Goče, the Oldest Slovenian Wine Village

Route Description

We recently read an article written by the Slovene journalist Karolina Vrtačnik about the village of Goče. Our family was so intrigued by the praise, we decided to visit this location immediately. 

Only about two hundred souls still live in the village, but it is as picturesque and mysterious as it was a hundred or almost a thousand years ago. Hidden at the crossroads between the valleys of Kras and Vipava, it is even more beautiful than the Tuscan hills. The surrounding vineyards are home to the famous sweet Picolite wine grape. And on the only tourist farm, Cejkot’s Homestead (Cejkotova domačija), the tables are laden with remarkable delicacies that were mentioned by the New York Times. The village of Goče hides all of the above. What are you waiting for, come round and see it for yourself! 

The village church is very special and many houses cling to it because the people wanted to be as close as possible to the building. Once upon a time, men had to serve in the army for seven long years, however, those under ecclesiastical authority were exempted from their days of military service. The church standing there now is actually the third such building. First, there was a chapel that was later turned into a church which was burned down by the Turks during the incursion. The present-day façade is adorned with stone statues from the previous church, which are centuries old. There are also four entrances leading to the churchyard, each marked by two pillars. The markings on them still stir the imagination of locals and visitors. Some see the Star of David on them and others Freemasonry signs. But whoever enters the church is amazed at the sight of the hundred-year-old scenery of God's tomb and the altar which consists of more than twenty kinds of marble and used to cost as much as 120 oxen! Even Rome has no such beauty. It probably does not even have the so-called altar signs, which are the only ones in Slovenia: carved into the walls are the stone images of the Way of the Cross, dating back to 1693.

Taken from the excellent article written by the Slovene journalist Karolina Vrtačnik.)