Biljana

Visit Biljana, a village in Brda with the characteristic Aquileia-style bell tower of the Church of St. Michael, and the 13th-century Dorišče building. It's the birthplace of the physician Lojze Simoniti.

Biljana is one of the most beautiful villages in Brda, recognisable far and wide by the distinctive Aquileia-style bell tower on the parish church of St. Michael in the centre of the village. The bell tower was rebuilt at the end of the 19th century by the Kozana master mason Valentin Vuga, who even depicted himself in the front stone of the bell tower. Don't miss Dorišče, a building with a small tower, gun portholes and portals, where the Biljana lords lived in the 13th century. At the end of the 15th century, it became the property of the Orson family, and later of the Gorizia nobles of Edling and the Lords of Dornberg. Before World War I, the building was used by the Austrian army and during the war it was a military hospital. The Biljana residents are proud of the Kožlin brothers for their contribution to music (especially singing) in the second half of the 19th century, and of the physician Lojze Simoniti (1901-1957). The famous 4th Biljana Camp in 1869 also brought fame to the village. For some time, the Biljana church was also the place where the curious went to watch the "apparition" in the bell tower - the silhouette of the Mother of God created in a play of light and shadows.