Puštal (; german: Burgstall''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 64.) is a settlement on the right bank of the

Sora River The Sora (German: ''Zayer'' or ''Zeier'') is a right affluent of the Sava River in the western part of Slovenia. The Sora gathers its waters mainly from the Škofja Loka Hills. Its source branches are the Poljane Sora ( sl, Poljanska Sora, also ) ...

in the

Municipality of Škofja Loka The Municipality of Škofja Loka (; sl, Občina Škofja Loka) is a municipality in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Škofja Loka. The municipality was established in its current form on 3 October ...

in the

Upper Carniola Upper Carniola ( sl, Gorenjska; it, Alta Carniola; german: Oberkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The centre of the region is Kranj, while other urban centers include Jeseni ...

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 ...

. It is connected to the town of

Škofja Loka Škofja Loka (; german: Bischoflack) is a town in Slovenia. It is the economic, cultural, educational, and administrative center of the Municipality of Škofja Loka in Upper Carniola. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. Geography Škofja Loka lies ...

by a road bridge and a well-known wooden footbridge called the Devil's Footbridge ( sl, Hudičeva brv).

Name

Puštal was first attested in written sources in 1214–20 as ''Purchstallo'' and ''Purchstal'' (and as ''Burchstal'' in 1291 and 1318, ''Bůrchstal'' in 1360, and ''Purgstal'' in 1501). The original Slovene form of the name, ''*Purštal'', was borrowed from the

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...

name of the settlement and is derived from the Middle High German common noun ''burcstal'' 'fortified settlement'. In the past the German name was ''Burgstall''.

Mass grave

Puštal is the site of a

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may 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 execution, although an exact ...

associated with the Second World War. The Žovšče Mass Grave ( sl, Grobišče Žovšče), also known as the Žolšče Mass Grave (), is located in the Žovšče Commons, on the northeast slope of Dešna Hill, between Puštal and

Bodovlje Bodovlje (; german: Wodovlje''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 64. or ''Wodoule'Intelligenzblatt zur Laibacher Zeitung'', no. 141. 24 ...

. It contains the remains of about 10 Slovene civilians that were murdered and buried at two locations about apart.

Church

The local church is dedicated to the Holy Cross and stands on a small hill dominating the settlement. This gives it its local name of ''Cerkev na Hribcu'' ('church on the little hill'). There are twelve small chapel-shrines representing the Stations of the Cross alongside the path up to the church.

Cultural heritage

Another point of interest in Puštal is a 500-year-old wooden house known as Nace's House ( sl, Nacetova hiša), in which a small museum collection has been assembled. A

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

mansion known as Puštal Castle, now housing the Škofja Loka Music School, was originally built circa 1220 and has a rounded corner tower and an arcaded

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

. On the wall of the castle chapel is a fresco by

Giulio Quaglio the Younger Giulio Quaglio the Younger (1668–1751) was an Italian Baroque painter. He was part of the large Quaglio pedigree of Italian artists involved in architecture, indoor fresco decoration, and scenography ( stage design) for the court theaters. He w ...

, the ''

Descent from the Cross The Descent from the Cross ( el, Ἀποκαθήλωσις, ''Apokathelosis''), or Deposition of Christ, is the scene, as depicted in art, from the Gospels' accounts of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Christ down from the cross after hi ...

'', dating to 1706.Škofja Loka Tourist Association website
/ref> Image:NacetovaHisa-SkLoka-Pustal.JPG, Nace's House in Puštal Image:PustalskiGrad-SkLoka.JPG, Puštal Castle Image:Pustal Slovenia - bridge.jpg, The Devil's Bridge

References

External links

*
Puštal at Geopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pustal Populated places in the Municipality of Škofja Loka