Festival of Lights
The Festival of Lights by Lake Družmir is now a traditional event, initiated by TBA Šoštanj and carried on by the Šoštanj Institute of Culture in collaboration with co-organizers. Every year, the event resurrects the legend of Prince Tresimir and emphasizes the significance of the Šaleška Valley’s light. Tresimir is said to have settled the area, and the settlement was forced to leave the lake due to the effects of mining. In memory of the sunken village of Družmirje, people from both sides of the lake began turning on lights and laying them on the surface of Šoštanj, or rather Lake Družmir, which was formed after digging millions and millions of tons of coal to burn in the units of the Šoštanj thermal power plant.
Thousands of eggshell lights are thus resurrected each year by the Festival of Lights, which always reminds the locals of a story taken from somewhere. On the other hand, Šoštanj is a place of light because it produces energy, which lights up the entire country. When the workers of the Beautiful Stone (Schönstein) celebrate, there is a festival of light in the valley for them and all who think well, brightly, and sometimes of ancient history, which is revived here as a legend about former people who sought a holy place on earth to survive.
