Vrhnika | |
---|---|
From top, left to right: Vrhnika skyline, Holy Trinity Church, Kunstelj Villa, Lavrenčič House, St. Paul's Church, Cankar's Statue | |
Coordinates: 45°57′44.55″N14°17′37.45″E / 45.9623750°N 14.2937361°E | |
Country | ![]() |
Traditional region | Inner Carniola |
Statistical region | Central Slovenia |
Municipality | Vrhnika |
Area | |
• Total | 18.9 km2 (7.3 sq mi) |
Elevation | 293.1 m (961.6 ft) |
Population (2012) | |
• Total | 8,454 |
Vehicle registration | LJ |
[1] |
Vrhnika (pronounced [ˈʋəɾxnika] ⓘ ; German : Oberlaibach; [2] Latin : Nauportus) is a town in Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Vrhnika. It is located on the Ljubljanica River, 21 km from Ljubljana along the A1 motorway.
Vrhnika lies at the southwest end of the Ljubljana Marsh near the sources of the Ljubljanica River, where the Ljubljana Basin opens up between the foot of Ljubljana Peak (Slovene : Ljubljanski vrh, 819 meters or 2,687 feet) and Ulovka Hill (801 meters or 2,628 feet). [3] The territory of the town extends south onto the Logatec Plateau (Slovene : Logaška planota), where the Big and Little Drnovica Collapse Sinkholes (Slovene : Velika Drnovica, Mala Drnovica) are found. [4] A rich network of springs and streams originates and joins near the town to form the source of the Ljubljanica. [3]
The settlement at the location of today's Vrhnika was attested in antiquity as Nauportus in Latin, and as Ναύποντος and Νάμπορτος in Greek. Medieval attestations of the name include de superiory Laybaco in 1300, Oberlaybach in 1308 (and Ober Laybach in 1309), and Vernich in 1481, corresponding to the modern Slovene name. In the past, the town was known as Oberlaibach in standard German. The Slovene name is probably a compound of vrh 'top, summit' + nika or nikve 'creek, spring', referring to the source of the Ljubljanica River. The Latin name Nauportus is a compound of navis 'boat' + portus 'transfer', referring to a place where cargo had to be transferred from boats to pack animals or carts along a trade route. A mythological reinterpretation of the Latin name as referring to the portage of a boat itself (specifically, the Argo ) appears in Pliny the Elder's Natural History . [5]
In Roman times, Nauportus was an important communication point. [6] Vrhnika as it exists today started to develop in the High Middle Ages.
Vrhnika became a market town and was among the wealthiest towns in Carniola [7] up to the early 18th century, when it started to lose importance. Nevertheless, it remained one of main transportation junctions in Inner Austria because of its strategic location on the crossroads between the trade routes from Trieste to Vienna and from Rijeka to Klagenfurt. [8] The development of the town was strongly impaired by the construction of the Austrian Southern Railway in the 1840s, which bypassed it. From then on, it started losing importance, becoming a satellite town of Ljubljana, which has remained up to this day.
Vrhnika is the site of a mass grave from the period immediately after the Second World War. The Pikec Valley Mass Grave (Slovene : Grobišče pri Pikčevi dolini) is located at the bottom of a sinkhole southwest of the town, on Sveč Hill near the Vojc house. It contains the remains of six German prisoners of war that were murdered in May 1945. [9] [10]
Notable people that were born or lived in Vrhnika include:
Trbovlje is Slovenia's tenth-largest town, and the seat of the Municipality of Trbovlje. It is located in the valley of a minor left tributary of the Sava River in the Central Sava Valley in central-eastern Slovenia.
Komenda is a village in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Komenda. It includes the formerly independent settlement of Kaplja Vas.
Prevalje is a town in northern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Prevalje. It lies in the traditional Slovenian province of Carinthia. Prevalje lies in a valley where the Meža River emerges from a narrow gorge, full of fluvioglacial sediments. To the north the town is bounded by the Strojna, Stražišče, and Dolga Brda hills. To the south are Navrski vrh and Riflov vrh.
Sevnica is a town on the left bank of the Sava River in central Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Sevnica. It is one of the three major settlements in the Lower Sava Valley. The old town of Sevnica lies beneath Sevnica Castle, which is perched on top of Castle Hill, while the new part of town stretches along the plain among the hills up the Sava Valley, forming another town core at the confluence of the Sevnična and Sava rivers.
Šenčur is a settlement in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Šenčur.
Kostanjevica na Krki is a small town in the historic Lower Carniola region of southern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Kostanjevica na Krki. Today it is part of the Lower Sava Statistical Region. It is located in the northern foothills of the Gorjanci Hills near the border with Croatia. The center of the settlement is on an island in the Krka River, and it is also promoted as the "Venice of Lower Carniola" in Slovenian.
Šentjošt nad Horjulom is a settlement in the Municipality of Dobrova–Polhov Gradec in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. In addition to the main settlement, it also includes the hamlets of Kogel, Krvinet, Kurja Vas, Paradiže, Pišek, Potok, and Stavnik, as well as part of the hamlet of Suhi Dol.
Pečine is a village in the mountains above the right bank of the Idrijca River in the Municipality of Tolmin in the Littoral region of Slovenia. It includes the hamlets of Črni Vrh, Kabiunk, Kal, Maraževec, Podkal, Travnik, and Stari Rut.
Stara Vrhnika is a village north of Vrhnika in the Inner Carniola region of Slovenia. It includes the hamlets of Kuren, Podčelo, and Razor.
Brezovica pri Borovnici is a settlement south of Borovnica in the Inner Carniola region of Slovenia. The settlement includes the hamlets of Kapitov Grič, Prod, and Vrbljene.
Dobec is a small village in the hills north of Begunje in the Municipality of Cerknica in the Inner Carniola region of Slovenia.
Boris Furlan was a Slovenian jurist, philosopher of law, translator and liberal politician. During World War II, he worked as a speaker on Radio London, and was known as "London's Slovene voice". He served as a Minister in the Tito–Šubašić coalition government. In 1947, he was convicted by the Yugoslav Communist authorities at the Nagode Trial.
Zabukovica is a settlement in the Municipality of Žalec in east-central Slovenia. It lies in the hills south of Žalec. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. The Municipality of Žalec is included in the Savinja Statistical Region. Zabukovica includes the hamlets of Kurja Vas, Močle, Odele, Podvine, Porence, Slovenski Dol, Sončni Hrib, and Zabukovška Vas.
Lambert Ehrlich was a Carinthian Slovene Roman Catholic priest, political figure, and ethnologist.
Peter Pavel Glavar was a Carniolan Roman Catholic priest, beekeeper, writer, and businessman.
Studenec is a formerly independent settlement in the southeast part of the capital Ljubljana in central Slovenia. It belongs to the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is part of the traditional region of Upper Carniola and is now included with the rest of the municipality in the Central Slovenia Statistical Region.
Štepanja Vas is a formerly independent settlement in the southeast part of the capital Ljubljana in central Slovenia. It belongs to the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included with the rest of the municipality in the Central Slovenia Statistical Region.
Baltazar Baebler was a Slovene chemist.
Podutik is a former settlement in central Slovenia in the northwest part of the capital Ljubljana. It belongs to the Dravlje District of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is part of the traditional region of Upper Carniola and is now included with the rest of the municipality in the Central Slovenia Statistical Region.
Gorenji Logatec is a former village in western Slovenia in the Municipality of Logatec. It is now part of the town of Logatec. It is part of the traditional region of Inner Carniola and is now included in the Central Slovenia Statistical Region.