Cerkno Laufarija

The Laufarija at Cerkno is a carnival group of twenty-five fixed characters, each with a carved linden wood mask and a costume of moss, straw or bark: the Old Man, the Bride and Groom, the Woodsman, the Sick Man and the rest, led by Pust, who wears a suit of pine branches. Over carnival week they go through the village, and on Shrove Tuesday Pust is tried for the year's misfortunes, convicted and executed with an axe. The masks are kept in the local museum.

Highlights

• The twenty-five characters - fixed masked roles, each with its own carved mask and costume.
• Pust - the central figure in a suit of pine branches, tried and executed on Shrove Tuesday.
• The carved masks - linden wood masks made and maintained in the village.
• The Cerkno museum - the mask collection shown outside carnival season.

When to go

Carnival week, which falls in February or March depending on Easter; the trial and execution are on Shrove Tuesday. Outside that the masks are seen in the museum. Winter weather can be raw.

What to expect

The carnival runs for a few days a year and outside it there is only a museum display. It is a village event rather than a staged show and little is explained to outsiders. Cerkno is small and accommodation is limited.

Nearby

Idrija is southeast, and Divje Jezero is beyond it.