Upper Square

Škofja Loka is a small town at the point where two branches of the Sora river meet, west of Kranj in Upper Carniola, and it has one of the best-preserved medieval centres in Slovenia. The name means Bishop's Loka: from the tenth century, the land around it belonged to the bishops of Freising in Bavaria, who ruled the area for some eight hundred years, and under their rule the settlement grew into a market town with walls and a castle. The old town is laid out around two squares, the Upper Square, Mestni trg, and the Lower Square, Spodnji trg, which together form the main axis of the settlement, and the Upper Square is the more imposing of the two.

The square is an elongated space, gently sloping, framed on both sides by tall houses with steep roofs, arcades and colourful facades. Many of the buildings date from the Middle Ages, though they were rebuilt after fires and earthquakes, and their present look is generally Renaissance or Baroque, with wide eaves, painted details and stone portals. Looking at the doorways, you can see carved coats of arms and the marks of craftsmen who once lived and worked here, and on some houses, original frescoes or sgraffito decoration survive. The Homan House is one of the notable buildings on the square. At the top of the hill above the square, the castle, now a museum, watches over the town, and from its terraces visitors can see the roofs and the surrounding hills.

The square is still the centre of daily life. Cafes and shops occupy the ground floors, small markets and fairs are held in season, and the cobbles are used for festivals and processions. A major event in the town's life is the Škofja Loka Passion Play, a procession and dramatic performance based on a text from the early eighteenth century by a Capuchin friar, which is considered the oldest preserved Slovene dramatic work. The play is staged in the streets at long intervals, with hundreds of local people taking part, and it is one of the major cultural events in the country.

The Upper Square makes a natural starting point for a walk through the town. From it, a short stroll leads to the Capuchin Bridge, a medieval stone bridge over the Selška Sora, to Puštal Castle on the edge of town and to remains of the old town walls. Beyond the town, there are trails to the hills and caves, including the Lubnik cave system. The town is easy to reach from Ljubljana in less than half an hour, and it is a pleasant place for a half-day visit. Spring and autumn are the quietest seasons, and the square is especially atmospheric in the evening light.