Discover Bukovo: Church, Linden Trees and Cycling Routes

Two topics are especially practical when planning a trip to Bukovo: St. Leonard’s Church and the cycling routes that pass through the village. Other points of interest include Church Hill with its hundred-year-old linden trees, a meeting place below the church, and a stone obelisk in the cemetery beside it. These places and routes offer different points of interest, from sacred history to planning a cycling tour.

St. Leonard’s Church and its history

St. Leonard’s Church is one of the oldest churches in the Cerkno area and is said to have existed in Bukovo as early as 1594. A new statue of St. Leonard stands at the main altar. The original statue from the former wooden church is housed in a chapel behind the old rectory. The chapel was restored in 2002 and decorated with new frescoes. The historical connections therefore encompass the church, its furnishings and the chapel.

Church Hill and remembrance

At the edge of the village, hundred-year-old linden trees stand on Church Hill. Below the church is a square that remains a popular meeting place for residents of Bukovo and Zakojca. The hill and square play different roles in the village landscape: the linden trees are a feature of the landscape, while the square serves as a communal meeting place.

A stone obelisk stands in the cemetery beside the church. Name plaques are attached to the cemetery wall. Together, the obelisk and plaques give the memorial a distinct form and a clearly specified location.

Cycling routes and regional orientation

Cycling Trail No. 7 passes through Bukovo to the junction for Zakojca and Grahovo. Trail No. 2 runs for about nine kilometres through Bukovo, Kojca and Jesenica. Trail No. 7 also climbs a long, winding and steep ascent to the dispersed settlement of Bukovski vrh. The term “dispersed settlement” refers to a settlement with houses spread out rather than grouped around a compact centre.

The routes can be compared by different features: Trail No. 2 by its approximate length and the places it passes through, and Trail No. 7 by its junction and long ascent. When planning your tour, you can consider distance and terrain as separate criteria.

Further along the regional route, the return journey from Kojca leads across meadows and through the forest to the Jesenica–Bukovo main road. The approach to Zakojca also passes through Bukovo: the shorter, steeper approach from Reka comes from the Cerkno side and runs through the village. This approach should be distinguished from the cycling routes. If your plans include Zakojca, the information about the approach and the cycling routes provides different points of reference.

Discover more destinations: Vojsko, Črni Vrh, Lome, Zakriž, Srednja Kanomlja, Cerkno, Idrija

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