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Laško (; ) is a
spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...
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 ...
. It is the seat of the
Municipality of Laško The Municipality of Laško (; ) is a municipality in eastern Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Laško. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. The municipality is now included in the Savinja Statistical Region ...
. The area is part of the traditional region of
Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
. The municipality is now 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 ...
. The town is located at the foothills of Hum Hill on the Savinja River. It was first mentioned in written documents dating to 1227 and was granted
town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...
in 1927. It is known to have been settled since the
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
and
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
archaeological finds are common in the area, though the precise location of the Roman settlement is not known. Today the town is best known for its annual Festival of Beer & Flowers (''Pivo - Cvetje'') and the local
Laško Brewery Laško Brewery () is the largest brewery in Slovenia. It is located in Laško and named after the town.The brewery was founded in 1825 by Franz Geyer, a gingerbread baker and mead producer. After World War II ended in 1945, Laško was the fifth-la ...
, the largest
brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...
in the country. In 2010, Laško was heavily affected by
flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...
. The town's
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
depicts three white fleurs-de-lis on a blue field.


Name

Laško was attested in written sources in 1145 under the German name ''Tyver'' (and as ''Tyvre'' in 1182, ''Tyuer'' in 1342, and ''Tyffer'' in 1461). The name ''de Lasca'' was attested in 1483. The Slovene name is derived from ''*Laško selo'' '
Vlach Vlach ( ), also Wallachian and many other variants, is a term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate speakers of Eastern Romance languages living in Southeast Europe—south of the Danube (the Balkan peninsula) ...
village'; the first element comes from Slavic *''Vȍlxъ'', referring to the Romanized Celtic population or to other Romance speakers. The Slovene name presumably refers to pre-Slavic ethnic settlement or to medieval settlers from a Romance-speaking area, and it predates the arrival of Italian settlers from the
Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...
area that arrived in Laško after 1554. The German name ''Tüffer'' is believed to derive from Slavic ''deber'' 'river strait', referring to the narrowing of the Savinja River. This name is still found in the village of
Debro Debro () is a settlement in the hills above the right bank of the Savinja River River in the Municipality of Laško in eastern Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. It is now included with the rest of the municipality i ...
, which lies immediately upriver from Laško and was once known in German as ''Ober Tüffer'' (literally, 'upper Tüffer').


History

Archaeological finds confirm prehistoric settlement in the Laško area. Stone axes discovered on the southeast slope below the old castle date back to the eighth century BC. Two silver Celtic coins have been found in Laško, and several stone funerary monuments dating to the Roman era have been found. The Roman road from Celeia to
Zidani Most Zidani Most (; ) is a settlement in the Municipality of Laško in eastern Slovenia. It lies at the confluence of the Sava and Savinja rivers. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. It is now included with the rest of the municipal ...
and onward to Neviodunum passed through Laško.Savnik, Roman, ed. 1976. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 3. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije. pp. 186–189. One of the oldest buildings in Laško is called Štok or Weixelberger Manor (). The property dates back to the mid-15th century, with records showing that it was given to Nikolaj Behaim by the
Counts of Celje The Counts of Celje () or the Counts of Cilli (; ) were the most influential late medieval noble dynasty on the territory of present-day Slovenia. Risen as vassals of the Habsburg dukes of Styria in the early 14th century, they ruled the County ...
in 1437. It was acquired by Sigismund Weixelberger before 1506 and he built the manor at the site. At the end of the 15th century Laško was targeted in Ottoman attacks and was burned at least once. Peasant revolts also took place in the town in 1515 and in 1635. Laško was struck by plague outbreaks several times, especially in 1646 and 1647. Schooling was established in Laško by around 1600. A lower primary school was set up under Empress Maria Theresa in the 18th century. The oldest large-scale industry in Laško dates back to the 18th century. A major fire devastated Laško in 1840, destroying half of the houses in the town. High water on the Savinja River also destroyed the town's bridge several times in the mid-19th century. The railroad reached Laško in 1849. A leather factory was established in 1929, and a textile factory in 1934.


Mass graves

Laško is the site of two 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 ...
from the period immediately after the Second World War. The Funeral Chapel Mass Grave () is located west of the Laško Brewery, under the funeral chapel outside the east wall of the town cemetery. The grave contains the remains of Croatian prisoners of war that were murdered after the war. The Cemetery Mass Grave () is located in an unmarked part of the town cemetery. The grave contains the remains of Croatian victims that were discovered during excavations and reburied.


Castle

The local castle, known as Tabor Castle, dates to the 12th century, although it was first mentioned in written sources dating to 1265. It was burned down during Ottoman Raids in the late 15th century and was extended in the 16th century.


Brewery

Brewing in the town dates back to 1817, when the bell-maker Ivan Steinmetz set up a brewery there. The Laško Brewery was sold to
Heineken Heineken Lager Beer (), or simply Heineken (), is a Dutch pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star. History On 15 February 1864, ...
in 2016.


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
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 is a Romanesque building dating to the 13th century with various later additions and adaptations.


Spa

The healing properties of the local waters have been known since antiquity. Laško developed as a health resort towards the end of the 19th century.Jeannie Bastian.
The Town of Beer & Flowers
'. Accessed November 15, 2006.
In 1818 a report appeared in a
Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...
newspaper about the Laško springs. The water temperature was measured at and the establishment of a health spa was announced. An engineer named Rödel began to work systematically on the springs during the construction of the railway line. Work progressed from September 1852, when he purchased the land, until May 1854, when he ceremoniously opened the spa. The three springs were each given a name: the Emperor's Spring, Franz's Spring, and Joseph's Spring. The spa was given the name ''Kaiser Franz Josef Bad'', after Emperor
Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...
. Along with a building with a pool, Rödel also rearranged the nearby mill and built a luxurious mansion. In 1857 the spa was purchased by a
Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Viennese classicism * Viennese coffee house, an eating establishment and part of Viennese ...
professor and cosmopolitan named Stein, who invited the cream of Viennese society to the health spa. For this purpose he built an extension onto the spa building with a dance hall and planted a park. He also took care of his guests' social life. Stein was later forced to sell the spa. The spa's reputation returned under a later owner named Gunkel, who radically renovated it and in 1882 built his own
hydroelectric power plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
, the first on Slovene soil, which lit up most of the buildings and the whole park. In cooperation with the brewery, they began to brew thermal beer. During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
the spa played the role of a military
hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
. The property was left in disrepair after the war, but was partly renovated in 1923. Later the spa passed into the hands of the Pensions Institute (''Pokojninski zavod'') and the Central Office for Workers' Insurance (''Osrednji urad za zavarovanje delavcev''). In October 1953, the spa was registered as a medical rehabilitation centre. Further development mainly followed the needs of the healthcare service and to a large degree it was the fruit of cooperation with the orthopedic (later neurological, traumatology, and neurosurgical) clinics in
Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...
, regional hospitals, and health centres across Slovenia. The Laško Thermal Spa Resort is becoming one of the most important health spas and tourist centres in Slovenia.


References


External links

*
Laško on GeopediaLaško municipal website

Laško – the Confluence of GoodFestival of Beer and Flowers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lasko Populated places in the Municipality of Laško Spa towns in Slovenia Cities and towns in Styria (Slovenia)