The Municipality of Jezersko (; ) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in northern

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 ...

. In 1995, Jezersko became part of

Preddvor Preddvor (; ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 54.) is a settlement in Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Preddvor. Name T ...

and became an independent municipality in 1998. Originally located in the historic region of

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

, it became part of the

Upper Carniola Statistical Region The Upper Carniola Statistical Region () is a Statistical regions of Slovenia, statistical region in northwest Slovenia. It is a region with high mountains, including Mount Triglav, and is almost entirely Alpine. A large part of this statistical r ...

in 2005. The seat of the municipality is the town of

Zgornje Jezersko Zgornje Jezersko (, literally 'Upper Jezersko'; ) is a settlement and administrative centre of the Municipality of Jezersko in northern Slovenia. It is part of the traditional Slovenian Carinthia region and the Upper Carniola Statistical Region. ...

. Jezersko is located in the remote

Kokra The Kokra () is a river of Slovenia. Originating in the Karawanks, the river is long. It flows into the Sava in Kranj. References

Rivers of Upper Carniola {{Slovenia-river-stub ...

Valley in the

Kamnik–Savinja Alps The Kamnik–Savinja Alps () are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps. They lie in northern Slovenia, except for the northernmost part, which lies in Austria. The western part of the range was named the Kamnik Alps () in 1778 by the sc ...

, south of the

Seeberg Saddle Seeberg Saddle (, ), also just Seeberg (''Jezersko'') is a high mountain pass connecting Bad Eisenkappel in the Austrian state of Carinthia with Jezersko in the Slovenian region of Carinthia. It is located in the Southern Limestone Alps, between t ...

mountain pass and the border with the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n state of

. It borders

History

The name of the area derives from a

glacial lake A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier. Formation Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...

near the settlement of Zgornje Jezersko that started to disappear after an earthquake in 1348. However, it was still described by

Johann Weikhard von Valvasor Johann Weikhard Freiherr von Valvasor or Johann Weichard Freiherr von Valvasor (, ) or simply Valvasor (baptised on 28 May 1641 – September or October 1693) was a natural historian and polymath from Carniola, present-day Slovenia, and a Li ...

in 1689 as a large lake. It gave the area its German name ''Seeland'' (literally "lake land", first recorded as ''Seelant'' in 1496), and its Slovene equivalent , which came into use at the end of the 19th century. A document from 1391 mentions the church of "St. Oswald by the Lake" (''Sv. Ožbolt pri Jezeru''). The remote village was part of the

Duchy of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (; ; ) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial State after the original German stem duchies. Car ...

until 1919, administratively linked to Eisenkappel in the north; however, the residents did not consider themselves "true" Carinthians. It was therefore the only settlement already ceded by the Carinthian

Landtag A ''Landtag'' (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence ...

assembly to the newly established

State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( / ; ) was a political entity that was constituted in October 1918, at the end of World War I, by Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (Prečani (Serbs), Prečani) residing in what were the southernmost parts of th ...

, before it was officially adjudicated together with the

Meža The Meža (Slovene language, Slovene) or Mieß (German language, German; ) is a river in the Austrian state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia and in Slovenia, a right tributary of the Drava. It is long, of which are in Slovenia. Its catchment area ...

Valley and

Dravograd Dravograd (; ) is a small town in northern Slovenia, close to the border with Austria. It is the seat of the Municipality of Dravograd. It lies on the Drava River at the confluence with the Meža and the Mislinja. It is part of the traditional ...

to the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

by the 1919

Treaty of Saint-Germain A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, conventi ...

Settlements

In addition to the municipal seat of Zgornje Jezersko, the municipality also includes the settlement of

Spodnje Jezersko Spodnje Jezersko (; literally, 'Lower Jezersko') is a settlement in the Municipality of Jezersko in Slovenia. It is part of the traditional region of Carinthia and the Upper Carniola Statistical Region. Geology On the left bank of the Kokra River ...

Economy

Agriculture

The main activities that locals engage in are

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

cattle breeding Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock ...

, and

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

. Cattle breeding is extensive in Jezersko, both by private farms and larger corporations. Jezersko is also the place of the origin of the breed of sheep known as the Jezersko–Solčava sheep. A sheep festival called the Sheep Dance () is held annually in mid-August.

Tourism

Jezersko has a long tourist tradition. There is a 3-star hotel in Jezersko as well as private accommodation in self-catering units at vacation farms. The location of the village offers exceptional views of the surrounding mountains, and it is a starting point for mountain

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

routes to Grintovec, Mount Kočna, and Big Peak (). The Kranj Lodge at Ledine () and the Czech Lodge at Spodnje Ravni ()

mountain hut A mountain hut is a building located at high elevation, in mountainous terrain, generally accessible only by foot, intended to provide food and shelter to mountaineering, mountaineers, climbing, climbers and Hiking, hikers. Mountain huts are us ...

s are well known to mountain hikers.Slovenian Tourist Board
/ref> Lake Planšar () in Zgornje Jezersko is an artificial lake created after World War II. In winter skiing is also possible.

References

External links

*
Municipality of Jezersko on GeopediaJezersko municipal site
{{Authority control Jezersko 1998 establishments in Slovenia