Razbor, Sevnica - panorama from above Lisce 2

The Sava Hills ( sl, Posavsko hribovje) are the eastern part of the

Slovene Prealps The Slovene Prealps or the Slovenian Prealps ( sl, Slovenske Predalpe, , ) are a group of mountain ranges in the eastern part of the Alps. They are located in Slovenia and, for a small part of their northernmost area, in Austria. Geography SO ...

. They are oriented in the east-west direction and are located to the north and south of the

Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...

River in central and 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 ...

, among the

Ljubljana Basin The Ljubljana Basin ( sl, Ljubljanska kotlina) is a basin in the upper river basin of Sava. It is the most populated area in Slovenia and it is metropolitan area of Ljubljana. Its main rivers are the Sava, the Kamnik Bistrica and the Ljubljanica ...

to the west, the

Celje Basin ) , pushpin_map = Slovenia , pushpin_label_position = left , pushpin_map_caption = Location of the city of Celje in Slovenia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Lis ...

to the north, the Lower Carniola valley system and the Krško Basin to the south, and the Sotla Hills to the east. They cover an area of and are the largest

n mesoregion. The region has an average elevation of only , and an average inclination of 16.6°. It is water-rich, because the ground contains copious impermeable rocks, particularly

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

and conglomerate at lower elevations, whereas at higher elevations, it mainly consists of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

. Predominantly deciduous forest covers almost two thirds of the area. The Sava flows through its central part from the west to the east. Notable rises along it are Kum () to the south of the Sava, Mount Čemšenik (), Javor (), and Mrzlica () to the north of the Sava and to the west of the

Savinja The Savinja () is a river in northeast Slovenia which flows mostly in the Upper and Lower Savinja Valley ( sl, Zgornja in Spodnja Savinjska dolina) and through the cities of Celje and Laško. The Savinja is the main river of the Savinja Alps (Sl ...

River, and Bohor () and

Lisca Lisca () is a hill in the eastern part of the Sava Hills in southeastern Slovenia, northwest of Sevnica, north of the Sava, and south of Gračnica Creek. It is the most frequently visited hiking destination in the Sava Hills. Etymology The na ...

() to the north of the Sava and the east of the Savinja. The Savinja flows through the hills transversely from the Celje Basin and joins the Sava at

Zidani Most Zidani Most (; german: Steinbrück) is a settlement in the Municipality of Laško in eastern Slovenia. It lies at the confluence of the Sava and Savinja rivers. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. It is now included with the r ...

. About 135,000 people live in the Sava Hills. The settlements

Litija Litija (; german: Littai''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 90, 92–93.) is a town in the Litija Basin in central Slovenia. It is the ...

in the

Litija Basin Litija (; german: Littai''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 90, 92–93.) is a town in the Litija Basin in central Slovenia. It is the ...

and

Trbovlje Trbovlje (; german: Trifail''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 4: ''Štajersko''. 1904. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 58.) is Slovenia's tenth-largest town, and the seat of the Municipality o ...

Zagorje ob Savi Zagorje ob Savi (; german: Sagor,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 96. ''Seger an der Sau'') is a town in the Central Sava Valley in ce ...

, and

Hrastnik Hrastnik (, German: ''Hrastnigg'') is a town in the Central Sava Valley in central Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Hrastnik. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. The entire municipality is now included in the Centr ...

in the narrow

Central Sava Valley The Central Sava Valley ( sl, Zasavje) is a valley in the Sava Hills and a geographic region along the Sava in central Slovenia, now constituting the Central Sava Statistical Region. The region consists of three municipalities: Zagorje ob Savi, ...

are known by their mining and

timber rafting Timber rafting is a method of transporting felled tree trunks by tying them together to make rafts, which are then drifted or pulled downriver, or across a lake or other body of water. It is arguably, after log driving, the second cheapest mean ...

past and the energetics industry. The town of

Radeče Radeče (; german: Ratschach''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 88–89.) is a small town in the Lower Sava Valley in eastern Slovenia. ...

at the beginning of the wider

Lower Sava Valley The Lower Sava Valley ( sl, Posavje, also ''Spodnje Posavje'' and ''Posavska regija''Ferenc, Tone. 1995. "Posavje". ''Enciklopedija Slovenije'' vol 9. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, pp. 155–156.) is a region in southeastern Slovenia on the border ...

is known after paper industry. Other economic activities in the region are services, forestry, and livestock production. A railroad links places along the Sava and another one links places along the Savinja, both joining at Zidani Most. Since 2005, a highway crosses the northern Sava Hills and connects the Ljubljana Basin and the Celje Basin through the Trojane Tunnel. A historically important old road crosses them over the Trojane Pass ().

References

External links

* Hills of Slovenia Sava basin Natura 2000 in Slovenia {{coord, 46, 5, 16.28, N, 15, 4, 22.72, E, type:mountain_region:SI, display=title