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The history of the town where two rivers meet is very rich and interesting. The are of contemporary Most na Soči has been populated for the last three millenia. The settlement reached its golden period in the time between the 8th and 4the centuries b.c.. In the safety of the area located between two rivers a central settlement evolved in the Posoška Svetolucijska culture (named after Most na Soči – Sv. Lucija ob Soči). In the last 150 years of research, archeologists have found more than 40 building foundations, mostly from the iron age. The inhabitants were in that time burying their dead on the other bank of the river Idrijca. Almost 7000 gravees have been excavated on two river terraces. All this information shows the importance of the town in archeological eras. The rich findings can also be seen in the Tolmin museum. There is also the archeological museum in the town itself, it os located on the bottom floor of the primary school and is dedicated to the legacy of the iron age in the Posočje.
The town also had a busy 19th and the first half of the 20th century. The Plac, a part of the town located on the western end of the town, on a cape between the two rivers, was especially interesting. It is the centre of the town, where (until 1942) annual fairs were organised. Sveta Lucija ob Soči as the town was called in those days, was entitled to four annual fairs, one for each season. The most interesting was the Svetolucijski fair, which was the Sv. Lucija festival (13th Decembre). It was an event where the Plac was full of merchants and visitors, mainly from Gorica, Cedad and even Triest.
The visitors and merchants were also gathering at the Mikuž inn (locally known as Pri Gašperju). The building has an astonishing geographical position as well as an interesting history. Certainly an inn has been situated here for more than 150 years. Its owner at the end of the 19th century was the Most na Soči mayor Anton Mikuž, a wonderful gentleman and businessman, even the founder and first president of the Sveta Lucija Olepševalno society, which could be regarded as a tourist board today. Anton Mikuž was also a county representative in Gorica, where he presented the Tolmiska region's interests. In the first world war, Most na Soči was in the hinterland, just behind the frontline. There was an army home at the Mikuž inn, named after the empress Zita (Soldatenheim Zita). During the Italian occupation there was also the Mikuž inn located here and it was the local population's favourite gathering place. After the second world war the building was nationalised. . In the 60s it got a total makeover, the building changed in to the Soča hotel. The 80s and 90s of the 20 century were years of stagnation and gradual demise, when the building was in the hands of the Kompas company. Today, the renovated Lucija hotel stands here and already with its name revives the tradition of the settlement and its patron saint – St. Lucija, the protector of the eyes and the sight.
Miha Milnar, Tolmin museum
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