The Sword

Glancing at the Blackmill Distillery logo, you can't miss an elongated sword piercing a mighty millstone. This is not by chance. The sword is directly linked to local history. It was found on the bottom of the Lahinja River in 2007 during an annual cleaning. Ana Schweiger, a young diver and a member of the Bela Krajina Amateur Diving Club, found the sword in the muddy riverbed somewhere between the dam above the Flek Mill and the bridge over the Lahinja from the old town centre to Majer. As soon as the sword was out of the water, it became obvious that it was an extraordinary find, which needed to be protected and turned over to the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia. It turned out the sword is an exceptional example of a medieval knightly sword, probably made in the second half of the 13th century according to the design of its grip, guard, and blade. In medieval times, this would have been a very valuable piece of weapon and a key part of the knight’s attire.

The sword is most likely a sword that a knight would have used while riding. The experts assume it belonged to a member of the nobility, as no one else would have been able to afford such a weapon nor had the right to carry arms. The sword’s provenance is still a mystery, but it had probably been brought from elsewhere. Experts believe that it is improbable that the owner lost the sword in battle, as there were no major conflicts in the region from the early 13th century to the Turkish raids in 1408. The remains of the sheath were also found on the blade, which suggests the sword was in the water together with its sheath. So if the sword wasn’t lost in battle, how did it end up in the water? Andrej Gaspari PhD, one of the most renowned Slovenian underwater archaeologists, hypothesised that this might have been a votive offering and that the sword was placed in the water as a token of gratitude or remembrance of an important event in the sword owner’s life.

The sword is on display in the Črnomelj Town Museum.

Source: Janez Weiss, Iz materialne dediščine Bele krajine: Srednjeveški meč iz Lahinje.
Available at: https://www.belokranjec.si/novice/iz-materialne-dediscine-bele-krajine-srednjeveski-mec-iz-lahinje/23 (accessed on 08. 11. 2009)