Work on the Aljaž Tower reveals a "piece of history" – an imprint of the original inscription

The Aljaž Tower returns on top of Mt. Triglav next week

27. september 2018 ob 13.00 • Jesenice - MMC RTV SLO

Under the plate with the current inscription is the imprint of the original inscription, as it was seen by Jakob Aljaž back in the year 1895. Photo: MMC RTV SLO/Gorazd Kosmač

The renovation work on the Aljaž Tower is almost complete and next week it will be returned to Triglav with the help of a helicopter. It was previously on top of Mt. Triglav continuously for 123 years. The restoration work on the tower is being done by the Jesenice-based KOV company.

"The most fascinating thing is that the tower looked different throughout its history. The repair work showed that the construction mostly suffered on the upper part, which was deformed, and consequently the metal coat was also crushed. That was the first sign that the tower was in need of renovation. The work could not be done on top of Triglav," explained Martin Kavčič from the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage (ZVKDS), who is also the head of the Aljaž Tower – Let’s preserve our symbol project, while standing next to the Aljaž Tower in KOV’s production hall.

What surprised the experts the most, when they received the Aljaž Tower and started working on it? "There were a lot of surprises, but if I stop at the most interesting, it would be the imprint of the original inscription. In all the years of work on the tower we tried to establish whether the roof was the original. We found out that the door probably is the original and an analysis points to the same for the tower’s coat. But while sandblasting the old colour and removing the plate with the current inscription, which has been attached to the tower for around 50 years, we discovered a piece of history. We discovered the imprint of the first Aljaž Tower inscription, which was the first Slovene word on Triglav in Austro-Hungarian times. It was the inscription that Jakob Aljaž and the other first mountaineers saw when they climbed to the top of Mt. Triglav," said Gorazd Lemajič from the National Museum of Slovenia, who is also involved in the project.

The imprint of the first inscription has probably survived because it was hidden under the plate of the new inscription, which was painted several times. The paint probably sealed the openings between the plate and the tower, protecting the original inscription from oxygen and moisture.

The tower is currently in Jesenice in the premises of the KOV company, where it has been assembled again. Before being flown back on top of Mt. Triglav, which will happen next week, the tower still needs to be painted.