Kostanjevica na Krki (; also ''Kostanjevica ob Krki,'' german: Landstraß''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 68.) is a small

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in the historic

Lower Carniola Lower Carniola ( sl, Dolenjska; german: Unterkrain) is a traditional region in Slovenia, the southeastern part of the historical Carniola region. Geography Lower Carniola is delineated by the Ljubljana Basin with the city of Ljubljana to the no ...

region of southern

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 ...

. It is the seat of the

Municipality of Kostanjevica na Krki The Municipality of Kostanjevica na Krki (; sl, Občina Kostanjevica na Krki) is a municipality in the traditional Lower Carniola region of southern Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Kostanjevica na Krki. It is part of the L ...

. Today it is part of the

Lower Sava Statistical Region The Lower Sava Statistical Region ( sl, Posavska statistična regija; until December 31, 2014 ) is a statistical region in Slovenia. It has good traffic accessibility and is located in the Sava and Krka Valleys, with hilly areas with vineyards and ...

. It is located in the northern foothills of the Gorjanci Hills near the border with

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. The center of the settlement is on an island in the Krka River, and it is also promoted as the "

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

of Lower Carniola" in Slovenian ( sl, Dolenjske Benetke).

Name

The name of the settlement was changed from ''Kostanjevica'' to ''Kostanjevica na Krki'' in 1955. In the past the German name was ''Landstraß''.

History

The town is protected as a cultural and historical monument. Kostanjevica is the oldest city of the region. In the early 13th century, the

Carinthian Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carint ...

duke

Bernhard von Spanheim Bernhard von Spanheim (or Sponheim; 1176 or 1181 – 4 January 1256), a member of the noble House of Sponheim, was Duke of Carinthia for 54 years from 1202 until his death. A patron of chivalry and minnesang, Bernhard's reign marked the emerge ...

established the ''Fons Sanctae Mariae''

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

Abbey on the southern frontier of the

March of Carniola The March (or Margraviate) of Carniola ( sl, Kranjska krajina; german: Mark Krain) was a southeastern Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire in the High Middle Ages, the predecessor of the Duchy of Carniola. It corresponded roughly to the c ...

, which he claimed against the resistance of 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 certain ...

and the Dukes of Merania. Kostanjevica-grad-samostan-3

The monastery, a filial of

Viktring Abbey Viktring Abbey (german: Stift Viktring, sl, Opatija Vetrinj) is a former Cistercians, Cistercian monastery in the Austrian state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia. Stift Viktring is now the name of the Roman Catholic parish in Viktring, since 1973 a ...

near

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

, was enlarged in a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style in the early 18th century. It was nevertheless finally disbanded in 1785 by the Habsburg emperor

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 unt ...

. The settlement of Kostanjevica was first mentioned as a

in 1210 and received

market rights A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

in 1249. During the Late Middle Ages it was an important commercial centre in the

Duchy of Carniola The Duchy of Carniola ( sl, Vojvodina Kranjska, german: Herzogtum Krain, hu, Krajna) was an imperial estate of the Holy Roman Empire, established under House of Habsburg, Habsburg rule on the territory of the former East Frankish March of Carn ...

held by the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

archdukes of

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 ...

. After several devastations by Ottoman military raids in the 15th and 16th centuries, it lost its importance. After the 17th century, it turned into a mostly rural settlement, which however retained its town status. In 2000, it was recognised by the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

as a city.

Mass grave

Kostanjevica na Krki is the location of one of two known

mass graves 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 in the Krakovo Forest. The sites consist of 10 large mounds and contain the remains of an undetermined number of Croatian prisoners of war, civilians, and possibly German soldiers as well. The Krakovo Forest 2 Mass Grave () lies about northeast of the north bridge across the Krka River in Kostanjevica na Krki and about from the bridge across Sajevec Creek. The site is marked by a large mound with a cross next to it. The grave site was created simultaneously with the

Krakovo Forest 1 Mass Grave Sajevce () is a small settlement in the Municipality of Kostanjevica na Krki in eastern Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Lower Sava Statistical Region. Geography Sajevce lies on the ...

( sl, Grobišče Krakovski gozd 1) in neighboring Sajevce. The two sites were created around May 15, 1945, when

Partisan Partisan may refer to: Military * Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line Films * ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film * ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...

forces captured about 4,000 Croatian soldiers and civilians at Dobruška Vas fleeing toward Austria. They were held on the left bank of the Krka River and killed in the forest over the course of a few days; eyewitnesses stated that the victims included children, women, and elderly persons.

Sights

A former monastic complex, which was burned by the Partisans in

World War II 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 ...

, has been renovated and now houses the Božidar Jakac Gallery, an

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

with a sculpture park and a permanent exhibition of works by

Božidar Jakac Božidar Jakac (July 16, 1899 – November 20, 1989) was a Slovene Expressionist, Realist and Symbolist painter, printmaker, art teacher, photographer and filmmaker. He produced one of the most extensive oeuvres of pastels and oil paintings ...

. It is dominated by the

Early Gothic Early Gothic is the style of architecture that appeared in northern France, Normandy and then England between about 1130 and the mid-13th century. It combined and developed several key elements from earlier styles, particularly from Romanesque ar ...

abbey church built in 1234. The town's parish church is dedicated to Saint James and belongs to the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Novo Mesto The Roman Catholic Diocese of Novo Mesto ( la, Dioecesis Novae Urbis; sl, Škofija Novo mesto) is a diocese in the city of Novo Mesto in the Ecclesiastical province of Ljubljana in Slovenia. History * April 7, 2006: Established as Diocese of ...

. It is an originally 13th century Romanesque building that was largely rebuilt in the

style in the 17th century.Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage
reference numbers 264 Kostanjevica Cave ( sl, Kostanjeviška jama), a popular tourist destination, is nearby.

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Kostanjevica na Krki include: * Ivan Belle (1867–1924), viticultural and orchard specialistSavnik, Roman, ed. 1976. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 3. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije. p. 145. * Božo Borstnik (?–1974), journalist and translator * Franc Bučar (1926–2000), veterinarian and technical writer * Franc Fabinc (1881–1923), educational writer, journalist, and editor * Jože Gorjup (1907–1932), painter, sculptor, and graphic artist * Jože Jankovič (1901–1973), cultural activist * Mirko Kuhelj (1904–1958), writer * Jože Likar (1895–1986), writer and enologist * France Lokar (1917–1994), poet * Anton Makovic (1750–1803), surgeon, member of the national awakening movement and founder of formal education for midwives * Franc Marešič (1750–1801), translator and religious writer * Ivan Oražen (1869–1921), physician * Lenart Pachenecker (?–1581), Cistercian monk and author of the first Catholic Slovenian book *

Josef Ressel Joseph Ludwig Franz Ressel ( cs, Josef Ludvík František Ressel; June 29, 1793 – October 9, 1857) was a forester and inventor of Czech-Austrian descent, who designed one of the first working ship's propellers. Ressel was born in Chrudim, Bo ...

(1793–1857), Bohemian-Austrian inventor of the screw propeller * Franc Rueh (1887–1968), technical writer and electrical engineer * Niko Sever (1889–?), education specialist * Ilka Vašte (1891–1967), writer * Avgust Žabkar (1854–1930), metalworking industrialist * Radoslav Žargi (1918–1993), physician and specialist in infectious diseases

References

External links

*
Kostanjevica na Krki on Geopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kostanjevica Na Krki Populated places in the Municipality of Kostanjevica na Krki Cities and towns in Lower Carniola