18th-century bridge built by Baron Žiga Zois

The old stone bridge at the entrance to the Mostnica Gorge, near Stara Fužina in Bohinj, is known as the Devil's Bridge, in Slovene Hudičev most. It is a single high arch of hewn stone, springing from the rock walls on either side and carrying a track across the stream, and it dates from the late eighteenth century, when the area was one of the centres of the iron industry in Carniola. The man behind the building boom of that period was Baron Žiga Zois, a wealthy industrialist, patron of the arts and sciences and one of the leading figures of the Slovene Enlightenment, who owned ironworks and mines in Bohinj and the surrounding mountains.

The bridge was built for practical reasons. The iron industry of Bohinj needed ore, charcoal and timber, and these materials had to be brought down from the mountains to the forges at Stara Fužina, whose name comes from the word for a forge. The Mostnica, a fast and sometimes violent stream, cut a deep channel through the rock, and a sturdy bridge was needed to cross it. The stone arch, made without any modern equipment, has lasted more than two centuries, a tribute to the skill of the masons who built it. Today it carries walkers instead of ore carts, and it forms part of the trail through the gorge.

The name of the bridge comes from folk tradition. Local people could not imagine that such a daring structure could be built by human hands alone, so the story arose that the devil had made it, in return for a promise that he could take the first soul to cross. In many versions of the legend, the villagers outwitted him by sending an animal across first. Stories of this kind are told about old bridges across the Alps, and they show how impressive the structures once seemed.

Visitors can see the bridge as part of a walk through the Mostnica Gorge, where it gives a fine viewpoint over the water and the steep, mossy walls. It is free and open at all times, and it is best seen in the morning, before the crowds build up. Stara Fužina has other sights that tell the story of the village and its history. Hiking along well-maintained paths, the Gorges and Geologic formations, the Mercator shop, Trgovina Krpan and the Newly designed square for summer events are all close, and Lake Bohinj is a short walk away.