SVN - Venkovní muzeum na hřebenu Kolovrat

The open-air museum is located on the Kolovrat ridge with an exceptionally favourable position for a good view.
The Kolovrat Ridge divides the area between the upper Soca River in Slovenia and the Veneto and Friaul regions in Italy.


Currently, there is an open-air museum on the Kolovrat ridge. The site offers a magnificent panoramic view of the former battlefield stretching from the Krn Mountains to Svete Gora and the Friulian Plain. There are command and observation posts, machine gun nests, caves and a network of trenches and interconnected galleries on several levels. The structuring of the third Italian line of defence is dense on both sides of the national border. Original building materials (wire netting for slope fortification, corrugated iron, slate, etc.) from the First World War were used to recreate these positions.


Access:
From Kobarid via Idrsko, towards Livek and from there via Livske Ravne.
From Italy via the saddle Solarij.


Coordinates:
N 46° 11.155 E 13° 39.632


Website:
http://www.potmiru.si/eng/
It lies on the long-distance route of the Way of Peace, which is a route through military museums and cemeteries from Log pod Mangartom to the sea after Sistiano.


History:
During the First World War, the Italian army built an extensive system of a third line of defence here, the so-called "linea d'armata", part of which is now arranged as an open-air museum.


Before the First World War, the border between Austria-Hungary and Italy stretched along the ridge's crest. On the first day of the war, Italian troops crossed the border ridge and began to fortify the area. The Italian army gradually built an extensive line of defence system, which was called the "Linea d'armata". Numerous machine gun nests and observation posts were on the ridge, from where there was an excellent view of the battlefield at the Soca River (Isonzo in Italian), the Krna Mountains and the Tolmin bridgehead on the Banjska Plateau. From these high positions the Italian gunners were able to shell the Austro-Hungarian first line of defence, the supply route between Tolmin and Baska Grapa and other targets in the Austro-Hungarian rear. The entire ridge was also interspersed with fortified trenches. Through the saddle between the peaks Na Grad (1115 m) and Trinški Vrh (1139 m) ran an important supply route connecting the rear positions with the bridgehead of Tolmin or with the first and second line of Italian positions.
The position on Kolovrat Ridge was one of the key points of the Italian defence during the 12th Battle of Isonzo. An order of the Austro-Hungarian army promised a high decoration, "Pour le Mérite", to the officer who would capture this place. It was awarded to Lieutenant Schörner, who, with his troops from the German Alpine Corps, had captured the Na Grad position on the evening of the first day of the attack, 24 October 1917. Its capture opened the way for the German troops to advance further over the Kolovrat ridge in the area of Matajur Peak and on into the Friulian Plain. Lieutenant Erwin Rommel also took part in the fighting in the Kolovrat area, as battalion commander of the Württemberg Mountain Battalion. On the third day of the 12th Battle of Isonzo, his troops captured the Matajur peak.