Leše (, ) is a village in the

Municipality of Tržič The Municipality of Tržič (; ) is a municipality in the traditional region of Upper Carniola in northwestern Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Tržič. Tržič became a municipality in 1994. It borders Austria. Settlements ...

in the

Upper Carniola Upper Carniola ( ; ; ) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The largest town in the region is Kranj, and other urban centers include Kamnik, Jesenice, Jesenice, Jesenice, Domžale and ...

region of

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 ...

Name

Leše was attested in written sources in 1040 as ''silva que Leschahc nuncupator'' (and as ''predium Lêscah'' in 1050–63, and ''Loschach'' and ''Leschach'' in 1498). The name is derived from the plural

demonym A demonym (; ) or 'gentilic' () is a word that identifies a group of people ( inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place ( hamlet, village, town, city, region, ...

''Lěščane'', derived from the word ''lěska'' '

hazel Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...

'. The name thus originally means 'people living by the hazel grove'.

History

During the Second World War, the school in Leše was burned 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 ...

in 1944. A new school was built after the war. The local club ''Slovenian Astronaut'' () has arranged a memorial room for

Sunita Williams Sunita Lyn "Suni" Williams ( Pandya; born September 19, 1965) is an American astronaut and a retired U.S. Navy officer. Williams served aboard the International Space Station as a participant in Expedition 14, a flight engineer for Expedition ...

, an astronaut of Slovene descent, in Leše. Her great-grandmother Marija Bohinjec was born and lived in Leše until she emigrated to the United States in 1900 or 1901. Her birth house is still standing. An annual event called the ''Day of Astronautics'' () aimed at promoting

spaceflight Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly objects, usually spacecraft, into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such ...

was organised in Leše annually from 2009 to 2016.

Church

The local church is dedicated to Saint James (). It dates from 1822 and contains paintings by Matija Bradaška (1852–1915).

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Leše, or with ancestry from Leše, include: * Josip Valjavec (1897–1959), lexicographer and religious writer *

, American astronautSunita Williams in her ancestors' homeland one more time

Delo ''Delo'' () is a business oriented online media in Ukraine, belonging to ekonomika+ media holding. ''Delo'' was the first daily in Ukraine, publishing its real print circulation (13.000 - 15.000) and trying to introduce Western editorial and b ...

, March 26, 2013

References

External links

*
Leše on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Tržič {{Tržič-geo-stub