The first improvised lookout tower, 3 m high, was built by a group of
Vrhnika enthusiasts on Planina nad Vrhniko before 1934, followed by the erection of a
16 m lookout tower, which was solemnly opened on 23 September 1934 on the initiative of the then Vrhnika Beautification Society
and destroyed during World War II; the current 21 m tower was opened by the Vrhnika Tourist Association on 22 May 1955.
For many of the numerous hikers and 18,000 annual visitors to Planina who climb the tower, the effort is rewarded with a true feast of views of the Julian Alps, the Karawanks, the Grintovec range, the Zasavje hills,
all the way to the Primorska giant Snežnik, and apart from Krim, Planina also offers one of the most beautiful views of the Ljubljana Marsh.
The lookout tower, the pride of the people of Vrhnika,
has withstood weather conditions for 52 years, we mountaineers regularly maintain it, but
this cannot go on indefinitely, the tooth of time is diligently gnawing at it.
Thus, on the initiative of the Vrhnika Mountaineering Club, a construction committee was established for the replacement construction of the tower on Planina nad Vrhniko, which from the very beginning was supported by the Blagajana Tourist Association, Vrhnika, and the Municipality of Vrhnika. We did not hesitate at all about what the tower should be like; in a survey, the locals also supported us that the summit of Planina should continue to be adorned by a wooden tower.
With joint efforts and substantial help from the Municipality of Vrhnika, we obtained the building permit in autumn 2006, and shortly before that we began collecting funds for the new tower. Today we accept cash payments at the Zavetišče on Planina,
the seat of the Mountaineering Club, to the club’s transaction account, and at the
Tourist Information Centre in Vrhnika. We sent over 600 letters to potential sponsors and donors, and the results are already visible.
How right the decision was to start the fundraising campaign for the construction of a replacement tower on Planina is confirmed by the lovers of Planina and mountaineers who have so far paid in almost 24,945.01 EUR (5,977,788.29 SIT). We are pleased with individual payments,
this time, however, we would like to highlight our mountaineering ranks, as the Inter-Club Committee of Mountaineering Clubs of Notranjska paid 834.59 EUR (200,000.00 SIT), the Youth Section of the Vrhnika Mountaineering Club
1,000.00 EUR (239,640.00 SIT), and at the general assembly of the Vrhnika Mountaineering Club, its members decided to contribute 4,172.93 EUR (1,000,000.00
SIT) from their own funds. Neighbouring
mountaineering clubs are also contacting us and supporting our decision with their contributions.
Donors have delighted us with 17,850.78
EUR (4,277,761.15 SIT), we have concluded contracts with sponsors in the amount of 43,751.29
EUR (10,484,631.08 SIT), thus covering already 90.30 % of the investment worth at least 100,000.00 EUR (23,964,000.00 SIT).
If any reader decides to support us in our campaign, they can transfer funds as follows:
Purpose of payment: FOR THE NEW TOWER
Account number: 02027-0011453281
Reference: 00
733
Name:
PLANINSKO DRUŠTVO VRHNIKA
Street:
TRŽAŠKA 11
Place: VRHNIKA
We have already selected the contractor for the tower construction and are about to conclude a contract with them
so that they can prepare the oak timber in time, and as Željko Kozinc wrote: »The king above Betajnova will stand« and this
no later than the end of spring 2008, on the occasion of the Municipality of Vrhnika holiday.
Construction Committee of the Vrhnika Mountaineering Club
for the construction of the replacement tower on Planina nad Vrhniko.
Milan Jerman
Photos: Mirko Malneršič
