Kovaški muzej Lokovec

Small museum of blacksmithing in the parish house in Lokovec on the Banjška planota; visits and a smithing demonstration by prior arrangement.

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About the museum

Lokovec lies on the eastern edge of the Banjška planota and is considered one of the longest Slovenian villages. Over the centuries, blacksmithing, as an old craft, brought the necessary income here. Its beginnings are linked with nail-making, which is said to have come to these parts from Kropa via Gorenja Trebuša and Vojsko; according to Pregelj's work Tolminci, this trade had already been developed in Lokovec 300 years ago.

The Kovaška zadruga (Blacksmiths' Cooperative) was founded on 25 August 1912 on the initiative of the parish curate Janez Klanjšček. The Lokovec smiths became famous especially for forging cutting tools, such as fauči, knives, axes and above all drill bits. After the Second World War, on 9 October 1946, the local people's committee founded the Kovaško podjetje, and after the arrival of the engineer Milko Bremec in 1951 Lokovec blacksmithing experienced its greatest flourishing.

The Kovaški muzej preserves part of these memories in the cellar of the parish house in the middle of the village. Visitors enter the museum together with a smith, who presents the traditional way of forging in the forge; visitors can also try forging themselves. The association also runs the Center tehniške dediščine with the exhibition “Sto meštirjev in ena sama mizerija” (A Hundred Trades and One Poverty) and a gallery with occasional exhibitions.

Highlights

Museum of blacksmithing in the cellar of the parish house
Demonstration of traditional forging by a smith
Opportunity to try forging yourself
Center tehniške dediščine with the exhibition “Sto meštirjev in ena sama mizerija”