Bovec ( or ; , german: Flitsch, fur, Plèz) is a town in the
Littoral
The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal a ...
region in northwestern
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 ...
, close to the border with
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. It is the central settlement of the
Municipality of Bovec
The Municipality of Bovec ( or ; sl, Občina Bovec) is a municipality in northwestern Slovenia. Its center is the town of Bovec. , its mayor is Valter Mlekuž.
Geography
The northern parts of the municipality up the Trenta Valley to the peaks o ...
.
Geography
![016 Bovec (5758919989)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/016_Bovec_%285758919989%29.jpg)
Bovec is located from the capital
Ljubljana
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
, at an elevation of . The settlement lies in the Bovec Basin of the upper
Soča
The Soča ( in Slovene) or Isonzo ( in Italian; other names fur, Lusinç, german: Sontig, la, Aesontius or ') is a long river that flows through western Slovenia () and northeastern Italy ().
An Alpine river in character, its source lies in ...
(''Isonzo'') River, below the eastern slopes of Mount
Kanin in the
Julian Alps
The Julian Alps ( sl, Julijske Alpe, it, Alpi Giulie, , ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretch from northeastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 m at Mount Triglav, the highest peak in Slovenia. A large p ...
, forming the border with Italy. The adjacent
Trenta Valley in the northwest leads into
Triglav National Park
Triglav National Park (TNP) ( sl, Triglavski narodni park) is the only national park in Slovenia. It was established in its modern form in 1981 and is located in the northwestern part of the country, respectively the southeastern part of the Alp ...
.
It has been traditionally part of the historic
Goriška
Goriška is a historical region in western Slovenia on the border with Italy. It comprises the northern part of the wider traditional region of the Slovenian Littoral (''Primorska''). The name ''Goriška'' is an adjective referring to the city of ...
region, but today locals prefer to identify with the wider region of the
Slovene Littoral
The Slovene Littoral ( sl, Primorska, ; it, Litorale; german: Küstenland) is one of the five traditional regions of Slovenia. Its name recalls the former Austrian Littoral (''Avstrijsko Primorje''), the Habsburg possessions on the upper Adria ...
.
Name
Bovec was attested in written sources in 1070 as and (and as in 1181–96, in 1257, and in 1377).
[Snoj, Marko. 2009. ''Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen''. Ljubljana: Modrijan and Založba ZRC, pp. 72–73.] During the 12th and 13th centuries, the name designated not only the settlement itself, but also the wider Upper Soča region, including the
Trenta Valley. The Slovene name is derived from the Slavic form , but this itself is of pre-Slavic origin.
The Friulian and German names indicate that the names may be derived from or , which could possibly be connected with the
oronym mentioned by the ancient Greek geographer
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
or the place name . Less likely possibilities include a connection to the ancient place names and . In the local dialect, the settlement is known as .
History
Archaeological finds in the upper Soča Valley indicate continuous settlement since the
Hallstatt
Hallstatt ( , , ) is a small town in the district of Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Salzkammergut ...
era. In ancient times, the area on the
Roman road
Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
leading up to the
Predil Pass
The Predil Pass or Predel Pass ( it, Passo di Predil; sl, Predel, ) (el. 1156 m) is a high mountain pass on the border between Italy and Slovenia.
Geography
The pass is located in the Julian Alps, between the peaks of Mount Mangart to ...
was part of the northeastern region of the province. It was incorporated into the
Carolingian March of Friuli
The March of Friuli was a Carolingian frontier march, established in 776 as the continuation of the Lombard Duchy of Friuli, established against the Slavs and Avars. It was ceded to the Duchy of Bavaria as the March of Verona in 952. Its territ ...
, after
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
had conquered the Italian
Kingdom of the Lombards
The Kingdom of the Lombards ( la, Regnum Langobardorum; it, Regno dei Longobardi; lmo, Regn di Lombard) also known as the Lombard Kingdom; later the Kingdom of (all) Italy ( la, Regnum totius Italiae), was an early medieval state established ...
in 774.
With the medieval
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
, it came under the rule of King
Otto I of Germany in 952 and was incorporated into the Imperial
March of Verona
The March of Verona and Aquileia was a vast march (frontier district) of the Holy Roman Empire in the northeastern Italian peninsula during the Middle Ages, centered on the cities of Verona and Aquileia. Seized by King Otto I of Germany in 952, ...
. Bovec itself was first mentioned in 1192, when it belonged to the ecclesiastical , ruled by the
Patriarchs of Aquileia
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
. It was part of
Tolmin
Tolmin (; it, Tolmino,trilingual name ''Tolmein, Tolmino, Tolmin'' inGemeindelexikon, der im Reichsrate Vertretenen Königreiche und Länder. Bearbeit auf Grund der Ergebnisse der Volkszählung vom 31. Dezember 1900. Herausgegeben von der K.K. ...
(Tolmein) County, which was conquered by the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
in 1420 and incorporated into the .
Habsburg rule
The lands on the upper Soča River were finally annexed to the
Inner Austria
Inner Austria (german: Innerösterreich; sl, Notranja Avstrija; it, Austria Interiore) was a term used from the late 14th to the early 17th century for the Habsburg hereditary lands south of the Semmering Pass, referring to the Imperial duchi ...
n lands under Emperor
Maximilian I during the
War of the League of Cambrai
The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fough ...
in 1509 and added to the
County of Gorizia
The County of Gorizia ( it, Contea di Gorizia, german: Grafschaft Görz, sl, Goriška grofija, fur, Contee di Gurize), from 1365 Princely County of Gorizia, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. Originally mediate ''Vogts'' of the Patriarchs of ...
() in the south, which Maximilian had inherited in 1500.
![5kr IssueII RDb-f Flitsch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/5kr_IssueII_RDb-f_Flitsch.jpg)
Elevated to the
Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca
The Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca (german: Gefürstete Grafschaft Görz und Gradisca; it, Principesca Contea di Gorizia e Gradisca; sl, Poknežena grofija Goriška in Gradiščanska), historically sometimes shortened to and spelled " ...
in 1754, the majority of the predominantly
Slovene-speaking territories of the province—with the exception of a brief period between 1809 and 1813, when it was included under the
Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy (1805–1814; it, Regno d'Italia; french: Royaume d'Italie) was a kingdom in Northern Italy (formerly the Italian Republic) in personal union with Napoleon I's French Empire. It was fully influenced by revolutionary Franc ...
—remained under
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n rule until 1918, from 1849 within the
crown land
Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...
of the
Austrian Littoral (). Slovene completely replaced German as the language of everyday communication in the 19th century.
During the last
Austro-Hungarian period, when the Littoral was part of
Cisleithanian Austria, Flitsch was administrated within the Tolmein
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
(one of the 11 districts within ). The
Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...
had two fortresses erected along the Predil Pass road, the well-preserved
Kluže Fortress
The Kluže Fortress is a fort near the town of Bovec in northwestern Slovenia.
The original fortress was built in 1472 near Bovec on the road between Cave del Predil and Carinthia. Its likely original purpose was defence of Friuli against the Tur ...
in 1881–82 and the ruined ''
Fort Hermann
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
''.
World War I
![Bovec Slovenia - Military cemetery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Bovec_Slovenia_-_Military_cemetery.JPG)
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the area was the theatre of the bloody
Battles of the Isonzo
The Battles of the Isonzo (known as the Isonzo Front by historians, sl, soška fronta) were a series of 12 battles between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I mostly on the territory of present-day Slovenia, and the remaind ...
, fought between Austro-Hungarian forces and the Italian Army between June 1915 and November 1917, which devastated the region almost completely.
After the war, the military cemetery east of Bovec was expanded and the remains of Austro-Hungarian and Italian soldiers were transferred to the cemetery from surrounding cemeteries. The remains of the Italian soldiers were exhumed and transferred to the Italian military ossuary outside
Kobarid
Kobarid (; it, Caporetto, fur, Cjaurêt, german: Karfreit) is a settlement in Slovenia, the administrative centre of the Municipality of Kobarid.
Kobarid is known for the 1917 Battle of Caporetto, where the Italian retreat was documented by Erne ...
in 1938. Over 600 soldiers are buried in the cemetery; the graves cover the entire cemetery area, although only the south quarter has concrete grave markers. There are no names on the grave markers.
Upon the 1918
Battle of Vittorio Veneto
The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought from 24 October to 3 November 1918 (with an armistice taking effect 24 hours later) near Vittorio Veneto on the Italian Front during World War I. After having thoroughly defeated Austro-Hungarian troop ...
, Bovec was occupied by Italian forces and by the 1920
Treaty of Rapallo Following World War I there were two Treaties of Rapallo, both named after Rapallo, a resort on the Ligurian coast of Italy:
* Treaty of Rapallo, 1920, an agreement between Italy and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (the later Yugoslav ...
officially annexed to the
Julian March
Venezia Giulia, traditionally called Julian March (Serbo-Croatian, Slovene: ''Julijska krajina'') or Julian Venetia ( it, Venezia Giulia; vec, Venesia Julia; fur, Vignesie Julie; german: Julisch Venetien) is an area of southeastern Europe wh ...
as part of the
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
. Under the
Italian Fascist regime between 1922 and 1943, the Slovene-speaking population of Bovec and the neighbouring villages was submitted to a policy of forced
Italianization
Italianization ( it, italianizzazione; hr, talijanizacija; french: italianisation; sl, poitaljančevanje; german: Italianisierung; el, Ιταλοποίηση) is the spread of Italian culture, language and identity by way of integration or a ...
. Numerous locals in turn joined the underground militant anti-fascist
TIGR
TIGR, an abbreviation for ''Trst'', ''Istra'', ''Gorica'', and ''Reka'', full name Revolutionary Organization of the Julian March T.I.G.R. ( sl, Revolucionarna organizacija Julijske krajine T.I.G.R.), was a militant anti-fascist and insurgent or ...
organization, while many others emigrated to the neighbouring
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
.
World War II
Between 1943 and 1945, the area was occupied by
Nazi German
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
forces, and units of
Slovene partisans
The Slovene Partisans, formally the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Slovenia, (NOV in POS) were part of Europe's most effective anti-Nazi resistance movement Jeffreys-Jones, R. (2013): ''In Spies We Trust: The Story of Western ...
were active in the area. After liberation by the
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...
in May 1945, Bovec came under joint British-U.S. occupation. Between June 1945 and September 1947, Bovec and the entire right bank of the Soča River was included in Zone A of the former Julian March, which was under Allied military administration, with the
demarcation line with the Yugoslav occupation zone running just a few kilometers east of the town.
Mass grave
![Bovec Cemetery Mass Grave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Bovec_Cemetery_Mass_Grave.JPG)
Bovec is the site of a
mass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...
associated with the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The Cemetery Mass Grave ( sl, Grobišče na pokopališču) is located next to the entrance to the town cemetery. It contained the remains of 11 German soldiers killed between 1941 and 1945. The names of all of them are known. The grave was exhumed in 2000 and the remains were transferred to
Žale Cemetery in Ljubljana. Unlike most mass graves in Slovenia, the grave was well maintained during the communist era with funds provided by the
German War Graves Commission
The German War Graves Commission ( in German) is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of German war graves in Europe and North Africa. Its objectives are acquisition, maintenance and care of German war graves; tending to next of kin; youth ...
. The mass grave is marked by a plaque in Slovene and German.
Postwar
In September 1947, the
Paris Peace Treaties
The Paris Peace Treaties (french: Traités de Paris) were signed on 10 February 1947 following the end of World War II in 1945.
The Paris Peace Conference lasted from 29 July until 15 October 1946. The victorious wartime Allied powers (princi ...
gave the town to
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
. In 1951, Bovec became a town. With the
breakup of Yugoslavia
The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
in 1991, Bovec became part of independent Slovenia.
Bovec was heavily damaged by the
1976 Friuli earthquake. Another moderate quake with a magnitude of 5.6 on the
Richter magnitude scale
The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...
shook the town in April 1998, and a weaker one occurred in July 2004, with a 4.9 magnitude.
Economy
Tourism
![SpodnjeKluze1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/SpodnjeKluze1.jpg)
The citizens of Bovec largely depend on
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
. In recent years, the area has become increasingly popular with advertisers and filmmakers; part of the Disney film ''
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'' was shot here. The area received the
European Destinations of Excellence
European Destinations of ExcelleNce, also known by the acronym EDEN, is an initiative launched by the European Commission promoting sustainable tourism development models across Europe. The project is based on national competitions which take plac ...
award in 2008 with the Soča Stories project.
Area destinations include Boka Falls, Mount
Triglav (2864 m), the Soča River, Lake Krn, the Kanin (
Sella Nevea
Sella Nevea ( fur, Nevee, german: Neveasattel, sl, Na Žlebeh), at an altitude of , is a high mountain pass in the Julian Alps, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. Sella Nevea also lends its name to a ''frazione'' of the C ...
) ski resort, the
Vršič Pass
The Vršič Pass (; sl, prelaz Vršič, it, passo della Moistrocca, german: Werschetzpass), with an elevation of , is a high mountain pass across the Julian Alps in northwestern Slovenia. It is the highest pass in Slovenia, as well as the high ...
(1611 m), and the mountain road to the
Mangart
Mangart or Mangrt is a mountain in the Julian Alps, located on the border between Italy and Slovenia. With an elevation of , it is the third-highest peak in Slovenia, after Triglav and Škrlatica. It was first climbed in 1794 by the naturalist F ...
Saddle. Activities around Bovec include kayaking, rafting, hiking (the Peace Trail from Bovec to
Kluže Fortress
The Kluže Fortress is a fort near the town of Bovec in northwestern Slovenia.
The original fortress was built in 1472 near Bovec on the road between Cave del Predil and Carinthia. Its likely original purpose was defence of Friuli against the Tur ...
, the Soča Trail, and the Alpe-Adria Trail), performances by Društvo 1313, cheese tasting on the Mangart Plain, the Kanin circular cableway, Prestreljenik Window ( sl, Prestreljeniško okno) and other karst features, a zip line, and fishing.
Notable natives
Notable people that were born or lived in Bovec include:
*Vasja Klavora (born 1936), author and politician
Občina Bovec: dr. Vasja Klavora
See also
*Julius Kugy
Julius Kugy (19 July 1858 – 5 February 1944) was a mountaineer, writer, botanist, humanist, lawyer and officer of Slovenian descent. He wrote mostly in German. He is renowned for his travelogues from opening up the Julian Alps, in which he refle ...
References
External links
*
Bovec on Geopedia
Soča Valley tourist information
*
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in the Julian Alps
Cities and towns in the Slovene Littoral
Populated places in the Municipality of Bovec
Populated places in the Soča Valley