“To honour the memory of the Knapi (the miners from the Savinjska region) tradition in Trbovlje and Zasavje, we climbed to the top of the tallest chimney in Europe during the government’s visit to the Savinjska region. Even light rain did not stop us,” Prime Minister Janez Janša announced in a post on Twitter, in which he also added a couple of photos.
On Monday and Tuesday, the Slovenian government visited the Zasavje region, where it mainly focused on the investments in infrastructure and other untapped opportunities in the region.
But the Prime Minister Janez Janša also used this opportunity for a rather unusual feat. In addition to all the formal visits with the mayors, entrepreneurs and others, he also took the time to climb the tallest chimney in Slovenia and also in Europe – the Trbovlje chimney – in honour of the memory of Knapi (the miners from the Savinjska region). We are, of course, talking about the chimney of the Trbovlje Thermal Power Plant, which is 360 meters tall. It was built in 1976 and is, among other things, the tallest building in Slovenia and the seventh tallest chimney in the world.
Nobody can deny the fact that Janša is very courageous, especially when it comes to challenges like this one – climbing the Trbovlje chimney. The Prime Minister is also an avid mountaineer and rock climber, so he is quite used to high-altitude feats. He popularised mountaineering to such an extent that even other politicians began to imitate him. However, when it comes to the Trbovlje chimney, it is a fact that Tanja Fajon would certainly not have the courage to do what the Prime Minister did, and neither would the aggressive Tea Jarc.
Sara Kovač
