The slogan serves as a reminder that the only way to ensure existence of natural (and cultural) assets and their preservation for future generations is through conservation. Today, as ever before, it is important to maintain the balance between conservation, protection and tradition, progress and development, locals and visitors.
President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr. Nataša Pirc Musar, will act as the honorary patron of the centennial celebration.