Ples (, sometimes Ples ob SotliSavnik, Roman, ed. 1976. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 3. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije. p. 379.) is a settlement in the hills above the right bank of the

Sotla River The Sutla () or Sotla () is a river flowing through Slovenia and Croatia, mostly forming their border. It is a tributary to the Sava, itself a tributary to the Danube. It is long and has a watershed area of . Overview The Sutla flows through the ...

in the

Municipality of Bistrica ob Sotli The Municipality of Bistrica ob Sotli (; ) is a municipality in eastern Slovenia. It has been an independent municipality since 1999; before, it was part of the Municipality of Podčetrtek. The seat of the municipality is the town of Bistrica ob S ...

in eastern

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. The area is part of the traditional region of

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

. It is now included in the

Lower Sava Statistical Region The Lower Sava Statistical Region (; until December 31, 2014 ) is a Statistical regions of Slovenia, statistical region in Slovenia. It has good traffic accessibility and is located in the Sava and Krka Valleys, with hilly areas with vineyards and ...

; until January 2014 it was part of the

Savinja Statistical Region The Savinja Statistical Region () is a Statistical regions of Slovenia, 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 compr ...

Geography

Ples is a scattered village at the foot and on the slopes of Mount Vina (, elevation ) between the Sotla River and the road from

Bistrica ob Sotli Bistrica ob Sotli () is a settlement in eastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Bistrica ob Sotli. The settlement lies on a river terrace above the right bank of the Sutla, Sotla River. The area traditionally belonged to the region ...

Podčetrtek Podčetrtek ( or ; ) is a settlement in eastern Slovenia by the river Sotla. It is the seat of the Municipality of Podčetrtek. The area belongs to the traditional region of Styria. It is now included in the Savinja Statistical Region. Name The ...

. The soil is loamy. Tilled fields are found at the base of Mount Vina, and vineyards are planted on its slopes.

Mass graves

Ples is the site of two known

mass graves A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may Unidentified decedent, not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of exec ...

associated with the Second World War. The Mount Vina 1 and 2 mass graves () are located on the southern slope of Mount Vina and contain the remains of about 25 victims. Their nationality and whether they were soldiers or civilians is not known. The first grave is located in a woods and the second grave is in a meadow on somewhat leveled terrain below Holy Cross Church.

Church

The local church is built on a hill known as Mount Vina () and is dedicated to the

Holy Cross Holy Cross or Saint Cross may refer to: * the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus * Christian cross, a frequently used religious symbol of Christianity * True Cross, supposed remnants of the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified * Feast o ...

and belongs to the

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Sveti Peter pod Svetimi Gorami. It was built in 1607 and the

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

was added in the last quarter of the 19th century.Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage
reference numbers 3236

References

External links

Ples on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Bistrica ob Sotli {{BistricaobSotli-geo-stub