The Tuhinj Valley (; sl, Tuhinjska dolina) is a valley in

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, and ...

linking the Celje Basin with the

Ljubljana Basin The Ljubljana Basin ( sl, Ljubljanska kotlina) is a basin in the upper river basin of Sava. It is the most populated area in Slovenia and it is metropolitan area of Ljubljana. Its main rivers are the Sava, the Kamnik Bistrica and the Ljubljanica ...

in an east-west direction along the courses of the

Nevljica The Nevljica is a river in the Municipality of Kamnik, Slovenia. It has its source below Kozjak Hill (737 m, near Črni Vrh v Tuhinju) and flows through the Tuhinj Valley. It also flows through the settlements of Nevlje and Mekinje. It is a l ...

and Motnišnica rivers.

Geography

The western part of the valley was formed by the

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

of the

, flowing into the

Kamnik Bistrica The Kamnik Bistrica ( sl, Kamniška Bistrica, ) is an Alpine river in northern Slovenia, a left tributary of the Sava River. It springs from the Kamnik Alps (part of the Southern Limestone Alps) near the border with Austria. It is long. The Kamni ...

, and the narrower, eastern part by the Motnišnica, a tributary of the Savinja River. Their

drainage divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a singl ...

is at the Kozjak Pass at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...

of 655 m between Cirkuše v Tuhinju and Špitalič. The largest settlements in the valley include Laze v Tuhinju, Šmartno v Tuhinju, and Motnik. The large number of old settlements points to the fact that the valley was an important

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way as a transit route through regularly trafficked areas, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. On land, a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a multi-lane highw ...

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 ...

and later as a passage between

Lower Styria Styria ( sl, Štajerska), also Slovenian Styria (''Slovenska Štajerska'') or Lower Styria (''Spodnja Štajerska''; german: Untersteiermark), is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy o ...

and

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 ...

Name

The Tuhinj region was mentioned in written sources circa 1400 as ''Tuchein'', ''Tuchen'', and ''Tucheiner alben''. The name was originally ''*Tuxyn′ь'', derived from 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'' fo ...

''*Tuxynъ'' (based on the Slavic personal name ''*Tuxъ'' or ''*Tuxa''). This root is also the source of similar names such as ''Tuhinje'' in Herzegovina, ''Tuin'' in Macedonia, '' Tukhin'' in Russia, and '' Tuchyňa'' in Slovakia.

Industry

Until the mid-20th century

brown coal Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

was mined in the valley near Motnik. Tourism has only recently started to develop with the building of the Snovik Spa.Slovenian Tourist Board site
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References

External links

* Valleys in Upper Carniola Kamnik Bistrica basin Savinja basin {{Slovenia-geo-stub