Dobrina () is a settlement in the

Municipality of Šentjur The Municipality of Šentjur (), named Municipality of Šentjur pri Celju () until 2002, is a municipality in eastern Slovenia. The town of Šentjur is the seat of the municipality. With an area of it is one of the larger municipalities in Slove ...

, in eastern

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 ...

. The settlement, and the entire municipality, are included in the

Savinja Statistical Region The Savinja Statistical Region () is a Statistical regions of Slovenia, statistical region in Slovenia. The largest town in the region is Celje. It is named after the Savinja River. The region is very diverse in natural geography; it mainly compr ...

, which is in the Slovenian portion of the historical

Duchy of Styria The Duchy of Styria (; ; ) was a duchy located in modern-day southern Austria and northern Slovenia. It was a part of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806 and a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary until its dissolution i ...

. Dobrina includes the hamlets of Brode, Drenovc, Glažuta, Hrastje, Svetilka, and Žusem.

Name

Dobrina was first mentioned in written sources circa 1480 as ''Dobring'', ''Dobryn'', and ''Dobrin''. The name is derived from the shortened personal name ''*Dobrъ'' and thus literally means 'Dobrъ's village'. The personal name ''*Dobrъ'' is based on the Slavic adjective ''*dobrъ'' 'good'. The hamlet of Žusem was first attested in 1202 as ''Sůzzenheim'' (and as ''Sůzzenhaim'' in 1208). The Slovene name is derived from

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

, which also yielded the 19th-century German name ''Süssenheim''. The name is a compound of Middle High German ''süze'' 'sweet' + ''heim'' 'house, dwelling, home'.

History

Until the Second World War, the hamlet of Žusem was an independent settlement. Together with Žusem Castle (), it was a fief of Krško. It belonged to the Lords of Süssenheim from 1203 to 1478, with short periods of ownership by the Counts of Celje. After this it was the property of the imperial governors; Leopold Fieglmüller had the castle razed in 1876.

Churches

The local

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 ...

, built on a hill south of Žusem Castle, a 12th-century

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

abandoned in 1871, is known as Žusem Parish. It is dedicated to

Saint Valentine Saint Valentine (; ) was a 3rd-century Roman saint, commemorated in Western Christianity on February 14 and in Eastern Orthodoxy on July 6. From the High Middle Ages, his feast day has been associated with a tradition of courtly love. He is al ...

and belongs to the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Celje The Diocese of Celje (; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Celje in the ecclesiastical province of Maribor in Slovenia. History * April 7, 2006: Established as Diocese of Celje from the Diocese of Maribor ...

. It was built in the early 18th century on the site of a 16th-century predecessor. The

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

dates to 1894. Right next to it is a second church, dedicated to Saint James (). It is a mid-15th-century Gothic building with a 17th-century belfry.Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage
reference numbers ešd 3544 & 3545

References

External links

Dobrina on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Šentjur {{ŠentjurpriCelju-geo-stub