Breznica () is one of ten villages in the

Municipality of Žirovnica The Municipality of Žirovnica (; sl, Občina Žirovnica) is a municipality in Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the village of Breznica. In the Završnica Valley, behind the Reber range that overlooks the villages, the first public ...

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 is the seat of the municipality. Most of the village has developed on the slopes of the Reber range, leaving open fields towards the south and east. To the west the built-up area has extended to Zabreznica.

Name

Breznica was attested in written sources as ''Fressnicz'' in 1421, ''Fresiach'' in 1464, ''Nabresnitze'' between 1493 and 1501, and ''Presnitz'' in 1498, among other spellings. The name is derived from the common noun ''breza'' '

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

'. Like similar toponyms in Slovenia (e.g., '' Brezova, Brezovec, Brezovci''), it originally referred to the local vegetation.

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 Breznica is dedicated to

Our Lady of Sorrows Our Lady of Sorrows ( la, Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows ( la, Mater Dolorosa, link=no), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names ...

. Construction of the current parish church began in 1819, and its architect was Blasio Zamolo from

Gemona Gemona del Friuli ( la, Glemona, fur, Glemone, sl, Humin, german: Klemaun) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about northwest of Udine. Th ...

, whose signature can be found above the main entrance. The church was extensively renovated in 1993. In front of the church stands a monument to those who fell in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, designed 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 and ...

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Breznica include: *

Anton Janša Anton Janša (c. 20 May 1734 – 13 September 1773) was a Carniolan apiarist and painter. Janša is known as a pioneer of modern apiculture and a great expert in the field. He was educated as a painter, but was employed as a teacher of api ...

(1734–1773), beekeeper *

Andrej Osterman Andrej Osterman (born October 4, 1960 in Kranj) is the 25th Commander-in-General of the Slovenian Army The Slovenian Ground Force is the primary component of Slovenian Armed Forces. History The current Slovenian Armed Forces are descended f ...

(born 1960), the 25th Commander-in-General of the Slovenian Army, lives in the townNATO profile
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Notes

External links

*

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080423214904/http://www.zirovnica.eu/ Žirovnica Tourist Association site {{DEFAULTSORT:Breznica (Zirovnica) Populated places in the Municipality of Žirovnica