Avče (, ) is a settlement on the left bank of the Soča River in the

Municipality of Kanal ob Soči The Municipality of Kanal ob Soči ( or ; ) is a municipality in the traditional region of the Littoral in western Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Kanal. Kanal ob Soči became a municipality in 1994. It borders Italy ...

in the

Littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral 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 i ...

region of

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. It includes the hamlets of Dolnji Avšček, Gor(e)nji Avšček, and Langa along Avšček Creek southeast of the main settlement, Nadavče to the west, and Spodnji Log and Vrtače to the north along the railroad.Savnik, Roman, ed. 1968. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 1. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, pp. 195–196.

Name

Avče was first attested in written sources in 1389 as ''Als'' (and as ''Alis'' in 1523, and ''Auzha'' and ''Auza'' in 1763–87). The name is derived from ''*Alьčь'', probably related to the

Friulian Friulian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Friuli region in northeast Italy. * Sometimes, by improper extension, something of, from, or related to the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Friuli-Venezia Giulia () is one of the 20 regions o ...

hydronym ''Auzza'' or ''Aussa'', which is of pre-

Romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

origin. It may ultimately be derived from

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

''*alika'' '

wild service tree ''Torminalis'' is a genus of plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. The genus was formerly included within the genus ''Sorbus'' as the section ''Torminaria'', but the simple-leafed species traditionally classified in ''Sorbus'' are now considered ...

' or from some other pre-Romance root meaning '

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

History

Renovation of Saint Martin's Church has revealed artifacts from the Roman era, testifying to early settlement of the site. On 31 March 1908, the first confirmed

meteorite A meteorite is a rock (geology), rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical ...

in the area of the modern Slovenia fell near the village of Avče. Its name is

Avce Vocational Certificate of Education, usually shortened VCE or Vocational A-Level or AVCE, was a vocational qualification that used to be available in further education colleges and sixth forms in the United Kingdom. Subjects and assessment VCEs w ...

. It weighs and is a

hexahedrite Hexahedrites are a structural class of iron meteorite. They are composed almost exclusively of the nickel–iron alloy kamacite and are lower in nickel content than the octahedrites. The nickel concentration in hexahedrites is always below 5.8% ...

, composed primarily of

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

. It is kept at the Vienna Natural History Museum. Avče was partially destroyed during the First World War during the Italian advance to the western part of the

Banjšice Plateau The Banjšice Plateau (, also or , ) is a karst plateau in western Slovenia, in the traditional region of Goriška. It is a widely settled area, distinguished by its history and biodiversity. Geographically, it belongs to the Dinaric Alps. Geogr ...

. There is an Austrian memorial plaque in Podlajša dedicated to the Austro-Hungarian units that served there, and in the Avče cemetery there is a dilapidated Italian war memorial. During the Second World War, an Italian (and later German) military post was located in Avče to protect the railroad from

Jesenice Jesenice (, ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru'', vol. 6: Kranjsko. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 144.) is the tenth-largest town in Slovenia, located in the traditional province of Upper C ...

Gorizia Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...

. The post was attached by the

Partisans Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Itali ...

on 26 October 1943 and the entire contingent stationed there was captured. There were further attacks in January and June 1944, and the bridges across Avšček and Avščica creeks were destroyed. The

had a base on the Osojnica Ridge south of the settlement, from which they carried out attacks on German positions. On 28 March 1944 the Germans captured Jožef Škodnik, a leader in the communist-led resistance, and hanged him in the middle of the village. A memorial plaque on the Škodnik house commemorates the event.

Church

The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

in the settlement is dedicated to Saint Martin and belongs to the Diocese of Koper. The Gothic chancel of the church contains frescoes dating to the 15th century. A second church above the village in the hamlet of Nadavče is dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows. It contains

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

s painted by

Jernej of Loka Jernej of Loka (Bartholomew) was a 16th-century Painting, painter active in the Škofja Loka area, from which his epithet is also derived. He is known to have painted the frescoes in a number of other churches throughout the Upper Carniola region a ...

. It is a pilgrimage church and was first mentioned in written sources in 1497. The construction of the church began in the late 15th century, and the chancel was vaulted in 1515.Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage
reference number ešd 3555 It has a Baroque marble altar with three sculptures dating to circa 1520, and also three gilded altars. The free-standing bell tower of the church is believed to be a Roman tower, and a key to the bell tower dating from 1515 has been preserved.

Hydroelectric plant

The Avče Pumped Storage Plant is the first pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant in Slovenia.

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Avče include: * Ivan Kovačič (1873–1936), folk storyteller and poet

References

External links

*
Avče on GeopediaAvče on the Kanal Tourist Information site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avce Populated places in the Municipality of Kanal Populated places in the Soča Valley