Paški Kozjak (; in older sources also ''Kozjak'',''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 4: ''Štajersko''. 1904. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 270. german: Kosjak) is a settlement in the Municipality of Velenje in northern

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 east of the town of Velenje. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. The entire 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 ...

Name

Paški Kozjak was attested in written sources in 1296 as ''Pochsruk'' (and as ''Gosyak'' and ''Kosyak'' in 1403). The full name literally means 'Kozjak near Paka', differentiating the settlement from neighboring Kozjak. The name ''Kozjak'' is derived from the Slovene common noun ''koza'' 'goat', but the motivation is unclear; this may refer to goats that grazed in the area, or to the fancied resemblance of the angular mountain ridges to a goat's back. The medieval German transcription ''Pochsruk'' (literally, 'goat's back') suggests the latter origin, also referring to Paški Kozjak Ridge (elevation: ) northeast of the settlement. In the past, the settlement was known as ''Kosjak'' in German.

History

The area was the site of a battle in the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

between Slovene Partisans and the

Nazi German armed forces The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

, which took place on the night of January 17, 1944, when the Partisans tried to break through the German lines to reach the Pohorje Hills. The event and the Partisans killed during the operation are commemorated with a

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

monument.Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage
reference number ešd 4177

References

External links

Paški Kozjak on Geopedia

Populated places in the City Municipality of Velenje {{Velenje-geo-stub