Liboje () is a settlement in the
Municipality of Žalec
The Municipality of Žalec (; sl, Občina Žalec) is a municipality in Slovenia in the traditional region of Styria. The seat of the municipality is the town of Žalec. The municipality was established in its current form on 7 August 1998, when ...
in east-central
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 lies in the hills south of Žalec and southwest of
Celje. The area is part of the traditional region of
Styria. The municipality is now 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 c ...
. It includes the hamlets of Kurja Vas ( sl, Kurja vas), Straža, and Svetli Dol or Tihi Gaj.
[Savnik, Roman, ed. 1976. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 3. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije. pp. 501–502.]
Name
Liboje was attested in written records in 1320 as ''Lybon'' (and as ''Liban'' in 1368, ''Lybochendorf'' in 1378, ''Liboch(e)ndorff'' in 1409, ''Loubuen'' in 1430, and ''Lybochendorf'' in 1441). The origin of the name is unclear; it may be derived from a personal name.
[Snoj, Marko. 2009. ''Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen''. Ljubljana: Modrijan and Založba ZRC, p. 233.]
History
In addition to agriculture, industry developed early in the settlement. An
alum factory as established in 1784, and was converted to glass production in 1807. Glass production was discontinued at the end of the 19th century. Coal mining began in Liboje in 1799. Both the coal mine and the glass works were purchased by the Trbovlje Coal Company in 1889. The owner of the glass works established an elementary school in 1861 for his children. Public education began in Liboje in 1885, and one of the former glass works buildings was converted into a school in 1922. In March 1934 the miners in Liboje staged a hunger strike, and the local cell of the Communist Party was founded the same year. During the Second World War, the coal mine was attacked by a
Partisan unit. The Partisans also operated a relay station and other facilities in the area during the war.
Church
The local
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
is dedicated to
Saint Agnes
Agnes of Rome () is a virgin martyr, venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Anglican Communion and Lutheran Churches. St. Agnes is one of several virgin martyrs co ...
( sl, sveta Neža) and belongs to the
Parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...
of
Griže.
[Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage](_blank)
reference number ešd 3007 Its foundations go back to the 14th century and it was first mentioned in written sources in 1540. It was renovated and extended between 1827 and 1828.
Subsidence caused the nave to become unstable, and so it was razed.
The current structure incorporates the bell tower, sacristy, and chancel of the old church with a new nave built between 1985 and 1999.
Notable people
Notable people that were born or lived in Liboje include:
*
Ludvik Cencelj (1919–2011), chemist
References
External links
Liboje on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Žalec
{{Žalec-geo-stub