Grič pri Klevevžu () is a settlement in the

Municipality of Šmarješke Toplice The Municipality of Šmarješke Toplice () is a municipality in the traditional region of Lower Carniola in southeastern Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Šmarješke Toplice. The municipality is now included in the Southeast S ...

in southeastern

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 area is part of the historical region of

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 ...

. The municipality is now included in the

Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region The Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region () is a statistical region in southeast Slovenia. It is the largest statistical region. The development of this region is largely the result of industry (the auto industry, pharmaceuticals, and other light ...

Name

The name ''Grič pri Klevevžu'' literally means 'hillock near Klevevž'. The name refers to medieval Klevevž Castle (),''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 83. first mentioned in written documents dating to 1267. The surrounding

n lands in the Radulja valley had been acquired the Bavarian Prince-Bishops of Freising from the estates of the late Saint

Hemma of Gurk Hemma of Gurk (; 27 June 1045),29 June according t also called Emma of Gurk (), was a noblewoman and founder of several churches and monasteries in the Duchy of Carinthia. Buried at Gurk Cathedral since 1174, she was beatified on 21 November 12 ...

. The bishops finally sold their remote lordship in 1622. The castle was burned down 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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Mass graves

Grič pri Klevevžu 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 Klevevž 1–3 mass graves () are located north of the settlement. They are also known as the Kačja Rid, Bričevka, or Jurjevci mass graves. They contain the remains of Slovene and

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 ...

civilians murdered by the

in the spring and early summer of 1942 while the staff of the Krka Detachment was at Klevevž Castle. The first grave is located in the woods from the main road and from a forest path; it contains the remains of 30 victims. The second grave lies in front of a sinkhole next to a path in the woods, about from the main road, and contains the remains of several dozen victims. The third grave lies in front of another sinkhole next to the same path in the woods, about from the main road, and contains the remains of several dozen victims.

Landmarks

Klevevž is known for the ruins of Klevevž Castle with the remains of the castle park, the hypothermal spring Klevevž Spa (), also suitable for bathing, and two caves, Upper Klevevž Cave () and Lower Klevevž (or Heathen) Cave ( or ). The first one is an over -long dry cave, with some dripstones at its end. Some prehistoric

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

has been found there. The latter is a water cave inside of which there is the only known thermal spring in a cave in Slovenia. It is a home to a rich animal life, including bat colonies. The hypothermal spring flows to the Radulja, which flows through a

gorge A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...

formed in the

Triassic The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

and forms a

cascade Cascade, or Cascading may refer to: Science and technology Science * Air shower (physics), a cascade (particle shower) of subatomic particles and ionized nuclei ** Particle shower, a cascade of secondary particles produced as the result of a high ...

in this part.

References

External links

*
Grič pri Klevevžu on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Šmarješke Toplice {{SmarjeskeToplice-geo-stub