Črni Kal (; it, San Sergio) is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
in southwestern
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
in the
City Municipality of Koper
The City Municipality of Koper (; sl, Mestna občina Koper, it, Comune città di Capodistria) is one of twelve city municipalities of Slovenia. It lies at the coastline of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Slovenia and was established in 1994. ...
. It is best known today for the
Črni Kal Viaduct, the longest and the highest
viaduct in Slovenia.
Name
The name ''Črni Kal'' literally means 'black pond', based on the common noun ''kal'' 'pond, watering hole' and referring to a local geographical feature.
Architecture
Houses
The village has some good examples of traditional Karst architecture. One such monument is the Benko House, built in 1489 by
stonemasons Andrej (Andrew) and Benko (Benjamin) as indicated by an
inscription
Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the w ...
on the building: ''Andreas et Benco construxerunt''. This makes it oldest surviving
farmhouse in the Koper area and is also the oldest signed and dated secular building in all of Slovenia. It stands on the lower edge of the village core and is made of chiseled
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
and
marlstone blocks. It comprises two buildings with inscriptions in the
Glagolitic alphabet
The Glagolitic script (, , ''glagolitsa'') is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. It is generally agreed to have been created in the 9th century by Saint Cyril, a monk from Thessalonica. He and his brother Saint Methodius were sent by the Byzan ...
on the facade. The older building is the main house, with
Romanesque as well as late-
Gothic features.
Church
The local church is dedicated to
Saint Lawrence and belongs to the Parish of
Predloka.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Koper List of Churches May 2008
/ref>
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crni Kal
Populated places in the City Municipality of Koper