Štanjel (; it, San Daniele del Carso) 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 ...

in the

Municipality of Komen The Municipality of Komen (; sl, Občina Komen) is a municipality in the Littoral region of Slovenia, near the Italian border. The seat of the municipality is the town of Komen. The municipality was established on 6 November 1994, when the forme ...

in the

Littoral The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal a ...

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 located on the

Karst Plateau The Karst Plateau or the Karst region ( sl, Kras, it, Carso), also locally called Karst, is a karst plateau region extending across the border of southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies between the Vipava Valley, the low hills su ...

overlooking the

Vipava Valley The Vipava Valley (; sl, Vipavska dolina, german: Wippachtal, it, Valle del Vipacco) is a valley in the Slovenian Littoral, roughly between the village of Podnanos to the east and the border with Italy to the west. The main towns are Ajdovš ...

. In the 17th century it was fortified to defend it against Ottoman raids. It was heavily damaged during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and it has been slowly rebuilt since.

History

Because of its geographical location it has been an important settlement in the area since the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

. The development of the settlement reached its peak in the Romanesque period, although

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

elements in architecture have also been preserved. During

the village served as a smaller base for the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

occupation units, and was heavily damaged during the Allied bombing at the end of the war. After the war it was gradually renovated. After the war, a notable resident of the village was the graphic artist

Lojze Spacal Lojze is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Lojze Bratuž (1902–1937), Slovene choirmaster and composer, killed by Italian Fascist squads * Lojze Grozde, Slovenian student murdered by partisans during World War II * Lojze Kova� ...

Landmarks

Castle

The castle of Štanjel was built in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, its final reconstruction which remains up to this day was made at the end of the 17th century by the Counts of Cobenzl. An art gallery with a permanent collection of Spacal's work is in the castle.

Churches

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, ...

of the

Prophet Daniel Daniel (Aramaic and he, דָּנִיֵּאל, translit=Dānīyyēʾl, lit=God is my Judge; gr, Δανιήλ, translit=Daniḗl, translit-std=ALA-LC; ) is the main character of the Book of Daniel. According to the Hebrew Bible, Daniel was a n ...

was built in the 15th century as the burial vault of the Counts of Cobenzl. The lemon-shaped church tower was built in 1609. A smaller church dedicated to

Saint Gregory Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregoria ...

was also built on the neighboring hill in the 15th century, where

Max Fabiani Maximilian Fabiani, commonly known as Max Fabiani ( it, Massimo, sl, Maks) (29 April 1865 – 12 August 1962) was a cosmopolitan trilingual architect and town planner of mixed Italian-Austrian ancestry, born in the village of Kobdilj near Š ...

's grave is located. The town walls that surround most of the village were also built in the 15th century to protect the settlement from the Ottoman raids.

Ferrari Garden

The Ferrari Garden ( sl, Ferrarijev vrt) is a major landmark in the settlement and one of the most visited ones. It was designed by Max Fabiani at the request of the physician Enrico Ferrari in the 1920s. The garden is located below the village, next to a villa, and houses a small pool with an island which is connected by a bridge to the shore. The location is popular among tourists because of its design and the view it offers of the Karst landscape below.http://www.ro.feri.uni-mb.si/~marijan/Stanjel/Stanjel.htm The park has been declared a natural park and a national monument by the Government of Slovenia.

Notable people

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

Johann Tautscher Johann Tautscher (Slovenized: ''Janez Tavčar'', 1544 – August 24, 1597) was a Roman Catholic priest and bishop of Ljubljana. Life and work Tautscher was born around 1544 to a peasant family in Štanjel (according to the general belief, or a ...

( 1544–1597), bishop of Ljubljana *

(1865–1962), mayor of Štanjel

Gallery

File:Stanjel2.JPG, Štanjel as seen from below the walls File:Štanjel Burg Innenhof Treppe 06072008 04.jpg, Entrance to the castle File:Stanjel1.JPG, The newer part of the village located below the hill File:Štanjel street.JPG, Old village street

References

External links

Štanjel on GeopediaŠtanjel Tourist Information Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanjel Populated places in the Municipality of Komen