Slovenia’s Kolpa River Valley, one of the country’s most remote regions, is known not just for its natural beauty and difficult living conditions but also for its unique history. Much of that history is connected with the Turkish incursions of the late Middle Ages, which also play a major role in a folk tale that lives on today.

The story revolves around Peter Klepec, an unlikely hero who conquered the Turks. He grows up in a poor homestead with just his mother and a goat, and makes a living herding his neighbor’s sheep. Always a weakling, he is routinely beaten up by other villagers.

One day, little Peter finds a mountain fairy sleeping on a field. Temporarily abandoning his sheep, he uses leaves to protect the fairy from intense sunrays. The fairy thanks him by giving Peter a magic potion that endows him with superhuman powers. (In some versions of the story, it was God himself who gave Peter his extraordinary might.) The rival villagers become deathly afraid of Peter’s powers, but he decides to use them for good – to plow the fields and clear them of boulders – rather than to settle old scores.

One day, the Turks invade the Kolpa River Valley and occupy the church in the village of Osilnica. Using his magic powers, Peter uproots a tree and uses is to drive away the Turks, who end up fleeing far from the valley. The villagers are saved from the Turks and Peter becomes a local hero. Out of gratitude, the Emperor exempts Peter from taxes – a significant concession in an era when punitive taxes often made life difficult for the peasantry.

Today, the legend of Peter Klepec is known throughout Slovenia. However, he remains closely associated with the Kolpa River valley – a beautiful part of Slovenia where, over the centuries, even everyday survival was often an act of heroism.