Outside the village of Godovič, by the road towards Črni Vrh, there is an unfinished, abandoned tunnel from World War I. The tunnel is 400 metres long and mostly runs at two levels. Only a minor part is already wide enough to be used as a standard railway tunnel. It is interesting to observe different construction stages at different parts of the tunnel. Oral tradition has it that the tunnel was built by Russian POWs. There are many remains of wood, iron and other materials in the tunnel which were used for the construction.
The tunnel was part of an extensive plan to build a standard railway connection Logatec–Hotedršica–Godovič–Črni Vrh–Col–Ajdovščina. They first started to plan the railway in late October and early November 1916, when the Austrian Army withdrew to the Čepovan area and the Trnovski gozd plateau after the Ninth Isonzo Battle.
In April 1917, the Austrian War Ministry ordered the construction of the above-mentioned railway section to provide the supply for their troops, which was a constant problem. The construction began the same month and was marked with periodic interruptions. At first, embankments were made, and major digging and tunnel drilling were carried out. Even a new railway station was planned to be built in a field near Logatec. The construction of the railway was in the hands of the Brüder Redlich & Berger company of Vienna, in collaboration with German, Czech and Hungarian experts. Along the planned railway line ran the narrow-gauge field railway which was used for transporting building materials.
After the breakthrough of the Isonzo Front in October 1917, the construction of the railway was abandoned. They managed to complete the tracks up to the village of Hotedršica, the Naklo tunnel and another tunnel in Godovič which is still in use today (a road runs through it).
In the 1930s, as part of their defence system, the Italian Army built a pillbox next to the exit of the abandoned tunnel and connected it to the tunnel.
Boštjan Burger 360° Surround Photography
Take the road Godovič–Črni Vrh. The road goes first through the tunnel, then along a turn to the left. On the left of the next turn the forest trail branches off, which goes to the entrance of the tunnel. This trail is 120 metres long and quite overgrown in the last part in front of the tunnel.
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