Raka (; german: Arch''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 78.) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the

Municipality of Krško A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

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 ...

. The area is part of the traditional region of

Lower Carniola Lower Carniola ( sl, Dolenjska; german: Unterkrain) is a traditional region in Slovenia, the southeastern part of the historical Carniola region. Geography Lower Carniola is delineated by the Ljubljana Basin with the city of Ljubljana to the no ...

. It is now included with the rest of the municipality in the

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

. The village is known for a quality variety of

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

Name

Raka was attested in written sources in 1161 as ''Arch'' (and as ''Archa'' in 1249, and ''Arch'' in 1279). The Slovene name is derived from the common noun ''raka'' 'wooden cladding preventing water erosion of a bank' or 'cladded chute carrying water to a mill'. Both the Slovene and German names are ultimately derived from Latin ''arca'' 'box'.

Church

The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the centre of the settlement is dedicated to

Saint Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. "Laurel wreath, laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the Persecution of Christians, perse ...

and belongs to the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Novo Mesto The Roman Catholic Diocese of Novo Mesto ( la, Dioecesis Novae Urbis; sl, Škofija Novo mesto) is a diocese in the city of Novo Mesto in the Ecclesiastical province of Ljubljana in Slovenia. History * April 7, 2006: Established as Diocese of ...

. It is a Late Baroque church built between 1799 and 1804 on the site of an earlier building. It has two belfries.

Raka Castle

Raka Castle is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

west of the main settlement. It is one of the oldest castles in Slovenia as far as written sources are concerned, mentioned in documents dating to the 12th century. It was destroyed in a

peasant revolt This is a chronological list of conflicts in which peasants played a significant role. Background The history of peasant wars spans over two thousand years. A variety of factors fueled the emergence of the peasant revolt phenomenon, including: ...

in 1515. The current building dates to the major refurbishing and rebuilding in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Raka include: * Martin Humek (1870–1943), beekeeper *Amalija Ulčnik, the mother of

Melania Trump Melania Trump ( ; born Melanija Knavs , Germanized as Melania Knauss ; born April 26, 1970) is a Slovene-American former model and businesswoman who served as First Lady of the United States from 2017 to 2021 as the wife of 45th president Do ...

, is a native of Raka, and the daughter of the local man who created the Raka red onion by crossing Egyptian and Ptuj onions.Lauren Collins
The Model American
in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' dated May 9, 2016

References

External links

*
Raka on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Krško {{Krško-geo-stub