Lož (, german: Laas, it, Olisa) is a settlement in the

Municipality of Loška Dolina The Municipality of Loška Dolina (; sl, Občina Loška dolina) is a municipality in Slovenia. It is part of the Inner Carniola traditional region. Snežnik Castle and Cross Cave are located in the municipality. Its municipal seat is the town of ...

in the

Inner Carniola Inner Carniola ( sl, Notranjska; german: Innerkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the southwestern part of the larger Carniola region. It comprises the Hrušica karst plateau up to Postojna Gate, bordering the Slovenian Littoral (the ...

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 ...

Name

Originally the settlement that is now

Stari Trg pri Ložu Stari Trg pri Ložu (; sl, Stari trg pri Ložu, german: Altenmarkt, it, Borgovecchio d'Olisa) is a settlement and the administrative seat of the Municipality of Loška Dolina in the Inner Carniola region of Slovenia. Geography The territory of S ...

was called ''Lož'', but in 1341 a new settlement was begun around

Lož Castle Lož Castle ( sl, Grad Lož, german: Schloss Laas), also known as Pusti Grad ("Waste Castle"), is a castle ruin above the settlement of Lož in central Slovenia's Lož Valley. The castle and its lordship are mentioned in period documents under va ...

and the name of the older settlement as well as its

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 ...

were adopted by the new settlement. The older settlement began to be referred to as ''Stari trg'' (literally, 'old market town' in Slovene; german: Altenmarkt). Lož was attested in historical sources as ''Los'' in 1220, ''Lossi'' between 1221 and 1251, ''Loc'' in 1260, ''Loͤs'' in 1341, and ''Las'' in 1440, among other spellings. The Italian name ''Olisa'' dates back at least to the 1880s.

History

The new settlement of Lož around Lož Castle was granted

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

in 1477.

Churches

There are two churches in the settlement. The church in the centre of the town is dedicated to

Saints Peter and Paul Peter and Paul may refer to: * Saint Peter and Paul the Apostle considered together ** Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, 29 June in the Catholic liturgical calendar ** St. Peter and St. Paul's Church (disambiguation) * ''Peter and Paul'' (film), 1 ...

. It was first mentioned in written documents dating to 1428. During Ottoman raids in the late 15th century the church was fortified and a wall was built around the town. The second church is outside the town at the

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

and is dedicated to

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked a ...

. It was built in 1635 after an

oath Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to ...

by locals in a 1631 outbreak of

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...

.Local cultural heritage on the Loška Dolina municipal site
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References

External links

Lož on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Loška Dolina {{LoškaDolina-geo-stub