Monte San Michele

From Hotel Franz to the heights of Karst at the sites of the Great War

While all the other proposed routes can be ridden by normal bicycles, preferably equipped with gears and in any case with the braking system in perfect condition, this is the only one dedicated exclusively to mountain biking. It includes steep and demanding climbs and technical and treacherous descents, so it is recommended for experienced bikers with good athletic training.

If you are a MTB fan and would like to discover our territory in depth, here is the site for you: www.isontinoinbici.it.

The route runs along the slopes of one of the symbolic locations of the battles that took place on the Isonzo and Karst during World War I: Monte S. Michele.

The area between the Doberdò Karst and the Comeno Karst is a vast Open Air Museum of the Great War on the Karst, where various itineraries and themed routes, accompanied by rich information panels, make it possible to retrace the contention of these lands by the Italian and Austro-Hungarian armies.

The most striking area crossed by the route is the site of the trenches and fortifications of Mount Brestovec (Brestovi) near San Michele del Carso. Riding a MTB it is possible to ride through the gunboat tunnel. The site was recovered and enhanced in 2012 and is considered by many to be the most beautiful and important of its kind on the entire Eastern Front.

Mount Skofnik, on the other hand, is one of the symbols of the Cold War. A bunker of considerable size was built under the summit in 1968. The site was decommissioned in 1992 but secured in 2015 by the Arrested Infantry Association, which runs guided tours by appointment.

Karst 2014+ is the project created by the Province of Gorizia that aims to rediscover the Karst (from the Slovenian kras or krs meaning rock, stone) as a place where unique elements of the landscape and the historical memory linked to the sites that were the theatre of the First World War come together. A number of thematic routes aim to enhance history, memory and the surrounding environment and to promote cultural tourism that is aware of the historical events and the environmental and landscape resources of the area.