Bukovec (; in older sources also ''Bukovica'',''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 44. ) is a small remote settlement in the hills on the edge of the

Municipality of Velike Lašče The Municipality of Velike Lašče (; ) is a municipality in Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Velike Lašče. It is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Central Slovenia Statistical Regi ...

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 ...

. Traditionally the area is part of the

Lower Carniola Lower Carniola ( ; ) is a traditional region in 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 an ...

region. It is now included in the

Central Slovenia Statistical Region The Central Slovenia Statistical Region () is a Statistical regions of Slovenia, statistical region in central Slovenia. Geography This is the second-largest region in terms of territory. It has a total area of 2,555 km2, with a central po ...

Name

The name ''Bukovec'' is derived from the common noun ''bukev'' '

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

'. Like similar toponyms in Slovenia (e.g., ''

Bukovica Bukovica may refer to: Croatia *Bukovica, Dalmatia, a geographical region in Croatia *Bukovica, Sisak-Moslavina County, a village near Topusko * Bukovica, Brod-Posavina County, a village near Rešetari * Nova Bukovica, a village and municipality ...

Bukovo Bukovo (, pronounced ) is a village in the Bitola municipality approximately three kilometers' distance from the city of Bitola in North Macedonia. Not unlike most other larger villages in the country, locals typically distinguish an "upper" (' ...

, Bukovje''), it originally referred to the local vegetation. In the past the German name was ''Bukowitz''.

History

During the Second World War, the Partisans often took refuge in Bukovec, and the commands of various Partisan brigades operated in the area. On 22 March 1942, Italian forces burned all of the houses in the village.

Mass graves

Bukovec is the site of three known

mass graves A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may Unidentified decedent, not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of exec ...

associated with the Second World War. The Mačkovec Mass Grave () is located in the woods southeast of the settlement. Its location is marked by crosses cut into the trunks of two trees. It contained the remains of about 40 prisoners of war, mostly members of the

Anti-Communist Volunteer Militia The Anti-Communist Volunteer Militia (, MVAC) were paramilitary auxiliary formations of the Royal Italian Army composed of Yugoslav anti- Partisan groups in the Italian-annexed and occupied portions of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during the Second W ...

, that were taken from the prison in Ribnica and murdered at the site on 27 or 28 October 1943 by the

Partisan 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 ** Ital ...

Loka Brigade. In October 2013 the remains were disinterred and reburied at the cemetery in

Begunje pri Cerknici Begunje pri Cerknici (; ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 120.) is a settlement north of Cerknica in the Inner Carniola region of Slove ...

. The Italian Soldiers Mass Grave () is located in the woods south of Bukovec, below the north slope of Mačkovec Hill. It contains the remains of Italian soldiers. The Romani Mass Grave () is located in the woods south of Bukovec near the Janez Klančar Grave in the territory of neighboring Selo pri Robu, which is marked with a cross. It contains the remains of

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

murdered at the site by a Partisan group led by Stane Semič.Strle, France. 1980. ''Tomšičeva brigada: Uvodni del''. Ljubljana: Partizanska knjiga, p. 271.

References

External links

*
Bukovec on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Velike Lašče {{VelikeLasce-geo-stub