medieval-style iron foundries to up-to-date modern ironworks facilities in just a few years. The town of Jesenice grew fast, with a great influx of people attracted to new jobs. The beginning of the 20th century The political, cultural, and social life in Jesenice at the beginning of the 20th century was affected by the founding of the competing gymnastics associations, the progressive-nationalist Sokol () in 1904, and the Catholic Orel () in 1906. Other groups established at that time were a choir, a reading club, a brass band, and the Workers' Catholic Association. Three political parties—the Catholic People's Party ("Clerical"), progressive-nationalist party ("Liberal"), and Democratic Party — also became active in Jesenice, all three establishing their own cultural and gymnastics associations. Germans had a great influence in Jesenice at that time; though Orel and Sokol, both being nationally oriented, contributed as well. The first railway tracks were laid through Jesenice in 1870, and construction of railway station followed soon after. This made Jesenice better connected with the world, and facilitated its export trade. Construction of the Karawanks-Bohinj Railway was started in 1905, which was a very complicated project because it required drilling two tunnels: one to Austria through the Karawanks, and the other through Mount Kobla in Bohinj to allow faster access to the seaport of Trieste, then in Austria-Hungary. When the tunnels were completed, the railway line was opened to traffic in a special ceremony attended by Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. The rolling mills were relocated from Jesenice to Slovenski Javornik in 1904. Stockholders wanted to cover the expenses of relocation by lowering workers' wages, which led to the first strike in Jesenice, involving around 400 workers. The strike lasted for six weeks, with strikers only partially achieving their goal. World Wars During World War I, Jesenice ironworks were mainly converted to the manufacturers of military products for Germans. With the front lines being some distance to the south, the war did not reach Jesenice, which only suffered one bombing attack by Italian aircraft, with no casualties. With the end of World War I came major political changes; on December 1, 1918, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was formed, opening up new markets. Due to its border position, Jesenice became an important traffic junction. Between the wars, first grammar school was established in 1914. The first "boys' and girls' school" was established in 1920, offering higher education. Jesenice was