The town of Idrija lies in the Idrija Basin, surrounded by the Idrija Hills. It is traversed by the Idrijca River, which is joined there by Nikova Creek. It includes the neighborhoods of Brusovše, Cegovnica, Prenjuta, and Žabja Vas close to the town center, as well as the more outlying hamlets of Češnjice, Ljubevč, Marof, Mokraška Vas, Podroteja, Staje, and Zahoda. The Marof hydroelectric plant is located on the Idrijca River on the northern outskirts of Idrija, between Marof and Mokraška Vas. Springs in the area include Podroteja Spring[5] and Wild Lake on the Idrijca River south of the town.
History
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Mercury was discovered in Idrija (known as Idria under Austrian rule) in the late 15th century (various sources cite 1490,[6][7][8] 1492,[9][10] and 1497[6][8]). To support the mining activities, Gewerkenegg Castle was constructed between 1522 and 1533 by the mine owners.[11] Mining operations were taken over by the government in 1580.[12] The mineral idrialite, discovered here in 1832, is named after the town.
According to legend, a bucket maker working in a local spring spotted a small amount of liquid mercury over 500 years ago. Idrija is one of the few places in the world where mercury occurs in both its elemental liquid state and as cinnabar (mercury sulfide) ore. The subterranean shaft mine entrance known as Anthony's Shaft (Antonijev rov) is used today for tours of the upper levels, complete with life-sized depictions of workers over the ages. The lower levels, which extend to almost 400 meters below the surface and are no longer being actively mined, are currently being cleaned up.
Damir Feigel (1879–1959), writer, journalist, cultural worker, satirist, humorist, father of Slovenian science fiction, national awakener and anti-fascism fighter
Heinrich Freyer (1802–1866), Slovenian botanist, cartographer, pharmacist and natural scientist
^"Podroteja I – Idrijca". Hidrološki podatki. Agencija Republike Slovenije za okolje. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
^ abArko, Mihael. 1931. Zgodovina Idrije: po raznih arhivalnih in drugih virih. Ljubljana: Katoliška knjigarna, p. 1.
^Savnik, Roman, ed. 1968. Krajevni leksikon Slovenije, vol. 1. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, p. 70.
^ abKmecl, Matjaž. 1981. Treasures of Slovenia. Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba, p. 262.
^Budkovič, Tomaž, Robert Šajn, & Mateja Gosar. 2003. "Vpliv delujočih in opuščenih rudnikov kovin in topilniških obratov na okolje v Sloveniji ." Geologija 46(1): 135–140, p. 136.
^Svetličič, Marjan, & Matija Rojec. 2000. "Kolektor." In Saul Estrin et al. (eds.), Foreign Direct Investment in Central Eastern Europe, pp. 3–28. New York: M. E. Sharpe, p. 3.
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