Access: Departure to the outdoor museum from the saddle of Poljance which lies about 2 km from Most na Soči in the direction towards Nova Gorica. Located there is an information board and a parking site is arranged. Here the arranged circular tour starts. Access to the positions is of medium difficulty.

Time required for visit: 2 hours

Historical outline: Over the right bank of the Soča/Isonzo Mengore hill (453 m) rises, with a pilgrimage church dedicated to the Holy Virgin. According to oral tradition, the hill was a meeting place of the leaders of the Tolmin peasant rising of 1713. After the Italian attack the Austro-Hungarian troops fortified most of their positions of defence on the left bank of the Soča. They only fortified their positions on the right bank before Gorizia and near Tolmin and Most na Soči, on the so-called Tolmin bridgehead. Mengore hill and two neighbouring elevations, Cvetje and Bučenica, formed the core of defence of this bridgehead; on the left bank of the Soča to the north, the key role in its defence was played by Mts. Mrzli vrh and Vodel. The entire area was strongly fortified with numerous trenches and caves. The Austrians began to fortify Mengore hill already before the front was opened in this section. The Italian army intensely besieged Mengore hill particularly during the initial offensives. During all the 29 months of the fights the Austro-Hungarian positions on Mengore hill were subject to continuous shelling from Italian guns located on higher hills on the right bank of the Soča. Breaking through the Tolmin bridghead would have rendered possible free access for the Italian army to the inner parts of the monarchy; however, in spite of enormous casualties, the Austro-Hungarian defence persisted all until the end of the fights along the Soča. In the decisive 12th Isonzo battle, it was precisely the area of the Tolmin bridghead (besides the Bovec area) that played one of the crucial roles, since the decisive breakthrough of the united Austro-Hungarian-German army was made from here. It was carried out by the 12th Schleswig Division and the German Alpine Corps. The German troops advanced along the slopes of the Kolovrat range and along the valley of the Soča towards Kobarid, while the Austro-Hungarian troops supported them on the right wing and broke into the valley from Mt. Mrzli vrh and the Krn range.

Present situation: On the hill of Mengore an outdoor museum is arranged. A circular path runs along well-preserved and partly cleaned and restored remains of the first Austro-Hungarian line of defence. It runs past trenches, caves, memorials, reservoir, remains of stone walls of cabins, a monument at a former Austro-Hungarian military cemetery, to a well. Located on the top of Mengore hill is a church dedicated to the Holy Virgin, which was pulled down almost to the ground by the shelling of guns during the fights along the Soča.

In charge of the reconstruction and maintenance of Austro-Hungarian positions on Mengore hill is the Društvo Mengore (Society Mengore), in collaboration with the Ustanova »Fundacija Poti miru v Posočju« (»The Walks of Peace in the Soča Region Foundation«).