Otavice (; german: Otawitz
[''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 50.]) is a
village southeast of the town of
Ribnica in southern
Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of
Lower Carniola and is now included in the
Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region. It includes the hamlet of Ograda southeast of the main settlement.
[Savnik, Roman, ed. 1971. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 2. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, p. 568.]
Geography
Otavice is a
ribbon village
A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mater ...
below the Little Mountains ( sl, Mala gora) chain in the eastern part of the Ribnica Valley ( sl, Ribniška dolina). The nearby forests are rich in linden and fir, which has led to their use for bee forage. The Sela meadows lie west of the settlement, the Rupče hay fields to the east, and the sparse Stevniki oak woods to the north. The soil is stony and sandy, making potatoes a principal crop, but crop damage by deer has led to many fields being planted in clover. Coniferous and mixed woods rise above the village on Little Mountain. Bršljunovka Cave on Little Mountain is fed by a spring.
Name
Otavice was mentioned in written sources in 1340 as ''Ottawnich'' (and as ''Ottawnikch'' and ''Ottownikch'' in 1436). The name ''Otavice'' is probably derived from the Slovene common noun ''otava'' 'second crop (of hay)', referring to a meadow where hay could be harvested twice during the summer. In the past, the settlement was known as ''Otawitz'' in German.
History
The remnants of a Roman road pass near the village, attesting to early settlement in the area. Oral tradition relates that there are Ottoman graves in Tur Field ( sl, Turjevo polje) at the foot of Little Mountain. A water main was installed in the village in 1960, supplying water from Obrh Spring near
Blate
Blate () is a small settlement southwest of Dolenja Vas in the Municipality of Ribnica in southern Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. I ...
via
Goriča Vas
Goriča Vas (; sl, Goriča vas, german: Weikersdorf''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 50.) is a village in the Municipality of Ribnica ...
. Traditional handicrafts in the village included making rakes with wood from Kočevje Rog. Peddling declined in the 20th century as people started commuting to Ribnica to work.
Mass grave
Otavice is the site of a
mass grave associated with the Second World War. The Otavice Pig Shaft Mass Grave ( sl, Grobišče Otaviško svinjsko brezno) is located in the woods about east of Otavice. It contains the remains of unidentified victims.
Cultural heritage
There is a small
chapel-shrine in the settlement. It was built in the late 19th or early 20th century.
Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage
reference number ešd 23061 The shrine contains a statue of Our Lady of Sorrows that oral tradition says was brought from Rome.
References
External links
Otavice on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Ribnica
{{Ribnica-geo-stub