Velike Bloke (, german: Großoblak) 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 Bloke The Municipality of Bloke (; sl, Občina Bloke) is a municipality in Slovenia. Originally a municipality in its own right, it was incorporated into the Municipality of Cerknica in 1955 and it was included in the Municipality of Loška Dolina in 1 ...

in the

Inner Carniola Inner Carniola ( sl, Notranjska; german: Innerkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the southwestern part of the larger Carniola region. It comprises the Hrušica karst plateau up to Postojna Gate, bordering the Slovenian Littoral (the ...

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 ...

.Bloke municipal site
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Name

The name ''Velike Bloke'' literally means 'big Bloke' and originally distinguished the settlement from '' Male Bloke'' (literally, 'little Bloke'). However, after the parish church was built in Male Bloke, that settlement became known as ''Fara'' (literally, 'parish'). The name ''Bloke'' itself was first attested in written sources in 1230 as ''Oblach'' (and as ''Oblukch'' in 1260, ''Oblakh'' in 1360, and ''Obloc'' in 1581). These early transcriptions indicate that the name was originally ''*Obloke'', probably derived from the prepositional phrase ''*ob(ь) lǫky'' or ''*ob(ь) lǫkaxъ'' 'next to the flood-meadow(s)'. Less likely theories connect the name to the meanings 'next to rough terrain' or 'arc, arch'.

Church

The local church in 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 ...

and belongs to the

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

Bloke ''Bloke'' is a slang term for a common man in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The earliest known usage is from the early 19th century, when it was recorded as a London slang term. The word's origin is un ...

Cultural heritage

A stone bridge over Bloščica Creek northwest of the center of Velike Bloke is known as the Napoleon Bridge ( sl, Napoleonov most) and is registered as cultural heritage. However, it was built in 1858 and has no connection to Napoleon; the reason for its name is unknown.

References

External links

*
Velike Bloke on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Bloke {{Bloke-geo-stub