KOBARID MUSEUM – A WAR MUSEUM (WW1), WITH A MESSAGE OF PEACE

If you are slightest interested in the history of the 20th century and you find yourself in Slovenia, there is no way you can miss visiting the Kobarid Museum.

Visited by Let’s go Slovenia in August 2020

One of the TOP historical attractions in Slovenia

The museum has been the central point of presentation of the heritage of the Isonzo Front (Soška Fronta) and the First World War in Slovenia.

***^{Kobarid museum is one of the most visited museums in Slovenia. It’s also one of the most recognizable historical museums in the world.}***

The museum received the Council of Europe Award for its work and mission.

History through stories

The rooms of the museum present visitors with photos documenting the horrors of the front, military charts, diaries and maps, and two large relief displays showing the front lines.

***Positions of the armies were also high in the mountains around Kobarid.***

“We do not emphasize the winners or losers,” says our museum curator/guide, who met us in the entrance foyer of the museum. He points with his hand towards the flags in the corner.
“There were far more nationalities involved in the WW1 than the big ones we usually hear about,” he adds.

On the wall we see gravestones from the military cemeteries from the area. One has a black and white photograph of a soldier, who never returned home.

“This museum is a lot about the personal stories of the soldiers and people, who were caught in the war,” the curator explains.

The Kobarid museum is mainly focusing on the 1915 – 1917 Soča Front (Isonzo front in Italian) – an important front between Italian and the Austro-Hungarian military.
One of the most famous battles was the Battle of Caporetto (1917). The battle was described by Ernest Hemingway in his novel “A Farewell to Arms” .

***On July 8, 1918, Ernest Hemingway, an 18-year-old ambulance driver for the American Red Cross, was struck by a mortar shell while serving on the Italian front, along the Piave delta.***

FACT: The Battle of Caporetto claimed around 200,000 Austro-Hungarian casualties and around 2 to 3 times as many Italian casualties. Today, a “Walk of Peace” has been created threading through the truly beautiful Slovenian landscape, linking past sites of the unimaginable horror.