Radol’ca – winter sports galore

 Radovljica has a strong connection with sports. It is home to individuals who have set national and international records and won at some of the most prestigious competitions, both now and in the past. Despite the municipality not having any large winter sports centres, numerous winter sportspeople have made it their home; this is probably due to the location, which enables simple and fast access to the Pokljuka plateau, Kranjska Gora and Planica.

In the past, there were three small ski slopes in the municipality: in Kamna Gorica, Kropa and Begunje na Gorenjskem. Over the past few decades, the only one still in operation – and only when snow conditions permit – is in Kamna Gorica, where there is also a cross-country ski trail.

Every winter, skating enthusiasts can visit the covered ice skating rink in the Radovljica Sports Park, and, as mentioned previously, Radovljica is close to ski resorts in the Julian Alps.

The world-famous ski producer Elan is headquartered in the village of Begunje na Gorenjskem. Visitors can learn about the history of skis at the Elan Alpine Ski Museum.

Returning to sportspeople in the Radol’ca area, there have been a lot of Olympians and competitors at various world championships, the names and achievements of just a few of the most successful winter sportspeople from the municipality are listed below:

The first Slovenian to reach the magical 100-metre mark on skis in Planica in 1941 was Rudi Finžgar, who was born in Podnart. He later set a number of national records; his last record jump measured 117 metres, which he achieved in 1951 in Obersdorf. Der Rote Teufel aus Titoland (The Red Devil from Titoland), as Rudi Finžgar was known in Germany because of his red overalls, was not only an outstanding sportsperson, but also an astute businessman and organiser. During World War II, he organised the only winter sports competition in occupied Europe in Cerkno under extremely demanding conditions, and after the war he founded the world-famous Elan sports equipment factory in Begunje na Gorenjskem.

The famous musician Slavko Avsenik, from Begunje na Gorenjskem, was also a member of the national ski jumping team. His ski jumping career was cut short due to a serious fall on the ski jump hill in Klagenfurt. Despite this, Slavko remained a great ski jumping enthusiast throughout his life, which, is attested to by the popular Avsenik Brothers song Planica, Planica.

The first competitors from the Radol’ca area to take part in the winter Olympic games were Tine Mulej, otherwise known as Mulejev Tinček, from Begunje na  Gorenjskem, and Matevž Kordež from Kropa. At the first post-war Olympics held in St. Moritz in 1948, the Alpine skier Tine Mulej, the winner of numerous national championships, held a board showing the national inscription. He also took place in the Winter Olympic Games in Olso in 1952 and in 1956 in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Tine was known as a irrepressible skier, who was fearless. Older locals from Begunje na Gorenjskem still remember his neck-breaking escapades on the steep slopes of Mount Begunščica. Tine Mulej achieved his best result – 3rd place – competing on the famous Hahnenkamm (rooster’s comb) in Kitzbühel, Austria.

The cross-country skier Matevž Kordež took part in the team competition and 50 km cross-country course at the Olympic Games in St. Moritz. He took part in the 1952 Winter Olympic Games in Oslo together with his sister Angela Kordež, who was the first woman from Radovljica to take part in the Winter Olympic Games.

In addition to Kordež and Mulej, the all-round Alpine skier Franc Cvenkelj from Peračica, a member of the  Dr. France Prešeren Ski Sports Society, took part in the 1956 Winter Olympic Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo. He is mainly remembered in Begunje as an exceptional constructor at the Elan factory, as well as for being a tireless sports worker, mentor and organiser. Cvenkelj was the main initiator of construction of the Trim Trail in Krpin, a winner of a Bloudek Prize, and the carrier of the Olympic Flame in 1984.

The ski jumper Ivo Zupan, who now lives in Zapuže, took part in the Winter Olympic Games in 1976 in Innsbruck. He later worked as a ski coach at the Stol Žirovnica Ski Club, where, among others, he trained the future world champion Franci Petek. His son, Bine Zupan, was also a ski jumper and winner of the Ski Jumping Continental Cup in Bischofshofen in 2006.

In the 1970s, Barbar Pikon, a member of the Radovljica Ski Club and later a well-known ski instructor, was a two-time winner of the title National Ski Champion. His club colleague, Andreja Urh, was also a national champion and member of the Slovenian female ski team.

Between the years 1959 and 1975, members of the Begunje Sledding Club regularly won world championship titles. The Sankaška koča hut (from the word sankač meaning a sledder) above the village, near St. Peter’s Church, serves as a reminder of the tradition of sledding in Begunje.

The first medal won at the Winter Olympics for the former Yugoslavia and Slovenia at the Olympic Games in Sarajevo in 1984 was won by Jure Franko, who still lives in Radovljica. Following his unforgettable success, the legendary Sarajevo satirical group Top List nadrealista honoured him with the  famous slogan Volimo Jureka više od bureka (We love Jure(k) more than burek)).

On 10th February 1991, in Italian Predazzo, Franci Petek from Lesce wrote himself into ski jumping history as the first Slovenian World Champion. He was also the first Slovenian sportsperson to carry the Olympic flag for independent Slovenia at the Winter Olympic Games in Albertville in 1992. Franci Petek is the former director of the Slovenian Ski Association, and since 2020 he has managed the Planica Nordic Centre. In 2025, Franci Petek was accepted into the Slovenian Athletes Hall of Fame.

Tanjo Volčjak from Begunje is one of the first top Slovenian female ski jumpers, who were instrumental in women’s competitive ski jumping. In 1998, at the age of just 15, she became the first Slovenian woman to jump 100 metres.

Another sportsperson from Radovljica is the Alpine skier Matej Jovan, a permament member of the national ski team, who has taken part in numerous World Cup competitions. At the World Youth Championships in 1989 in Alaska, he won silver in the Combined and bronze in the Superveleslalom categories. Jovan is also a recognised musician, a member of the Košir Rap Team, otherwise known as the Pasji kartel band.

Andrej Zupan from Mošnje is one of the most successful Slovenian biathlon competitors. In 2003, he won the Biathlon World Championship title in in German Mittenwald.

Lesce is home to Jakov Fak, who is currently the leading Slovenian biathlete, world champion, winner of World Cup competitions and several Olymic medals. At the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver in 2010, he achieved third place in the sprint, making him the first athlete to win an Olympic medal for Croatia. The following season he became a member of the Slovenian Biathlon Federation. He represented Slovenia at the World Championships in Ruhpolding in 2012, where he won a silver medal in the Mixed Relay, and in 2018 he took second place, earning himself a silver medal, in the 20 km individual competition in Pyongyang – making it the jubilee twentieth Winter Olympic medal for Slovenia.

Radovljica is also home to Peter Prevc, one of the best ski jumpers of all time: the winner of the Giant Crystal Globe, a former ski jumping world champion, winner of the New Year tournament and several Olympic medals. In 2015, in Vikersund, Peter Prevc became the first person to achieve a distance of 250 metres. The current ski jumping world record of 254.5 metres is held by his younger brother, Domen Prevc.

Among the standout young sportspeople involved in winter sports are the skier Taja Prešeren and the ice hockey player Jan Goličič. In addition, numerous former and current members of Slovenia’s national ice hockey team live in Radovljica.

You are invited to take a walk through the Winter Town Gallery. Stroll all the way to St. Peter’s Church and the viewpoint above the Sava River. In this time of climate change, the open-air gallery draws attention to caring for the vulnerable environment and the desire that here in the Radovljica area, the tradition of winter sports and recreation is maintained for the future.

Photographs:

Meta Šolar (born in 1989) is an academic painter from Radovljica. The artist creates and exhibits throughout Slovenia and further afield and has received international awards for her work. She also runs art workshops and courses.