Vigenjc Vice Nail Forge

Vigenjc is a small, blackened forge beside the Kroparica stream in Kropa, a village in a narrow valley below the Jelovica plateau, and it is the last of the many nail forges that once lined the water. In the days when Kropa lived by iron, dozens of workshops stood along the stream, each driven by a water wheel, and nail-making was the main trade of the families who lived in the village. Vigenjc, whose name is related to the German word for a small forge, survives as a monument to that way of life and as a place where the craft can still be demonstrated.

The building is simple and low, with a stone base and a wooden upper part, and it dates from the eighteenth century. Inside, the walls are dark with soot, and the floor is uneven, worn by generations of workers. Several hearths stand in a row, each with a bellows, an anvil and a collection of hammers, punches and tongs hung on the wall. A water wheel outside the building, fed by the stream, still turns and drives the hammer and bellows, and seeing it work is the best way to understand how the whole system depended on the flow of the water. The scale is human, and the space is cramped, which gives a sense of how closely the smiths worked.

The nails made here were produced entirely by hand, one at a time. A smith would heat an iron rod in the fire, cut off a length, hammer a point at one end, place it in a die and shape the head with a few quick strokes, repeating the sequence hundreds of times a day. Different types of nails were made for different uses, from fine ones for shoes to large ones for roof beams and ships, and they were sold across a wide area. The work was hot, noisy and poorly paid, and families depended on speed and skill.

Demonstrations of hand nail forging can be arranged in advance, either at the forge itself or at the nearby Iron Forging Museum, and guided visits explain the history and the technique. The forge is only a few minutes' walk from the village square, and it can be combined with a visit to the Fovšaritnica Museum House and a stroll through the old lanes. Contact the organisers beforehand to arrange a demonstration, as the forge is not open at fixed times.