The Kobarid Museum Welcomes Its 2,000,000th Visitor – Scout Leader from Pordenone

The 2,000,000th visitor to the Kobarid Museum was Alessandro Bristot from Italy, the leader of a group of scouts. The group visited the museum and then continued their journey on foot along the Walk of Peace to Gorizia. On this occasion, the museum’s director, Mag. Martin Šolar, presented the visitor with an Italian translation of the poetry of Gregorčič, as well as a collection of publications by the Kobarid Museum.

Two million visitors is a major milestone, especially for an institution that grew out of such a small community.

In the autumn of 1990, the doors of the Kobarid Museum opened at Mašera House in Kobarid. The museum was established at the initiative of local individuals and experts who wished to preserve the memory of the Isonzo Front and bring its stories, with their powerful message of peace, closer to the wider public.

Just two years after opening, the museum received the Valvasor Award. In 1993, it was nominated for European Museum of the Year and, at the same time, received the Museum Prize of the Council of Europe. In just over three decades, it has established itself as a leading institution presenting the heritage of the Isonzo Front at the national, European and international levels.

Why does the Kobarid Museum continue to appeal to so many visitors?

The focus is not on national pride, victory or glory, but on the human being who suffers because of war. The museum builds its story around a message that can be simply summed up in the words of the late Dr Branko Marušič: “Damn the war!”

The personal stories of soldiers give the museum’s collections a human face and bring visitors closer to the places, events and people of different nationalities whose lives were shaped by the Isonzo Front.

Today, the Kobarid Museum is one of the most visited attractions in the Soča Valley and, at the same time, one of the most recognised First World War museums in the wider European context. Over the past ten years, it has organised 12 temporary exhibitions and presented its work and collections outside Kobarid as well – including in Sarajevo, Ypres, Prague, Vienna, Zagreb and other cities in Croatia, as well as in several cities across Italy.

The museum is open every day of the year. Through its 12 exhibition rooms, visitors are guided by museum guides whose stories help them understand the period in which one of the greatest tragedies in this region unfolded.

Over the years, the Kobarid Museum has welcomed numerous Slovenian and international guests, including heads of state, kings and numerous diplomats. It has also become a place of international encounters and diplomacy.

Today, the majority of visitors are Slovenian and Italian, followed by guests from Germany, Austria and the United States. Last year alone, the museum welcomed 52,500 visitors, while to date it has received guests from as many as 144 countries. Among them are also descendants and relatives of people who fought and died on the Isonzo Front.

Thank you to everyone who, over all these years, has walked through our doors, entrusted us with their stories, returned to visit us and recommended the Kobarid Museum to others.