Vrhnika | |
---|---|
| |
Coordinates: 45°57′44.55″N14°17′37.45″E / 45.9623750°N 14.2937361°E 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] ( listen ); 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:
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.
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.
Vincarje is a settlement in the Municipality of Škofja Loka in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia.
Jelični Vrh is a dispersed settlement in the hills southeast of Idrija in the traditional Inner Carniola region of Slovenia. It includes the hamlets of Baraka, Goverkarjev Vrh, Kališe, Pod Veharšami, and Vrh Žale.
Stomaž is a village in the hills north of the Vipava Valley in the Municipality of Ajdovščina in the Littoral region of Slovenia. It is made up of several smaller hamlets: Brith, Dolenja Vas, Hrib, Ljubljanica, Griže, Črnigoji, Bratini, and Batagelji.
Stara Vrhnika is a village north of Vrhnika in the Inner Carniola region of Slovenia. It includes the hamlets of Kuren, Podčelo, and Razor.
Dolenje pri Jelšanah is a village north of Jelšane in the Municipality of Ilirska Bistrica in the Inner Carniola region of Slovenia, next to the border with Croatia. The settlement includes the hamlets of Dolnji Kraj, Gornji Kraj, and Vrh Žloštajna.
Dobec is a small village in the hills north of Begunje in the Municipality of Cerknica in the Inner Carniola region of Slovenia.
Golo is a village in the hills south of Ig in central Slovenia. The entire Municipality of Ig is part of the traditional region of Inner Carniola and is now included in the Central Slovenia Statistical Region.
Črna Vas is a settlement on the right bank of the Ljubljanica River, south 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.
Dol pri Hrastniku is a settlement in the Municipality of Hrastnik in central Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. It is now included with the rest of the municipality in the Central Sava Statistical Region. In addition to the main settlement, it includes the hamlets of Črdenc, Grča, Javorje, Novi Dol, Pod Bregom, Rakovec, and Slatno.
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.
Peter Pavel Glavar was a Carniolan Roman Catholic priest, beekeeper, writer, and businessman.
Gradec is a remote abandoned settlement in the Municipality of Črnomelj in the White Carniola area of southeastern Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region. Its territory is now part of the village of Rožič Vrh.
Dobrunje 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. In addition to the main settlement, Dobrunje consists of the hamlets of Devce, Marinki, Na Trdnjavi, Ob Cesti, and Pod Ježo. Rastučnik Creek, which begins below Orle, runs through the western part of the settlement before joining the Ljubljanica.
Močilnik Springs is the best-known source of the Ljubljanica River.
Bizovik is a formerly independent settlement southeast 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. Parts of the settlement include V Dolini along the road toward Orle, Zgornji Konec or Nazaret around the church to the northwest, Pod Kopalom from the church down to the valley, and Na Vasi in the north.
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.
![]() | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vrhnika (category) |