Idrija

**Idrija** (, ) is a small Slovenian town that is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Idrija (). It is known for its mercury mine and the production of lace.

The municipality of Idrija was established on 10 March 1994. In 2011, Idrija was given the Alpine Town of the Year award.

## Geography

The municipality of Idrija is in western Slovenia and is part of the Goriška statistical region. The town of Idrija is at an altitude of ,

The municipality has an area , and a population, in 2017, of 11,800: 5,920 men and 5,880 women. Its population density is of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>.

The municipality of Idrija is surrounded by the following municipalities: Cerkno to the north, Žiri to the northeast, Logatec to the east and southeast, Ajdovščina to the south and soutwest, Nova Gorica (a short border) to the west and Tolmin to the northwest.

The main river in the municipality is the Idrijca river, that flows through the town of Idrija; the river gives its name to the main town of the municipality, Idrija.

The area has a moderately continental climate; the average rainfall is . The least precipitation is in February and July, and the highest is in November.

## History

In 1497, deposits of mercury were discovered in Idrija. This is one of the only places in the world where one can find mercury in both its liquid form and like cinnabar (mercuric sulfide). It was only in the 1980s that the mine was closed.

From 1783 to 1918 the region of Idrija was part of Austria-Hungary. After World War II, it was annexed to Italy. Under Italian rule (1918–1943), the area that is now the Municipality of Idrija was a _comune_ of the Province of Gorizia (as _Idria_).

The town is since June 2012 listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija) because of its former mercury mines.

## Settlements

There are 38 settlements () in the municipality; the main settlement is **Idrija**, which is the administrative centre of the municipality and is in a valley around the Idrijca river.

|Code|Settlement|Population <small>(2017)</small>|
| --- | --- | --- |
|036001|Čekovnik|128|
|036002|Črni Vrh|683|
|036003|Dole|135|
|036004|Godovič|729|
|036005|Gore|113|
|036006|Gorenja Kanomlja|132|
|036007|Gorenji Vrsnik|125|
|036008|Govejk|82|
|036009|Idrija|5860|
|036010|Idrijska Bela|74|
|036011|Idrijske Krnice|141|
|036012|Idrijski Log|87|
|036013|Idršek|37|
|036014|Javornik|1|
|036015|Jelični Vrh|117|
|036016|Kanji Dol|12|
|036017|Korita|25|
|036018|Ledine|90|
|036019|Ledinske Krnice|69|

|Code|Settlement|Population <small>(2017)</small>|
| --- | --- | --- |
|036020|Lome|107|
|036021|Masore|61|
|036022|Mrzli Log|24|
|036023|Mrzli Vrh|49|
|036024|Pečnik|36|
|036025|Potok|27|
|036026|Predgriže|151|
|036027|Spodnja Idrija|1434|
|036028|Spodnja Kanomlja|261|
|036029|Spodnji Vrsnik|47|
|036030|Srednja Kanomlja|158|
|036031|Strmec|21|
|036032|Vojsko|235|
|036033|Zadlog|282|
|036034|Zavratec|133|
|036035|Žirovnica|24|
|036036|Rejcov Grič|14|
|036037|Razpotje|69|
|036038|Ledinsko Razpotje|27|

## Tourism

Some tourist places in and around Idrija are:
- **Mercury mine**. The mine entrance known as Anthony's Shaft () is used today for tours of the upper levels; the lower levels are closed.
- **Gewerkenegg Castle**. It was used by the administration of the mercury mine during 400 years.
- **Wild Lake** (). It is a lake near Idrija. The lake is the source of the _Jezernica_ river, a tributary of the Idrijca and, at  long, the shortest river in Slovenia.

## Sister cities

Idrija is twinned with:

- Aumetz
- Lepoglava

- Almaden
- Mojkovac

- San Luis Potosí
- Minamata

## Related pages

- Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija
- Slovenian Littoral
- Goriška Statistical Region

## Other websites

- Official website of the municipality
- Municipality of Idrija on Geopedia.si

## Infobox (settlement)

- **official name**: Idrija
- **settlement type**: Municipality
- **image skyline**: Idrija.jpg
- **image caption**: View of the town of Idrija
- **image map**: Obcine Slovenija 2006 Idrija.svg
- **map caption**: Map showing, in red, Idrija
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision type1**: Traditional regional
- **subdivision name1**: Slovenian Littoral, Littoral
- **subdivision type2**: Statistical regions of Slovenia, Statistical region
- **subdivision name2**: Goriška Statistical Region, Goriška
- **leader title**: Mayor
- **leader name**: Bojan Sever
- **area total km2**: 293.7
- **population as of**: 2017
- **population total**: 11800
- **population density km2**: auto
- **timezone**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset**: +1
- **timezone dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset dst**: +2
- **elevation m**: 340
- **postal code type**: Postal code
- **postal code**: 5280
- **blank name**: ISO 3166-2
- **blank info**: SI-036
- **website**: [http://www.idrija.si/ Official website]