When I first saw the entrance doors of the Giser house, an old miners’ house that we were planning to renovate over the next three weeks, they were in very poor condition. At that time, I couldn’t even imagine how many hours we would spend sanding, patching, and painting in the following days. I also couldn’t imagine how much fun it would be to work with other volunteers from all over Europe and how much I would learn not only about restoring old doors but also about teamwork and life itself.
The opportunity to work with the experienced carpenter and restorer Matija Hiršenfelder in his workshop in the medieval town of Škofja Loka is one that will stay in my memory forever. Matija taught us to work in the most ergonomic way, telling us not to ‘work like bananas’ and that we must ‘listen to our work’. He never showed signs of frustration when we didn’t know which type of sandpaper to use for which part of the door, or when we did everything three times slower than him. Watching him work every day with so much joy, pride, and knowledge of his craft, I felt like he was changing the world one door at a time. It also convinced me that regardless of the job I’ll have after graduation, I want to experience the enthusiasm he had for his work.
Looking back, I can see that restoring the doors was much more than just using various tools, scraping layers of paint, and maneuvering sandpaper to avoid damaging the carvings on the doors. It was also about early drives over the hills to Škofja Loka, rewriting the lyrics of Elton John’s ‘I’m still standing’ to ‘I’m still sanding,’ singing along while working, visiting Škofja Loka’s restaurants for lunch, swimming in the Poljanska Sora river, exchanging stories with other volunteers, and showering in the workshop with a compressor at the end of the workday. Restoring the doors also involved listening to Matija’s life lessons and contemplating how to later document it all, as well as carving a birthday surprise for Matevž while he was with us in the workshop, with all of us striving to distract him in various ways.
When the doors were finished and brought back to Idrija, and we saw how they looked with their new paint and shiny handles, it was hard to believe that we were all part of this remarkable transformation. I felt like we had done something significant: we revived a part of history that had been forgotten before. Now, every time I see old doors, it reminds me of how Matija said that repairing one would take more than 200 hours. If it takes that long to repair, I can’t even imagine how much time it took for the carpenter who made them over a century ago.
Now that we’ve finished our work and no longer spend days in dust, I can’t help but feel incredibly happy to have shared this time with the other volunteers. The past three weeks have been full of laughter, good music, painting hearts with wood paint on each other’s hands, and shared learning. We helped each other, had interesting conversations while restoring details, and made up jokes that only we understand. These weeks have taught me the importance of preserving cultural heritage, woodworking skills, and most importantly, how enjoyable it can be to work in a group of people all dedicated to achieving the same goal.
Ella, volunteer of the European Solidarity Corps program.
We carried out activities with the support of the European Solidarity Corps, the European Capital of Culture Nova Gorica – Gorizia 2025, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning of the Republic of Slovenia.
