Franja Partisan Hospital

During the Second World War (1941–1945) the Slovenian resistance created a network of roughly 120 clandestine hospitals to shield the wounded from occupying forces. The best‑known is Franja Partisan Hospital, hidden in the narrow Pasica Gorge near Cerkno.In a cluster of wooden huts, ingeniously camouflaged in a steep forested canyon, doctors and volunteers treated more than a thousand partisans, civilians, and even captured enemy soldiers from autumn 1943 until the war’s end. Total secrecy, a loyal local supply network, and strict adherence to humanitarian principles ensured its survival.The restored site—complete with footbridge, original wards, and museum displays—bears witness to the extraordinary organisation of partisan medicine and to the courage of medical staff and villagers who risked everything to defend life and dignity.