Dobrina () is a settlement in the Municipality of Šentjur, in eastern

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 ...

. The settlement, and the entire municipality, are included in the

Savinja Statistical Region The Savinja Statistical Region ( sl, Savinjska statistična regija) is a statistical region in Slovenia. The largest town in the region is Celje. It is named after the Savinja River. The region is very diverse in natural geography; it mainly com ...

, which is in the Slovenian portion of the historical

Duchy of Styria The Duchy of Styria (german: Herzogtum Steiermark; sl, Vojvodina Štajerska; hu, Stájer Hercegség) was a duchy located in modern-day southern Austria and northern Slovenia. It was a part of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 180 ...

. Dobrina includes the hamlets of Brode, Drenovc, Glažuta, Hrastje, Svetilka, and Žusem.

Name

Dobrina was first mentioned in written sources circa 1480 as ''Dobring'', ''Dobryn'', and ''Dobrin''. The name is derived from the shortened personal name ''*Dobrъ'' and thus literally means 'Dobrъ's village'. The personal name ''*Dobrъ'' is based on the Slavic adjective ''*dobrъ'' 'good'. The hamlet of Žusem was first attested in 1202 as ''Sůzzenheim'' (and as ''Sůzzenhaim'' in 1208). The Slovene name is derived from

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. High ...

, which also yielded the 19th-century German name ''Süssenheim''. The name is a compound of Middle High German ''süze'' 'sweet' + ''heim'' 'house, dwelling, home'.

History

Until the Second World War, the hamlet of Žusem was an independent settlement. Together with Žusem Castle (german: Süssenheim), it was a fief of Krško. It belonged to the Lords of Süssenheim from 1203 to 1478, with short periods of ownership by the Counts of Celje. After this it was the property of the imperial governors; Leopold Fieglmüller had the castle razed in 1876.

Churches

The local

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, ...

, built on a hill south of Žusem Castle, a 12th-century

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

abandoned in 1871, is known as Žusem Parish. It is dedicated to Saint Valentine and belongs to the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Celje The Roman Catholic Diocese of Celje ( la, Dioecesis Celeiensis; sl, Škofija Celje) is a diocese located in the city of Celje in the Ecclesiastical province of Maribor in Slovenia. History * April 7, 2006: Established as Diocese of Celje from ...

. It was built in the early 18th century on the site of a 16th-century predecessor. The belfry dates to 1894. Right next to it is a second church, dedicated to Saint James ( sl, sveti Jakob). It is a mid-15th-century

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

building with a 17th-century belfry.Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage
reference numbers ešd 3544 & 3545

References

External links

Dobrina on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Šentjur {{ŠentjurpriCelju-geo-stub