Bolnišnica Franja je prvič začela delovati 23. decembra 1943, ko je prejela v oskrbo 7 ranjencev. Aprila 1944 so nemške patrulje prvič napadle bolnico, ranjenci in osebje so se umaknili, vendar se po le nekaj mesecih ponovno naselili. Po napadu je delovala vse do osvoboditve, čeprav je bila med tem (24. marca 1945) ponovno napadena. 5. maja 1945 so ranjenci in osebje zapustili bolnišnico in sotesko - od tega časa dalje je služila kot zgodovinski spomenik in turistična atrakcija. Bolnišnica Franja je bila ena redkih dobro ohranjenih partizanskih bolnišnic iz časa 2. svetovne vojne v Sloveniji. Zasluge za nemoteno obratovanje bolnišnice gredo tudi vaščanom, ki so pomagali pri oskrbi s hrano, zdravili in sanitetnim materialom. Graditelji bolnišnice so sprva načrtovali le nekaj barak, izkazalo pa se je, da so bile potrebe oskrbe ranjencev mnogo večje. Ranjencem so pred potjo v bolnišnico zavezali oči, da bi kasneje ob morebitnem mučenju okupatorjev ne mogli izdati podatkov o lokaciji. Pot do bolnišnice je med vojno zaradi varnosti vodila po potoku Čerinščica, ki teče skozi sotesko Pasice.
Bolnišnico je sestavljalo 14 barak različnih velikosti in namembnosti. Poleg barak za ranjence so bile med drugim v bolnišnici tudi operacijsko soba, izolirnica, baraka za rentgen, soba za zdravnike, baraka za osebje, invalidski dom, skladišče za hrano, kuhinja, pralnica in kopalnica, mizarska delavnica in celo električna centrala.
Umrle so sprva pokopavali na vaškem pokopališču, zatem pa na na levem bregu Čerinščice, tik pred vhodom v sotesko. Umrlim so v grob položili steklenico s podatki (ime, priimek, lahko tudi datum rojstva in smrti ter vzrok smrti). Po vojni so jih prekopali v skupni grob na pokopališču v Cerknem. V bolnišnici so izdajali tudi svoje glasilo Bolniški list. Čeprav je bila bolnišnica Franja slovenska vojna bolnica, so se v njej zdravili tudi Italijani, Francozi, Rusi, Poljaki, dva Američana in dva Avstrijca, kar izpričuje spoštovanje Ženevske konvencije, saj so bili v tistem času Italijani in Avstrijci zavezniki Nemcev. 52 let po vojni, t.j. leta 1997, je Ameriško združenje letalcev-vojnih veteranov podelilo Partizanski bolnici Franja priznanje za pomoč in zdravljenje njihovega člana Harolda Adamsa.
18. septembra 2007 so poplave skoraj v celoti uničile bolnico. 2010 so jo obnovili in je zopet na voljo obiskovalcem
Vir: wikipedia
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Built in difficult and rugged terrain in the remote Pasica Gorge in western Slovenia by Slovene Partisans, the hospital opened in December 1943 and saw continuous improvements until May 1945. The hospital was located deep inside German-occupied Europe, only a few hours from Austria and the central parts of the Third Reich. German military activity was frequent in the general region throughout the operation of the hospital. The hospital's entrance was hidden in the forest, and the hospital could only be reached by bridges. The bridges could be retracted if the enemy was in the vicinity. In order to preserve the secrecy necessary for a clandestine hospital to operate, the patients were blindfolded during transportation to the facility. The hospital was also protected by minefields and nests of machine guns. Because the hospital is in a gorge, the many trees and camouflaged buildings provided protection against air reconnaissance.
The founder and first builder of the hospital was Viktor Volčjak, but the hospital was named after its manager and physician, Franja Bojc Bidovec, who began working there in February 1944. Among the doctors working in the hospital there was also an Italian, Antonio Ciccarelli. Extremely well equipped for a clandestine partisan operation, the hospital remained intact until the end of the war. It was designed to provide treatment to as many as 120 patients at a time, but saw almost ten times as many during its operation. Most of its patients were wounded anti-Nazi resistance fighters, who could not go to regular hospitals because they would be arrested. Among its patients were many nationalities, including one wounded German enemy soldier who, after being treated, remained in the hospital as a member of the hospital staff.
The hospital operated until 5 May 1945. It became a part of the Cerkno Museum in 1963. In 1997, an American Association of Air Force Veterans issued an award to the Franja Hospital for saving and treating downed American pilot Harold Adams.
In 2003, a stamp was issued by the Slovene Post Office to mark the 60th anniversary of the Franja Hospital, and became the stamp of the year in Slovenia. The Franja Partisan Hospital is on a list of candidates to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On 18 September 2007 it was badly damaged in a flood after severe torrential rains. It was reconstructed and completely rebuilt by 2010, and has since been reopened for visitors.
Source: wikipedia