Jurjevanje

Welcome to the 60th anniversary of Jurjevanje

Join us for a dance

Jurjevanje became the oldest folklore festival in Slovenia and one of the most recognizable cultural festivals in Slovenia and this part of Europe. The five-day festival takes place in the town of Črnomelj in Bela Krajina, the land of white birches, the warm Kolpa River, and rich cultural heritage. The festival is a combination of tradition and modernity. The festival is based on the folklore traditions of Bela Krajina and other parts of Slovenia. The festival hosts folklore groups around the globe and creates a multicultural space of friendship and harmony between different cultures.

The beginning of the folklore festival in Črnomelj goes back to 1933, more precisely 1939, when the “festival of national songs and dances” or “festival of Bela Krajina national games” was organized, and was called so by newspapers at that time.
The 1939 festival was held on the 100th anniversary of the first description of Jurjevo (St. George’s Day). The festival was held not on the 23rd or 24th of April but on the 18th of June, therefore we can consider the festival the forebearer of Jurjevanje.
The festival had the spirit of Jurjevanje, as it combined dances, rituals, and games from Bela Krajina. It attracted the interest of Slovenia. The newspaper Slovenec wrote: “On the festival different national games and dances, such as Zeleni Jurij (Green Georg), dances from Črnomelj, Metlika, Poljanska Dolina, Adlešiči, most (bridge), and others”.
On that June day, a joyful, multi-headed crowd of Bela Krajina friends arrived by train from Ljubljana. Visitors did not arrive just for the festival, but because of Bela Krajina itself. Visitors from Ljubljana were welcomed at the train station by the band and the whole town was decorated. Visitors continued to Metlika, Rosalnice, and Drašiči, and arrived in the early afternoon on the full main square in Črnomelj to enter the festival. (Ivan Pirnat)

Jurjevanje was first organized in 1964 and it first showed Bela Krajina folk dances from the end of the 19th and the start of the 20th century. Over the years the festival changed into the modern festival, as it included different traditions of the modern time.
On the 6th and 7th of June 1964, the first Jurjevanje festival was organized to commemorate the custom present in the villages of Bela Krajina and to attract as many tourists as possible. For this event, the road leading from Jugorje to Črnomelj was repaired. Around 3000 visitors came to the first festival, where they enjoyed the culture, dishes, and wines from Bela Krajina.

On the festival's first day, the folk group Kresnice walked through the streets of Črnomelj and invited people to the bonfire in the evening. Near the bonfire cultural groups, the Tamburica choir from Metlika and the musician Jazo, who played the ceramic bass, were present. The performers played folk songs, tunes, and Kresno Kolo.

On the morning of the second day, the Zeleni Jurij (Green Georg) procession walked through the town. The procession was accompanied by pipers and trumpeters, all the way to the field near the train station. On the field, the folklore group from Metlika danced. They arrived on the field with the Turn dance the spectators were mostly fascinated by the Petelinji Boj dance. Folklore groups from Vinica, Preloga, Adlešiči, Tribuče, Bojanci, Pregrad, Stari Trg ob Kolpi, Poljanska Dolina and Semič also performed.