Jesenice
Medieval iron forges became Yugoslavia's steel capital; 1869-founded works now employ 1,350 in specialty steel while blast furnaces become museums.
Jesenice grew from medieval ironworks into Yugoslavia's steel capital. Mining rights from 1381 document the earliest settlements—founded not for agriculture but for iron ore, water power, and timber for charcoal. In 1869, the Carniolan Industrial Company unified scattered forges into industrial production. For the next century, Jesenice meant steel, and steel meant Jesenice.
The town's geography determined its industry. Wedged between the Julian Alps and the Karavanke range, the Upper Sava Valley provided ore, water, and transport routes to Austria. After World War II, expanded smelting furnished Yugoslavia's reconstruction. The ironworks employed more workers than ever before; Jesenice became the center of "black metallurgy" in Slovenia. Electric arc furnaces enabled higher-quality steel in greater quantities.
The 1990s brought restructuring. Most 1950s buildings were demolished. The SIJ Group modernized what remained, specializing in niche stainless and special steels. Employment dropped from peak levels to around 1,350 workers—still significant, but no longer defining. The Stara Sava Museum preserves blast furnaces as heritage attractions. Steel production continues alongside heritage tourism.
By 2026, Jesenice will likely maintain its dual identity: working steel town and industrial heritage site. The trajectory mirrors Ruhr Valley or Pittsburgh—places where metals once built empires, now preserved as monuments to their own transformation. What smelted for centuries now curates.