Planika Dairy Museum
History
Planika Dairy in Kobarid was established in 1957. It started with cheese trade, later also with the production of yoghurts and other dairy products. Today it is one of the leading producers of high quality fresh milk and cheese in Slovenia. The company’s raw material – milk – comes from 120 to 130 local mountain farms.
But this region has always been a home of cheese-makers: the importance of Alpine dairy farming in the upper Posočje is already witnessed in archaeological discoveries from the Iron Age and Roman times. The work of Planika Dairy is marked by this millennial tradition and heritage of Alpine farming and cheese making, since the recipes of ancestors and centuries-long tradition of milk processing into cheeses and other dairy products are still taken into account in today’s production. Dairy, which has been operating under the name Planika Dairy since 1995, is currently producing 19 different milk products under the “Planika” brand.
Due to its rich tradition and history, Planika Dairy decided, together with Tolmin Museum, to establish a museum with special historical and ethnological collection. A permanent exhition is entitled “From Mountain to Planika” or Od planine do planike in Slovenian, "planina" meaning a mountain, and "planika" a rare Alpine flower, an edelweiss.
Collections
Visitors can see the old cheese-dairy; the main building was an Alpine cottage, cheese-dairy, a place where milk was processed into cheeses, which is still used today in the Posočje hills. An archive cellar is also on view, where the old local cheeses ripen.
In the historical-ethnological collection, museum’s visitors are presented with the history of cheese trade from the beginning to the present day: we can see old cheese making tools and items used by Alpine dairy farmers in their work in the past and some even today. A short documentary is also on display which presents the work and life of Alpine farmers. The museum also organizes guided tours, cheese-tastings, Alpine farmers’ lunches, and also so-called team building, events that take participants to the old Alpine farming past. Visitors can buy local craft products and Planika Dairy products.
See also
External link
Planika Dairy Museum web page Article Modernisation of Planika Dairy in Slovenia - adding value and increasing competitiveness on the European funding portal