Scopoli’s Memorial Garden

This is a very small garden and not much can be seen here, but it is worth visiting if you have some extra time while visiting Idrija. The garden is open to visitors every day at any hour and there is no entrance fee.

As the name suggests, the Scopoli’s Memorial Garden is dedicated to Joannes Antonius Scopoli. He is one of the most recognisable botanist from Slovenian history.

Scopoli lived in Idrija in the 18th century and was actually the first doctor, specialised in treating miners from the mercury mine. Apart from that, he was a huge nature lover and dedicated a lot of his time to exploring plants and nature in the Idrija surroundings.

Scoponi also liked to write about the flora in Slovenia and he is today known as the author of the first scientific work about nature in Slovenia, where he described more than 1,000 plants.

It only seems natural to dedicate a nice garden to his memory and so, the Scopoli’s Memorial Garden was created. It contains most of the plants that Scopoli described in his book.

The old residential building, in which Scoponi used to live, can also be seen in Idrija, on the Kosovelova Street. It is a nice traditional residential building, dating back to 18th century, but it has now been transformed into a residential building and the interior cannot be visited by tourists. The facade has a memorial plaque dedicated to Scopoli, which lived here in 1754 – 1769.

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