Mount Saint Donatus ( sl, Donačka gora) also known as Mount Rogatec ( sl, Rogaška gora), elevation , is a mountain 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 ...

. It is among the easternmost peaks in the

Karawanks The Karawanks or Karavankas or Karavanks ( sl, Karavanke; german: Karawanken, ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps on the border between Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: ...

, which extend to Mount Ivanšćica in

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 ...

Name

The older names for the mountain — ''Mount Rogatec'' (''Rogaška gora'') or ''Rogač''—are probably related to the hornlike shape of the mountain; viewed from Rogaška Slatina from the west, it is a sharp, rocky peak. In the geographical sense, the Slovene common noun ''rog'' 'horn' also means 'tall rocky prominence'. The modern name of the mountain is derived from a dedicated to

Saint Donatus Saints who were named Donatus include: * Saint Donatus of Muenstereifel, 2nd century military martyr and a patron against lightning * Saints Donatus, Romulus, Secundian, and 86 Companions, 3rd century * Saint Donatus of Arezzo, bishop of Arezzo (?- ...

History

Archaeological findings beneath Mount Saint Donatus reveal evidence of ancient human habitation, including

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

stone axes, a bronze axe from around 1000 BC, and

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

artifacts. A section of a late antique

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

, containing

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a cadaver, corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from ...

, was discovered on a terrace near the mountain's peak. During the Roman era, the mountain was known as ''Mons Claudii'', named after a prominent military leader. A

mithraeum A Mithraeum , sometimes spelled Mithreum and Mithraion ( grc, Μιθραίον), is a Mithraic temple, erected in classical antiquity by the worshippers of Mithras. Most Mithraea can be dated between 100 BC and 300 AD, mostly in the Roman Emp ...

once stood at the summit, now marked by a cross. The mountain served as a watchtower during Ottoman invasions, where

bonfire A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Etymology The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Catho ...

s were used to signal danger. Between 1720 and 1730, a wooden church was built on the south slope of the mountain at an elevation of . This original church was destroyed on 6 August 1741 when it was hit by a lightning; 59 people died in the accident. The present church was built from 1756 to 1780. It features east-west orientation, a rounded nave, wooden facade towers, and a sacristy. The nave was vaulted in 1843. There are three side altars and oil paintings by Jožef Anton Lerchinger from Rogatec in the interior.

Geography

Mount Saint Donatus rises steeply from its foothills to a short, sharp ridge of varying elevation. The mountain has three peaks, the highest being the westernmost, the middle one () being called ''Resenik'', and the lowest one () being called ''Ženčaj''. The easternmost peak has a rocky precipice of about on the north and south sides. The ridge offers a very good view and is therefore a popular hiking destination, especially for residents of nearby

Rogaška Slatina Rogaška Slatina (; german: Rohitsch-Sauerbrunn''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 4: ''Štajersko''. 1904. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 248.) is a town in eastern Slovenia. It is the large ...

and

Rogatec Rogatec (; german: RohitschSuppan, Arnold. 1996. ''Jugoslawien und Österreich 1918–1938: Bilaterale Außenpolitik im Europäischen Umfeld.'' Vienna: Verlag für Geschichte und Politik, p. 663.) is a small town in eastern Slovenia, on the border ...

. The south and west slopes are less steep. The settlements of

Donačka Gora Donačka Gora (; german: Donatiberg) is a settlement east of the town of Rogatec in eastern Slovenia. It lies south of a hill with the same name. The area traditionally belonged to the Styria region and is now included in the Savinja Statistica ...

, Tlake, and Sveti Jurij with small vineyards and orchards have developed here.

Geology

The mountain's ridge consists of

Lithothamnion ''Lithothamnion'' is a genus of thalloid red alga comprising 103 species. Its members are known by a number of common names.Recorded common names are griuán, maërl, punalevä-suku, stenhinna and maerl. The monomerous, crustose thalli are compos ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and quartz sandstone. This geological formation was the last to rise from the

Pannonian Sea The Pannonian Sea was a shallow ancient lake, where the Pannonian Basin in Central Europe is now. The Pannonian Sea existed from about 10 Ma (million years ago) until 1 Ma, during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs, when marine sediments were dep ...

. The base is made up of soft

Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

rocks, mainly

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

. In the foothills of Mount Saint Donatus there are around 40 abandoned quarries of quartz sandstone, which was used in the past centuries for the construction of houses (portals, stairs), chapels and statues, and was also used to make sharpening stones which was still an important activity in the last century. After 1956, this activity died out.

Flora and fauna

There is a

beech forest Beech Forest is a town in Victoria, Australia. The area of Beech Forest is largely used for potato farming. History The town was named after the many myrtle beech trees of the area. Beech Forest Post Office opened on 10 May 1890 and closed in ...

reserve measuring on the northern slope of Mount Saint Donatus. It has been protected since 1965. The southern side is covered by heat-loving ''

Fraxinus ornus ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of subtropical species are evergr ...

'' and ''

Ostrya carpinifolia ''Ostrya carpinifolia'', the European hop-hornbeam, is a tree in the family Betulaceae. It is the only species of the genus ''Ostrya'' that is native to Europe. The specific epithet ''carpinifolia'' means "hornbeam-leaved", from , the Latin word ...

''. Rock outcrops on the mountain's sunny side are the only known growing place of ''

Sempervivum juvanii ''Sempervivum'' (Brit. , U.S. �sɛ̃mpeɹ'vivũm is a genus of about 40 species of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, commonly known as houseleeks. Other common names include liveforever (the source of the taxonomical designation ''Sem ...

'' in Slovenia. It is also the only growing place of '' Dianthus plumarius subsp. hoppei'' in Slovenia. Sandstones of Mount Saint Donatus are the easternmost growing site of '' Primus auricula''. Of the animals, the mountain is the living place of deer, wild boar, chamois and a wide variety of birds.

Trails

Ernest Frölich, a Vienna physician working in

, laid the first marked mountain trail in Slovenia on Mount Saint Donatus in 1853. There are several access points to the mountain: from Naraplje, from Žetale (the Jože of Žetale Trail was laid in 1975), from Stoperce (the Stoperce Trail), from

, from where an asphalted road leads to Rudi Lodge at a.s.l. - 6 km) at the saddle between Ženčaj and Mount Saint Donatus. The road was expanded in 1977. The lodge was built from 1976 to 1984. In 1988, it was named after local cultural and sports worker Rudi Lebič (1929–1984), From Rudi Lodge, a serpentine mountain trail leads through the primeval forest area to a ridge and a peak with a high cross, which was first erected in 1934, blown up in 1952 and rebuilt in 1992. The hike takes about one hour. The trail continues over the ridge either towards Mount Macelj or along a few steel cables back to the mountain lodge.

References

External links

*{{commons category-inline, Mount Saint Donatus
Mount Saint Donatus on GeopediaMount Saint Donatus
YouTube video (2020). Karawanks