Črna na Koroškem (575 m) is a peaceful, picturesque village in the Upper Meža Valley, where the landscape spreads from a narrow basin-shaped valley into many small valleys at the foot of the high Karavanke Mountains and the Kamniško-Savinjske Alps.

In the heart of the old village, first mentioned already in 1137, a visitor is welcomed by. St. Ožbolt´s Church and tte Monument of Killed Combatants; the latter is work of a famous Slovene architect Jože Plečnik. A neatly arranged open-air collection relates to 350 years of mining. Under Peca ancestors used to dig ore, char wood, build forges, open grounds of ore rich with lead and zinc as well as establish smelters. Despite the fact that nowadays mining belongs to history, there are many places to remind us of the old times. We can visit the open-air mining collection or a toutist mine – the Museum Podzemlje Pece (The Peca Underworld) in the nearby Mežica. A permanent ethnologic collection, located in the centre of the village, reveals the residential culture and the work of local inhabitants in the past.

The landscape roud Črna, which is far from being monotonous, is mostly wooded. Lovers of nature enjoy the countryside, its natural and cultural sights. Eager mountaineers walk through forests to Smrekovško pogorje (1684 m), enjoy the hidden lake Črno jezero. Pre-historic hunters lived in the cave Potočka zijalka hiding in the lonely mountain Olševa (1930 m). Rocky Raduha (2062 m) attracts alpinists, whereas Uršlja gora (1699 m) is perfect for family excursions. Peca (2126 m), the highest limestone mountain on the Slovene side of Carinthia, is home of the legendary King Matjaž. A fit and experienced mountaineer can reach all the above mentioned peaks at one go, in one single day, and so become a member of the Klub 24, which is without doubt the biggest Carinthian mountaineering challenge.

Each Alpine valley reaching from Črna to the mighty mountains show its unique beauty. Topla is a protected, sparsely populated regional park at the foot of the south face of Peca. »Celki« (old, but rich farms with a granary, stable and a barn) are original samples of past Alpine rural architecture. Vast Koprivna is situated between Raduha, Olševa and Peca; one part leads towards St. Jakob and the source of the river Meža, whereas the other takes us to the Austrian border. Hikers and cyclists can descend via the mountain pass Luže to Bad Eisenkappel (Železna Kapla) in Austria. Among the solitary farms there reigns the church of St. Ana with the famous statue of black Mary on the side altar. The valley of Bistra is renowned for its gigantic spruces – candle-shaped spruces on Ježevo. In all the valleys we can see remains of saws venecijanke (saws used for cutting planks from logs) as well as old mills, some of which are still working. At the foot of the extinct volcano of Smrekovec there mounts Ludranski vrh, where grows the mother of all Slovene lime trees. The 780 years old lime tree Najevska lipa measures 10,56 m in circumference and 24 m in height. In the direction of Uršlja gora and Sleme there spreads sunny Javorje, a settlement with sparse farms and two churches: the church of St. Jošt and St. Magdalena. Jazbina, placed south-east of Žerjav, is famous for its medieval defence tower near Močivnik. Podpeca used to be an important mining village, however nowadays only abandoned pits and mounds remind of the prosperous times. A visitor should take part in guided cycling tours along the pist, see the statue of the sleeping legend King Matjaž on Mala Peca, or mount the two thousand metres high peak. Heroes of local folk tales are besides the legendary King Matjaž also »perkmandelc« (a goblin living in pits) and a forest man who in deep dark woods prepares his speciality and entertains visitors by narrating stories.

Črna and its villagers live for sport, especially in the winter. Many world-famous sportlers began their career on the local ski slope. Floodlights enable skiing at night whereas in dry winters snow cannons produce artificial snow. Near the village skiing is not the only way of taking exercise. More courageous sport fans can even climb frozen waterfalls. Črna is a hometown of many participants in the Olympic games: ski jumpers Danilo and Drago Pudgar, alpine skiers Katjuša Pušnik, Mitja Kunc, Aleš Gorza and Tina Maze as well as a cross-country skier Nataša Lačen. In the summer we can hike or mountain cycle on numerous roads and paths. Recently Alpine and sport climbing have gained in popularity. We can take part in the activities in the nearby wellorganized natural climbing areas.

Many events attract visitors such as building snow castles of King Matjaž, traditional Carinthian tourist week, meeting of politicians under the lime tree Najevska lipa, mountainbike downhill Divja jaga, running marathon of King Matjaž, mountain marathon around Peca, alpine descend from Raduha…

Last but not least simple and kind-hearted locals, the Črna dialect and gastronomic specialities give the area a special stamp. A visitor should not leave without tasting rye bread, mavželjni (a sort of black pudding), bula (a kind of stuffing made of pork innards and barley), grumpi (cracklings), klocavi nudlni (carinthian pasta envelopes with dried pear filling), ajdovi žganci (hard-boiled buckwheat mush), hrenov zos (horse radish sauce), koroški mošt (Carinthian cider) and črničevc (a strong brandy distilled from blueberries).