Divača (; it, Divaccia) is a large nucleated village 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 areas ...

region of

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 ...

, near the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

border. It is the seat of the

Municipality of Divača The Municipality of Divača (; sl, Občina Divača) is a municipality in the Littoral region of Slovenia, near the Italian border. The seat of the municipality is the town of Divača. The municipality was established on 6 November 1994, when the ...

and a

railway hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips. F ...

Geography

Divača lies along the

A1 motorway A1, A-1, A01 or A.1. may refer to: Education * A1, the Basic Language Certificate of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages * Language A1, the former name for "Language A: literature", one of the IB Group 1 subjects * A1, a ...

and the old main road from Senožeče to Koper, with a junction that also leads to Lokev. The Vremščica Ridge () rises to the northeast, Čebulovica Hill () to the north, and Kožlek Hill () to the west. Tilled fields mostly lie to the northeast, and pastures to the northwest and southwest. There is pine forest to the northeast on Čebulovica Hill. Extensive

afforestation Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees (forestation) in an area where there was no previous tree cover. Many government and non-governmental organizations directly engage in afforestation programs to create forests a ...

has taken place in the area, especially in the 1890s and again after the Second World War. There are many caves in the area. Divača Cave (''Divaška jama'', depth ) and Snake Cave (''Kačna jama'', depth ) lie southwest of the village. The latter is considered one of the most attractive caves in the world and was named because of the many snakes there.

Name

Divača was attested in written sources in 1499 as ''Diwatsch''. The origin of the name is uncertain, but may derive from ''*Divaťa (vьsь)'' (literally, 'Divatъ's village') based on the

hypocorism A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek: (), from (), 'to call by pet names', sometimes also ''hypocoristic'') or pet name is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as ''Izzy'' for I ...

''Divatъ'' or ''Divata''.

History

tree of heaven ''Ailanthus altissima'' , commonly known as tree of heaven, ailanthus, varnish tree, or in Chinese as ''chouchun'' (), is a deciduous tree in the family Simaroubaceae. It is native to northeast and central China, and Taiwan. Unlike other membe ...

plantation stands near the railroad station; it was used to cultivate eri silkworms in the 19th century. A water main was installed for the railroad in 1857, but the town was not connected to the water supply until 1948. Extensive afforestation of abandoned agricultural land took place in the 1890s and before the Second World War. The character of the town changed greatly after the Second World War, with the construction of new apartment buildings, a gym, a public library, stores, and other facilities.

Mass grave

Divača is the site of one known

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 ...

from the end of the Second World War. The Snake Cave Mass Grave ( sl, Grobišče Kačna jama) is located west of the town, near the railway from Ljubljana to Pula. It contains the remains of about 25 people, probably German soldiers, that died at the end of April or beginning of May 1945.

Church

The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the settlement is dedicated to

Saint Anthony the Great Anthony the Great ( grc-gre, Ἀντώνιος ''Antṓnios''; ar, القديس أنطونيوس الكبير; la, Antonius; ; c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356), was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is d ...

and belongs to the

Diocese of Koper ) , cocathedral = Co-Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Nova Gorica() , area_km2 = 4,386 , parishes = 100 , population = 266,403 , population_as_of = 2013 , catholics = 181,230 , catholics_percent= 68 , pope ...

.Roman Catholic Diocese of Koper List of Churches May 2008

Transport

A referendum in September 2017 approved the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

’s plan to build a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

linking the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

port of

Koper Koper (; it, Capodistria, hr, Kopar) is the fifth largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, approximately five kilometres () south of the border with Italy and 20 kilometres () from Triest ...

with the Divaca railway hub, noted because it is near 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 ...

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Divača include: * (1902–1975), biologist and ornithologist *

Ivan Bano Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

(fl. 1880–1910), teacher * (1903–1988), actress * (1895–1973), architect *

Ita Rina Tamara Đorđević (born Italina Lida Kravanja; 7 July 1907 – 10 May 1979), known professionally as Ita Rina, was a Slovenian film actress and beauty queen. She was one of the major film stars in Germany and Czechoslovakia in the late 1920s and ...

, born Ida Kravanja (1907–1979), actress * Rudolf Sterle (1873–1948), legal writer, translator * (1910–1987), mathematician * (1855–1929), cave explorer * (1910–2002), lawyer

References

External links

*
Divača on Geopedia

Municipal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Divaca Populated places in the Municipality of Divača