Velika Račna (; german: Großratschna''Intelligenzblatt zur Laibacher Zeitung'', no. 141. 24 November 1849, p. 28.) 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 Grosuplje The Municipality of Grosuplje (; sl, Občina Grosuplje) is a municipality in central Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Grosuplje. It lies just south of the capital Ljubljana in the traditional region of Lower Carniola. It is ...

in central

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 historical region of Lower Carniola. The municipality is now included in the Central Slovenia Statistical Region. Kopanj Hill rises 70 m above the village to the north; geologically, the hill is a mix of karst limestone and dolomite.''Kopanj.'' Cultural heritage information sign posted on Kopanj Hill. The hamlet of Kopanj is located on Kopanj Hill.Savnik, Roman, ed. 1971. Krajevni leksikon Slovenije, vol. 2. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, p. 156.

Name

The name ''Velika Račna'' literally means 'big Račna', distinguishing it from neighboring ''

Mala Račna Mala Račna (; german: Kleinratschna''Intelligenzblatt zur Laibacher Zeitung'', no. 141. 24 November 1849, p. 28.) is a settlement in the Municipality of Grosuplje in central Slovenia. The area is part of the historical region of Lower Carniola. ...

'' (literally, 'little Račna'). Velika Račna was first attested in written sources in 1313–1315 as ''in dem merern Ratek''. The name ''Račna'' was also attested as ''Radnickh'' in 1436, ''Rednigk'' in 1454, and ''Raditschin'' in 1458. The modern name is a contraction of *''Radičina'', ultimately derived from the patronymic ''Radiťь'', based on the

hypocorism A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek: (), from (), 'to call by pet names', sometimes also ''hypocoristic'') or pet name is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as ''Izzy'' for I ...

''Rado''. The name thus originally means 'Rado's village'. The local adjective form ''radenski'' (cf. ''Radensko polje'' '

Račna Karst Field The Račna Karst Field (; sl, Radensko polje) is a polje, karst field in the northern edge of the Lower Carniolan karst area, south of Grosuplje, Slovenia. It has rich natural and cultural value. Because of its ecological significance, it is ant ...

') and the

demonym A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...

''Radenc'' are based on the older form of the name. Popular imagination connects the name ''Račna'' with the Slovene common noun ''raca'' 'duck', of which there are many in the Račna karst polje. In the past, the settlement was known as ''Großratschna'' in German.

History

A prehistoric settlement stood on Kopanj Hill, and Roman graves have been discovered in Velika Račna. A part-time school was established in the village in 1836. A primary school was established on Kopanj Hill, just below the church, in 1865. It is now a branch of the Louis Adamič Primary School, located in Grosuplje. The Partisans burned the school on 17 December 1943.''Zaveza'' 18, 25 March 2011
"Nedolžne žrtve komunizma v župniji Kopanj." 1944. ''Domoljub'' 57(28) (12 July): 6.
Viktor Pristov (1919–1997), who had served as the parish priest of Velika Račna since 1966,Memorial on rectory wall. was murdered in the rectory on 8 July 1997.

Religious heritage

The local

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, ...

, built on Kopanj Hill north of the settlement, is dedicated to the

Assumption of Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...

. It belongs to the Parish of Kopanj and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ljubljana. It dates to the 15th century with 18th- and 19th-century additions. The church is built on the site of an ancient fortification and was first mentioned in written sources in 1433. During the

Ottoman wars in Europe A series of military conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and various European states took place from the Late Middle Ages up through the early 20th century. The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars, waged in Anatolia in ...

, the church was surrounded by a defensive wall. The poet France Prešeren spent three years of his childhood (1807–1810) living with his uncle Joseph in the rectory next to the church. The Partisans burned the rectory on 17 December 1943. The Partisans burned the church itself on 15 February 1944. The parish priest and some locals were able to save the

monstrance A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic Sa ...

and ciborium from the burning church, but the fire destroyed the 1769 painting ''The Assumption of Mary'' by

Anton Cebej Anton Cebej, or Zebey (23 May 1722, Ajdovščina – after 1774) was a Slovenian painter, in the Baroque style. Biography Very little is known about his life. The information that is available is derived entirely from a history of his works, the ...

. A chapel dedicated to Saint Margaret stands in the village. It was built as a vow seeking protection from the floods that regularly affect the village and it was first mentioned in written sources in 1433. The chapel was reworked in the Baroque style in 1739 and its height was increased in 1838. Its Baroque altar dates to 1739 and it contains the crypt of the Lazzarini noble family. File:Velika Račna Slovenia - chapel.JPG, Village chapel File:Velika Račna Slovenia - shrine.JPG, Village

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 ...

File:Velika Račna Slovenia - shrine 2.JPG, Village

File:Velika Račna Slovenia - bell.JPG, Church bell on Kopanj Hill

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Velika Račna include: * France Prešeren (1800–1849), poet * Jožef Prešeren (1752–1835), parish priest from 1802 to 1820 and uncle of France Prešeren

Gallery

File:Velika Račna Slovenia - Pump.JPG, Village pump and water trough from 1897 File:Velika Račna Slovenia - fire station.JPG, Village fire station

References

External links

*
Velika Račna on Geopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velika Racna Populated places in the Municipality of Grosuplje