| Smolenja Vas | |
|---|---|
  Smolenja Vas Location in Slovenia | |
| Coordinates: 45°48′31.01″N15°11′58.83″E / 45.8086139°N 15.1996750°E Coordinates: 45°48′31.01″N15°11′58.83″E / 45.8086139°N 15.1996750°E | |
| Country |  |
| Traditional region | Lower Carniola |
| Statistical region | Southeast Slovenia |
| Municipality | Novo Mesto |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.01 km2 (0.78 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 184.9 m (606.6 ft) |
| Population (2002) | |
| • Total | 464 |
| [1] | |
Smolenja Vas (pronounced [smɔˈleːnja ˈʋaːs] ; Slovene : Smolenja vas) is a village in the hills northeast of Novo Mesto in southeastern Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region. [2]
Slovene or Slovenian belongs to the group of South Slavic languages. It is spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It is the first language of about 2.1 million Slovenian people and is one of the 24 official and working languages of the European Union.
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town, with a population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Though villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighborhoods. Villages are normally permanent, with fixed dwellings; however, transient villages can occur. Further, the dwellings of a village are fairly close to one another, not scattered broadly over the landscape, as a dispersed settlement.
Novo Mesto is the city on a bend of the Krka River in the City Municipality of Novo Mesto in southeastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. The town is traditionally considered the economic and cultural centre of the historical Lower Carniola region.
The local church, built on the northern outskirts of the village, is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary and belongs to the Parish of Novo Mesto–Sveti Lenart. It was a medieval building that was extensively restyled in the Baroque style in 1644. [3]
A church building or church house, often simply called a church, is a building used for Christian religious activities, particularly for Christian worship services. The term is often used by Christians to refer to the physical buildings where they worship, but it is sometimes used to refer to buildings of other religions. In traditional Christian architecture, the church is often arranged in the shape of a Christian cross. When viewed from plan view the longest part of a cross is represented by the aisle and the junction of the cross is located at the altar area.
The Assumption of Mary into Heaven is, according to the beliefs of the Catholic Church, Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy, the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her earthly life.
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or more curates, and who operates from a parish church. Historically, a parish often covered the same geographical area as a manor. Its association with the parish church remains paramount.
