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THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST. ANTHONY
In the upper part of the valley of Podvolovljek, approximately 9 kilometres further from Luče, there is the parish church of St. Anthony the Eremite, first mentioned in 1631. The nave has a bell tower and a four-cornered presbytery. In recent years, the church has been thoroughly renovated. In 1992 the church exterior was given a new image. A year later the church roof was covered with larch shingles. In 1994 the church got an automatic bell-ringing system. The church bell now rings in the morning, at noon and in the evening. In 1995 the church interior was renovated. The walls were repainted, the paintings were revived, and the Stations of the Cross were restored.
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THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST. LAWRENCE
The parish church of St. Lawrence was first mentioned in 1426. However, the present church is from the 17th century and the presbytery from the 18th century. A bell tower was added to the nave in about 1600. But it was in the 80s of the 17th century when the church got its present image. Between 1690 and 1734 two side chapels were added to the building. The old Stations of the Cross were built in 1733 outside the church, but were moved inside the church in 1786. The high altar is a quality baroque work from the middle of the 18th century. The bell tower was raised by a storey in 1828. The rest of the church equipment was bought in about 1840. The church was painted in 1897 by Fantoni Jr. The church bells were removed during I. and II. World War. The first-class Grassmayer bells were bought in the 1980s and a new church organ in 1982. The latter, along with 2 manuals and 19 organ stops, was the work of Anton Jenko. The right side altar burnt down in 1990 and was then restored. The old priest's house has a remarkable and richly profiled ceiling from the year 1784.
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THE CHAPEL ON THE MOLIČKA PEČ
It was here that Savinjska podružnica SPD, a regional branch of the Slovene Alpine Association, solemnly opened the Slovene Alpine hut on 16 August 1894. Money had been raised by voluntary contributions. The hut was named the Kocbek's hut on the Molička planina alp and was opened only a month after Orožen's hut on the Črna prst, known as the first mountain hut in Slovenia. It took Savinjska podružnica SPD another three years to build the chapel of St. Cyril and Method. Unfortunately, the both buildings were not properly looked after in the years to come. The Alpine hut on the alp Molička planina fell into ruins and the chapel was destroyed by a mysterious earth slide. It was only due to voluntary work and unselfishness of the local people that the chapel was rebuilt in 1989. At 1780 metres above sea level, it was the highest situated chapel in Slovenia at that time. Nowadays, the Molička peč is a popular destination for mountaineers. Occasionally, a mass takes place here in the summer months.
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THE CHAPEL ON THE LOKA
A new chapel of the Holy Cross was consecrated on the Loka on 8 September 1991. This chapel was the last piece of work of the Slovene architect Jože Kregar. In summer, a mass occasionally takes place here.
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THE CHAPEL ON THE ŠPEHOV VRH
If you follow the road from Luče to Ljubno, then after about 2 kilometres you will come across a bridge with the local name of Rogački most on your right. Cross that bridge and the road will take you along the Rogačnik stream all the way to the Špeh farm, one of the highest lying farms in Slovenia. Already affected by the ravages of time, this farm only comes to life during summer when people come to pasture their cattle here. The farm was renovated in 1940, but after the II World War the hope of being able to survive in such a remote wilderness soon shattered. In 1988 a nice wooden chapel was built here on the Špehov vrh under Mt. Rogatec. It was consecrated to Mary, the Queen of Peace. At the altitude of 1214 metres above sea level it is accessible from Luče as well as Gornji grad. In summer months a mass occasionally takes place here.
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THE ŽAGERSKI MLIN MILL
The Žagerski mlin mill is the only still working water drive mill in the upper part of the Upper Savinja valley. Before the II. World War there were more than twenty such mills in Luče and the surroundings only. Due to electrification and tecnical advance these mills were no longer economically justified, and they fell in ruins. The political system of the time is also to blame for this, for it presented the mills and similar buildings as unnecessary lumber. As years went on, this manner of thinking was passed on to the people, so whatever was not destroyed by time and the government, the owners themselves did. The Žagerski mlin mill was mentioned in the land register already in the reign of Maria Theresa, and is thus at least 250 years old. It burnt down in the previous century. It was accidentally set on fire by an older member of the owner's family while trying to light his pipe with a flint. A spark fell on the thatch and the dry straw quickly caught fire. In those times a mill was a necessity as well as sort of a symbol of social position for a farmer, so the owner soon rebuilt it. After the II. World War the communist government shut the mill down. But the owner, Žagerski Joža, made a secret entrance into the mill, so he could secretly grind at night. After some time a rumour started to spread among the local people that the old Žagerski mlin mill is haunted. This gossip came in very handy to the owner, because the people avoided coming anywhere near the mill at night. Later, the prohibition of grinding lost its original purpose as the excisemen realised that grinding could never bring wealthiness to the mill owner. Žagerski Joža kept on grinding up to the middle of the 1980s when both, the mill and himself grew old and weary. The mil was finally destroyed by the flood in 1990. It was again rebuilt in 1996 by Jože Kaker from the village of Luče. It functions in the same way as it did centuries ago. Water drives the mill wheel that turns two black stones with the help of wooden cogwheels. A small problem and at the same time an interesting detail of the mill is that it does not turn regularly due to the oscillation of the water level. Every two minutes the amount of water reduces or increases which causes a change in the turn velocity. This change only occurs occasionally. The mill works almost throughout the whole year with the exception of very long dry spells and extremely cold winter periods when ice covers the mill stone and the millruns.
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THE HOME OF BLAŽ ARNIČ
Like Prežihov Voranc in literature, the composer Blaž Arnič proudly bears the name of a self-made artist in the field of music. Blež Arnič was born on 31 January 1901 on the Zaleznik homestead above the village of Luče, high on the slopes of Mt. Raduha. As a simple country boy and musician he lived in his home village till the age of 20, when he set off to Ljubljana in order to study music. He dedicated the following two decades of his life to the aim of bringing his artistic skills and knowledge to perfection. At the same time, he also had to work to survive. Later he continued his education in Vienna, Warsaw, Krakow, Paris and Italy. During the war he openly disagreed with the policy of the Germans, which is why he was interned to the concentration camp of Dachau. He survived, but he came back with the first signs of a serious illness that later caused him to go blind on one eye. After the liberation he was appointed a professor of composition on the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. He died in a car accident on 1 February 1970, at the peak of his creativeness. As one of the most distinctive Slovene symphonic composers of the twentieth century, Blaž Arnič created his own artistic way of expression one could call neoromantic realism. His opus consists of 79 pieces of work. The centre of his work lies in his 12 symphonic poems (The Dance of the Witches, The Mountain Song, Pandemonium, The Woods Are Singing, The Seducer etc.), 9 symphonies (On The Homeland, War And Peace etc.), 8 concerts, 2 cantatas for solo performers, choirs and orchestra (My Song Is Not Mine Alone, By Train). Apart from orchestra compositions, Blaž Arnič best liked to compose for choirs. 45 of his choir compositions were published. The primary school in Luče is named after Blaž Arnič and his bust which is the work of Stojan Batič, also stands in front of the school. His birth house in the hamlet of Strmec has been proclaimed a memorial.
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THE STUFFED BEAR
In 1983, a bear trumped through the forests of the upper Savinja valley. It is most probable that it came here from the Kočevje region. It roamed about Mt. Raduha, the Smrekovec, the Menina and Mt. Rogatec for a few months. During that time it killed over 80 sheep and destroyed 4 bee houses. Hunters from the entire upper Savinja valley chased it persistently, but somehow the beast always managed to have a narrow escape. Vinko Knapič was one of those restless hunters who had tried to catch the bear many times, but without success. On 24 Oktober 1983 he was on the watch for it on Mt. Raduha, only about 300 metres away from the entrance into the Snežna jama cave. He had been waiting for the bear for a couple of hours when suddenly, the 180 kilos heavy beast finally showed itself. It was a quarter to 5 in the afternoon. When the bear rose, Vinko shot it directly in the heart with his carbine. It reeled under the shot for some 25 metres, then fell and died due to the mortal wound. That was the first bear that had ever been shot in Luče. It was stuffed, so one can still see it in a nice little wooden house in front of the home of the Knapič family in Luče, about 50 metres away from the bus station.
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