The Jevaniš small farm blacksmith shop

The small farm blacksmith shop is a workshop on a farm where the smith used charcoal and forged by hand to meet the needs of his own farm and his nearby neighbors for metal items and metalworking services.

Description

The Jevaniš blacksmith shop is a small farm workshop of a type that used to be a common part of larger farms. The smith was the farm owner and he would engage in blacksmithing as necessary. He also managed the farm, carried out forestry work, and earned extra income as a teamster. He regularly shod his own horses, as well as making and repairing his own farming and forestry tools, metal wagon parts, construction materials, and various types of nails. He also offered blacksmith services to nearby neighbors. All forging was performed by hand, without using water power. He purchased iron through the Idrija mine or ordered it from merchants in Jesenice and Tržič, and he also made his own charcoal. Blacksmith skills were passed from generation to generation and learned by visiting nearby workshops. The nearest similar farm blacksmith shops are located 5.5 km away (at the Močnik farm on the other side of Kanomlja Creek) and 4.2 km away (at the Hum farm on the way to Vojsko). Blacksmith work at the Jevaniš farm began to taper off during the 1970s and came to an end in the early 1980s. The last smith, Henrik, died in 1984. Today his grandson, Sandi Bončina, occasionally lights the furnace and stokes up the fire to repair some of the old iron tools. He presents the blacksmith shop, the tools preserved, and blacksmith techniques in an accompanying film.

Responsibility

private owner

Role

A typical small farm blacksmith shop is preserved as part of a large farm in the Idrija countryside, which has a relatively extensive collection of tools and other items. Local significance.

Potential usability

Considering the anticipated tourist transversal planned for this area and its link with the rejuvenated neighboring Šturmajce farm, visitors could get to know the local blacksmith tradition and equipment. The owner is also planning to set up a farm museum and a teamster museum. It would be possible to arrange the blacksmith’s shop as a museum of blacksmith equipment in cooperation with the Idrija Municipal Museum.

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