The Shoemaking Museum

Come to know more about the rich history of shoemaking in a small place close to the national border.

Miren is a place in the Goriška region known for its long leather and shoemaking tradition. The leather industry was abandoned in the 1970s, yet shoemaking is still alive in Miren.  For many years, the village featured small shoemaking workshops and later even a shoemaking industry, which is why this craft has left a mark on how the settlement has developed.

The Miren Shoemaking Society strives to preserve the rich shoemaking tradition and pass it down to the younger generations. Pavel Petejan, a local shoemaking craftsman and master for many years, established a museum in Miren that is dedicated to the leather and shoemaking industries.

The oldest items kept by the museum date back to the 19th century. The museum collection shows the history of making shoes and also all the equipment required for this craft. Particularly interesting is an old shoemaking shop that is a replica of such shops before the invention of machines. Besides exploring a rich collection of photographs, visitors can enjoy a multimedia presentation called “A shoe made the old way”, showing the process of making a shoe by hand.