In the vicinity of Javorniški Rovt were mines of iron ore – siderite were first mentioned in 1403. At that time, Brix Bishop Ulrich awarded the Iron ore mines on the White Mountain Herman von Esel. In the second half of the 19th century mines were already exhausted and in poor condition. The ore were taken along the mining route past Pristava, which was built by the Pasarelli family in 1647, the owner of the Ironworks and the local manor. At Pristava, mining supervisors were initially inhabited.
Karel Zois
Karel Zois (1756, Ljubljana – 1799, Trieste) lived in the shadow of his much more famous older brother Ziga and mostly lived in Brdo pri Kranju and Javorniku near Jesenice. As one of the first Slovenian botanists, he collected plants especially in the Julian and Kamnik-Savinja Alps and Karavanks. In July he built two or three cottages, while in the Karavanks he had a cottage in “Medjem dolu”. The name of the Lord’s House was preserved, as “some gentleman gathered plants there”.
Andrej Herrlein, oil, canvas,
National Museum of Slovenia
Michelangelo Zois
Andrejj Herrlein, oil, canvas,
National Museum of Slovenia
Michelangelo Zois (1694 – 1777) was involved in the iron trade and was very rich with it. He bought several landlords, among which the most beautiful Brdo near Kranj. In his hands, he brought together the Gorenjska iron fountains in Bohinjska Bistrica, Stara Fužina, Radovna, Javornik, Plavž and Mojstrana. In 1970 he became Baron Edelstein.