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Popular festival · Goriška
In Cerkno, in the hills of western Slovenia, the laufarji—figures wearing carved wooden masks—parade through town at Carnival and stage the trial and execution of the Pust, the moss-covered figure who carries the year’s misfortunes.
In the photo: Goriška
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
Click a photo to enlarge it.
Laufarija of Cerkno — Goriška
On the Sunday and Tuesday of Carnival, which fall between early February and early March according to the Easter calendar; the laufarji begin to appear in the streets on the preceding Sundays.
February/March
Goriška
Dates change every year: check this year's date before you travel.
The festival
Laufarija is the Carnival of Cerkno, a small town high in the Cerknica valley, between Idrija and the Soča valley. The name comes from the German laufen, to run, and refers to the laufarji, participants who run through the streets wearing wooden masks and costumes made of leaves, straw, moss or fabric.
Each laufar represents a fixed character, usually with a hand-carved wooden mask, and the ensemble includes around two dozen figures: the Pust, covered in moss, who personifies winter and the year’s calamities; and various other rural-life types. The mask groups are maintained by the local association, which preserves the figures and passes them down through generations.
On the Sundays before Carnival the laufarji appear gradually, with a new character joining each week. On Carnival Sunday the entire group parades through the streets and reads the accusation against the Pust. On Carnival Tuesday, after a search for a wooden hammer, the Pust is tried before the public and symbolically executed, and with him the winter departs.
Laufarija is listed on Slovenia’s national register of intangible heritage and has been declared a living masterpiece of national importance. It is one of the country’s most traditional Carnival festivals and attracts visitors from other regions and abroad.
It’s worth the trip for anyone seeking a Carnival with rural roots, carved wooden masks and its own theatrical storyline, set among hills and small villages. Cerkno is close to Idrija and can be combined with a visit to the mine and historic center of the neighboring town.
The parade of all the laufarji on Carnival Sunday and the reading of the accusation against the Pust. The trial and symbolic execution of the Pust on Carnival Tuesday. The carved wooden masks, each representing a different character. The Cerkno museum, which tells the story of Laufarija and its figures.
Choose either Carnival Sunday or Carnival Tuesday, the two main days. Cerkno’s center is small and the laufarji route runs along the main streets, which get crowded; arrive early. It is late winter in the hills: bring warm clothing and shoes suitable for wet or snowy ground. By car, Cerkno is about a half hour from Idrija; there are also buses from Idrija and from Ljubljana.
At stalls and bakeries you’ll find krofi, the fried-dough filled treats typical of Carnival days. In the Cerkno region, also try local dishes such as cured meats and mountain cheeses.
Check the year’s program with Cerkno tourism, because the dates depend on the Easter calendar. The town has limited accommodation: book in advance or stay in Idrija or Most na Soči.
February/March
February/MarchOn the days before Lent, in February or March depending on the date of Easter, ending on Shrove Tuesday. The duration varies according to the program.
Slovenia’s largest carnival takes over Ptuj’s old town: the kurenti, figures dressed in sheepskins with horned or feathered masks and large bells at the waist, parade alongside other traditional regional characters to drive away winter.
MarchIn March, from Thursday to Sunday, at the event that closes the Ski Jumping World Cup season.
Every March, the Planica valley, near Kranjska Gora, hosts the final stage of the Ski Jumping World Cup, held on the Gorišek Brothers’ flying hill, one of the largest in the world.
Your questions
On Carnival Sunday and Tuesday, which change dates each year with the Easter calendar. The laufarji begin to appear in the streets on the preceding Sundays.
He is the moss-covered figure who personifies winter and the year’s misfortunes. On Carnival Tuesday he is tried before the public and symbolically executed.
In western Slovenia, in the hills between Idrija and the Soča valley, about a half hour by car from Idrija.
Festivals and events in Slovenia
AprilOn a weekend in April, usually after Easter and before the May 1 public holiday.
For a weekend in April, the old town of Radovljica, near Bled, turns into a large chocolate showcase, with producers from across the country, tastings, workshops and demonstrations at Linhartov trg square and the town manor.
May/JuneFor about two weeks, from late May to early June, during the flowering season of Bohinj’s meadows.
In late spring, Bohinj, in the heart of Triglav National Park, devotes two weeks to the flowers of the Julian Alps, with guided botanical walks, exhibitions, workshops, and restaurant menus featuring wild plants from the valley.
JuneOn the third weekend of June, from Friday to Sunday.
On the third weekend of June, Idrija, the former mining town in western Slovenia, celebrates bobbin lace with exhibitions, fashion shows, workshops and the national contest for young lacemakers in the main square.
June/JulyFor a few days in June or July; dates vary each year.
Founded in 1960, the Ljubljana Jazz Festival is the oldest continuously running jazz festival in Europe: for a few days at the start of summer it brings together Slovenian and international musicians at Cankarjev dom and at the Križanke outdoor theatre.
June/July/August/SeptemberDuring the summer, from June or July until the beginning of September.
Created in 1953, the Ljubljana Festival fills the capital’s summer with opera, ballet, symphony concerts, theater and folk music, in the Križanke courtyard, the former monastery remodeled by Jože Plečnik, and at Kongresni trg square.
June/JulyFor about nine days, beginning in late June and ending in early July.
At the start of summer, the Lent neighborhood, the old bank of the Drava in Maribor, and the central squares host Slovenia’s largest outdoor festival, with concerts on downtown stages, folklore, street theatre, and children’s programming.