Smuggling brought good profit to many, but for many it was a way of getting cheaper Yugoslav flour and, thus, a bit bigger loaf of bread on the table. Naturally, Italian authorities did not tolerate the activity and controls along the border were very common. However, there were also cases when a member of the Italian Royal Finance Guard, disapprovingly called financar, was found hanging from one leg on a treetop. While looking for smugglers in the woods, he would step into a loop which they had attached to a bended tree.
On few occasions, smugglers, locally called kontrabantarji, were also captured because of the snitches from this side of the border. When caught, they faced fines, prison, and, in some cases, even death. And yet, all these measures never succeeded in putting a stop on smuggling in the region.
| Smuggled from Yugoslavia: | horses, meat, flour, cigarettes, wood |
| Wanted Italian products: | sugar, rice, coffee, wine, silk scarves, ladies' umbrellas |
| Duration: | until the beginning of World War II |
Transport routes in the Notranjska region have always been important in terms of economy and communications because they were the intersection of routes in the direction from Trieste to Ljubljana, the Dolenjska region and Zagreb, the Kočevje and the Kvarner region.
Transportation of cargo developed as early as the Middle Ages and then gradually evolved in horse-drawn carriage driving (transportation services).
Blacksmithing was an important craft; there was at least one blacksmith in every larger village.
Blacksmithing was an important craft; there was at least one blacksmith in every larger village. When there were multiple blacksmiths in the same village, they would specialize either in toolmaking or horse shoeing.
In the past, flax growing and processing was widely spread in the Notranjska region and nearly every house had its own processing equipment.
In the past, flax growing and processing was widely spread in the Notranjska region and nearly every house had its own processing equipment.
The use of the drevak boat was first described by Valvasor; it was used in the Lož valley, on Lake Cerknica, the Planina plain and the Ljubljana Marshes.
The use of the drevak boat was first described by Valvasor; it was used in the Lož valley, on Lake Cerknica, the Planina plain and the Ljubljana Marshes.
Spirit was distilled from fruit grown in the high-trunk orchards in farmers' gardens.
For distillation, only the damaged fruit was ground; the rest was consumed. The ground fruit was then sealed in large barrels, soaked and allowed to ferment for about six weeks. When fermented enough, it was ready for distillation.
Considerable amounts of limestone and firewood made lime burning one of the activities with which the local people earned their living.
Considerable amounts of limestone and firewood made lime burning one of the activities with which the local people earned their living.
In Slovenia and the Notranjska region especially, dormouse trapping is a centuries-old tradition.
The first records on trapping and consumption of dormice date back to the 13th century. Later on, the tradition was also described extensively by explorer and scholar Johann Weikhard von Valvasor.
