Ribnica (; german: Reifnitz''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 48.) is a town in the

Municipality of Ribnica The Municipality of Ribnica (; sl, Občina Ribnica) is a municipality in southern Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Ribnica. It is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Southeast Sloveni ...

in southern

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 the seat of the municipality. It 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 n ...

and is now included in the

Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region The Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region ( sl, Jugovzhodna Slovenija statistična regija) is a statistical region in southeast Slovenia. It is the largest statistical region. The development of this region is largely the result of industry (the au ...

Name

Ribnica was attested in written sources in 1220 as ''Rewenitz'' (and as ''Reiwencz'' and ''Reifenitz'' in 1241, ''Reiuenz'' in 1263, ''Reyuinz'' in 1303, and ''Reyfniz'' in 1327). The name was originally a

hydronym A hydronym (from el, ὕδρω, , "water" and , , "name") is a type of toponym that designates a proper name of a body of water. Hydronyms include the proper names of rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, swamps and marshes, seas and oceans. As ...

derived from the common noun ''riba'' 'fish', thus referring to a stream with many fish and, by extension, a settlement along such a stream.Snoj, Marko. 2009. ''Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen''. Ljubljana: Modrijan and Založba ZRC, p. 354. In the past, the settlement was known as ''Reifnitz'' in German, and in the local dialect it is known as ''Rîbənca''.

History

Archaeological evidence shows that the area has been settled at least since the late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

between 1300 and 900 BC. It is first mentioned as ''Rewenicz'' in written documents dating to 1220, making it one of the oldest towns in Slovenia.

Mass grave

Ribnica 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 Žiglovica Cave Mass Grave ( sl, Grobišče Jama Žiglovica) is located northeast of the town, in a former hay field on a slope overgrown with grass and sparse woods. It contains the remains of 14 civilians from Prigorica, Žlebič, and Pri Cerkvi–Struge that were murdered on 28 July 1942. The men were abducted by a Partisan patrol while clearing woods along the railway. Some of the victims were thrown into the shaft alive, and one of them managed to pull a Partisan in with him. After the murders, the local Partisan political activist insisted that the men had merely been sent to White Carniola for punitive labor, but the murders were acknowledged by some of the Partisan participants.

Landmarks

St. Stephen's Parish 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 settlement is dedicated to

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

and belongs to the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ljubljana The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Ljubljana ( sl, Nadškofija Ljubljana, la, Archidioecesis Labacensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Slovenia.belfry that was only completed after 1957 based on an idea by the architect

Jože Plečnik Jože Plečnik () (23 January 1872 – 7 January 1957) was a Slovene architect who had a major impact on the modern architecture of Vienna, Prague and of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, most notably by designing the iconic Triple Bridge an ...

.Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage
reference number ešd 2220 File:Ribnica 01.jpg, The French Bridge over the Bistrica River File:Grad Ribnica 01.jpg, Ribnica Castle

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Ribnica include: * Bojan Adamič (1912–1995), composer (born in Ribnica)Savnik, Roman, ed. 1971. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 2. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, pp. 571–574. * Jacobus Gallus (1550–1591), composer (presumed born in Ribnica) *

France Prešeren France Prešeren () (2 or 3 December 1800 – 8 February 1849) was a 19th-century Romantic Slovene poet whose poems have been translated into many languages.

(1800–1849), poet (studied in Ribnica) * Simona Škrabec (born 1968), translator, essayist, and literary historian (spent her childhood in Ribnica) * Ivan Šušteršič (1863–1925), conservative politician (born in Ribnica)

References

External links

Ribnica on Geopedia
{{Authority control Populated places in the Municipality of Ribnica Cities and towns in Lower Carniola