If you’re driving on the Vršič Mountain Pass, just off of one of the hairpins of the winding narrow road is a peculiar chapel in the middle of a forest.
The beautiful setting for the stunning wood chapel comes with a sad history.
During World War I, about 170 to 300 Russians who were Prisoners of War had to work constructing this challenging stretch of the Vršič Mountain Pass. During the construction work, there was an avalanche and many were killed.
Their comrades then asked the Astro-Hungarian guards if they can build this Russian Orthodox Chapel to commemorate them. In 1917, this chapel was built, also in dedication to Saint Vladimir.
The Russian Orthodox Chapel, even though built out of wood and copper, still bears the distinctive spiral domes, with a Russian inscription that reads “to the sons of Russia”.