Topol pri Medvodah () is a small settlement in the

Municipality of Medvode The Municipality of Medvode (; sl, Občina Medvode) is a municipality in the traditional region of Upper Carniola in north-central Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Medvode. Medvode became a municipality in 1994. Settlements ...

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 lies in the hills northwest of the Slovene capital

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

and is a popular destination for short trips with locals.Municipality of Medvode, Katarina Tourism Association
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Name

The name of the settlement was changed from ''(Sveta) Katarina nad Medvodami'' (literally, ' Saint Catherine above Medvode') to ''Topol'' (literally, ' poplar') in 1955. The name was changed on the basis of the 1948 Law on Names of Settlements and Designations of Squares, Streets, and Buildings as part of efforts by Slovenia's postwar communist government to remove religious elements from toponyms. However, its old name is still often used in the modified form ''Katarina nad Ljubljano'' (literally, '(Saint) Catherine above Ljubljana').

Church

The local church is dedicated to Saint Catherine. It is an early Baroque church dating from the beginning of the 17th century. The

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

was painted by Ivan and Helena Vurnik in 1919 and 1920, and the main altar was created by Ivan Vurnik. The painting of Saint Catherine is by Helena Vurnik, and France Kralj created the altar cross. The church is surrounded by a cemetery that features a First World War monument and a cemetery chapel. There is a wooden cross on Rog Hill () above the church. The cross was erected on May 5, 1935 to commemorate the 1935 Eucharistic Congress in Ljubljana. The cross was pulled down by the postwar communist authorities, but was re-erected after the fall of communism at the initiative of Father Volk in 2000 and was blessed by former Archbishop of Belgrade Franc Perko.

Cultural heritage

In addition to Saint Catherine's Church, several other structures in Topol pri Medvodah have protected cultural monument status: *The farm at Topol pri Medvodah no. 21 has a two-story partially remodeled house with the year 1847 carved into the door casing. It has Gothic stonemasonry elements. The farm also has a two-story masonry granary with frescoes, a fruit-drying shed, and two single hay racks. It stands to the southeast, below the Church of Saint Catherine. *The farm at Topol pri Medvodah no. 25 has a stone house that is the former home of a sacristan; it is built into a slope and has a semi-cellar and a black door casing dating from 1850. The property also consists of a partially masonry stable with a hayloft dating from 1832, a masonry barn, a masonry granary, a wooden beehive, and a wayside cross. It stands in the hamlet of Dobje, east of the Church of St. Catherine. *A masonry

chapel-shrine A wayside shrine is a religious image, usually in some sort of small shelter, placed by a road or pathway, sometimes in a settlement or at a crossroads, but often in the middle of an empty stretch of country road, or at the top of a hill or mo ...

dedicated to the

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

stands in the hamlet of Grapce. It has a gabled roof and a niche with a sculpture featuring the sacred heart, and dates from the first half of the 19th century. *A restored masonry

dedicated to

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

stands at a crossroads in the northern part of the settlement. It has a gabled roof and features a statue of Saint Joseph with two angels. It dates from the second half of the 19th century. *The landscape in the eastern part of the village, comprising the church, rectory, linden tree, and cemetery, is recognized as a characteristic cultural landscape of the Polhov Gradec Hills. *A monument to the Partisan soldiers and those that died in concentration camps in the Second World War stands on the southern edge of the village, along the road from Dobrova to Topol. It consists of a four-meter carved wooden sculpture on a masonry base. The work was created by France Tavčar and was installed in 1978. *A bronze bust of the Yugoslav people's hero Janez Kalan (a.k.a. Kosec), created by Anton Sigulin, is mounted on a natural stone pedestal on the side of the elementary school at Topol pri Medvodah 17, next to the entrance. The bust was installed on 21 May 1972.Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage
reference number ešd 16254

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Topol pri Medvodah include: * Frančišek Dobnikar (1878–1901), illustratorMrak, Andrej. "Prezrta umetnika z vrha pri Sv. Katarini." 2012. ''MMC RTV SLO'' (13 May).
* Franc Pustavrh (1827–1871), priest and painter

Gallery

File:KatarinaNadLjubljano-Cerkev.jpg, Cultural landscape: church, rectory, linden tree, and cemetery File:Topol pri Medvodah Slovenia - rectory.JPG,

Rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

in Topol pri Medvodah File:Topol pri Medvodah Slovenia - cemetery chapel.JPG, Cemetery chapel in Topol pri Medvodah File:Topol Slovenia - wayside shrine.JPG,

Chapel-shrine A wayside shrine is a religious image, usually in some sort of small shelter, placed by a road or pathway, sometimes in a settlement or at a crossroads, but often in the middle of an empty stretch of country road, or at the top of a hill or mo ...

to the Sacred Heart in the hamlet of Grapce File:Topol pri Medvodah Slovenia - shrine.JPG, Chapel-shrine dedicated to St. Catherine

References

External links

Topol pri Medvodah on Geopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Topol Pri Medvodah Populated places in the Municipality of Medvode