The 100th anniversary of the rail line between the northern Slovenian town of Jesenice and the western town of Nova Gorica, the last section of a line running from the Czech Republic to northern Italy, is to be celebrated with a ceremony in Nova Gorica on Saturday.
The ceremony in front of the Nova Gorica train station will include a varied arts programme, while members of the Slovenian government and invited guests are scheduled to arrive to Nova Gorica on an old train (although that has been thrown in doubt by a bush fire hazard in the region). Prime Minister Janez Janša is to be the keynote speaker at the ceremony.
According to head of the organising committee for the celebrations Gorazd Hartner, special events on the anniversary are to be held in other towns along the line, including Jesenice, Bled, Bohinjska Bistrica, Most na Soči and Kanal.
The line was opened on 19 June 1906 - in the presence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand - as a lifeline linking the north and west parts of Slovenian territories and a key section of the 717 km Prague-Trieste route.
One of the most difficult sections of the line was a tunnel dug through the mountains around the lakeside resort of Bohinjsko Lake. As a result of the demanding tunnel work and the need for many bridges, the line took years to build.
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