Sanabor lies in a narrow valley between the Col Highlands and Nanos. It is a clustered village with the hamlet of Zavetniki, which lies below Col in the narrow valley of the Bele stream on the northern side of Nanos. The hamlet is older than Vrhpolje, with roots dating back to the Roman era. This is where the road from Padua to the Pannonian Plain passed by.
According to tradition, the plain below the village was once a lake. The Church of St Daniel, with its altar dating from 1750, is interesting. Below it, the Bela gorge begins and descends to Vrhpolje.
At Sanabor, the torrential water of the Bela has carved a gorge into the limestone, creating beautiful natural shapes that offer visitors the opportunity to climb and enjoy unspoilt nature. The Bela torrent rises during heavy downpours, but its channel is usually drier.
The area above and around Sanabor is dominated by grassland, and to a lesser extent by cultivated fields and vineyards with vines called sanaborec, and forests.
A significant number of Sanabor's inhabitants are engaged in agriculture, most of them in livestock and dairy farming. There are also two organic farms in Sanabor.
Unlike today, Sanabor used to be known for its valley and, even longer, for its good wine. This was during Austrian rule, when Sanabor was a rich village. Under Italian rule, people were mainly involved in cattle breeding and forestry, with viticulture in decline after the end of the Second World War. The vineyards were located on steep slopes which could not be cultivated by machinery and were no longer profitable. In the past, the plots around the village were small, and the wealthier ones had one larger field "in the country" (around Vrhpolje, Vipava and Log;) and one meadow (1 ha) for hay in Višnja and Podkraje. When at the end of the 19th century the Count of Vipava divided the plots in Nanos, Sanabor got some plots of forest in the "hill" and it was not the best quality forest. Today, each house has 2 ha of forest in Nanos.
Sanabor is characterised by many quite tall houses, which shows that the village was once rich and that people used this way of building to show their wealth. Nanos, on the other hand, is primarily characterised by scattered construction, with the houses being immodest in terms of construction.
Access
Sanabor is reached by road from Vipava via Vrhpolje in the direction of Col. After about two kilometres from Vrhpolje, the road turns off to the right towards Sanabor.
Attractions
A special feature of Sanabor are some of the goats' huts, which are no longer to be seen elsewhere in the Vipava Valley. It is interesting to note that, according to folk tradition, one of the oldest cemeteries in the Vipava region was located next to the Church of St Daniel in Sanabor, where people were brought from as far as Črnice to bury their dead, avoiding Ajdovščina, which was considered a pagan (Ajdov) settlement.
Among the sights visitors can see:
-An ancient burnt burial ground,
-the settlement area with the burial site of Djaki,
-sacred monuments at houses Nos 6, 28
-the chapel in front of the village,
-the chapels by the church,
-the old buildings in the cemetery,
-mark of sacral character at Medliško,
-the sawmill at house No 28,
-the sacral complex at the church of St. Daniel, and
-the National Liberation Monument dedicated to the fallen citizens.
NATURAL HERITAGE
Among the beauties of Sanabor is the Bela Gorge, hollowed out by the Bela torrent. This created the troughs and dams that hold the water. The vegetation of the village is also an interesting feature, influenced by the contact between the Mediterranean and continental climates.
In the past, the inhabitants of Sanabor were involved in various crafts, such as charcoal-making, milling, blacksmithing, shoemaking, pottery, carpentry, bee-keeping and sawmilling. Beekeeping is still practised by some people today.
