The Pavlič Pass in northern Slovenia was once an obscure mountain road known mostly to local farmers. Today, it is an easily accessible scenic route explored by an increasing number of travelers – thanks in part to a newly united Europe.

Rising up to an elevation of more than 1.300 meters, the pass was named after Pavlič, a local farmer who had become infamous for demanding high compensation for the use of the road. The surrounding scenery, however, is priceless in its beauty: a dramatic landscape of woods, fragrant meadows, and snowcapped peaks, dotted with farms where life has not changed much for generations.

The Pavlič Pass was long used by residents of the remote homesteads in the Solčava Valley as a link to their administrative center of Eisenkappel, across the mountains in Carinthia. Originally a purely local route, it became a more important connection in 1894 when a new road link opened it to traffic from beyond the Solčava Valley. However, political decisions made far away eventually led to the decline of the pass. After World War I, most of Carinthia became a part of Austria and the Pavlič Pass was divided by an international border. This ushered in a long period of declining traffic – which continued until the end of the 20th century.

In 2000, however, asphalt was laid on the Pavlič Pass road, making it far more accessible to travelers. For several years, a tiny border post on top still limited crossings to Slovenian and Austrian citizens, but when Slovenia entered the pan-European Schengen Area in 2007, the pass became open to all for the first time in almost a century.

Today, it is being used by increasing numbers of tourists who are eager to explore the beauty Slovenia's Savinja Alps – a little-known part of the country away from the usual tourist routes. For the remote farms in the area, increased tourism is an opportunity for a new source of income, and several homesteads are already marketing themselves as tourist farms. By connecting people in the spirit of a united Europe, the old mountain road is bringing new hope to this beautiful but sparsely populated corner of Slovenia.