Lokavec () is a settlement on the northern edge of the

Vipava Valley The Vipava Valley (; , , ) is a valley in the Slovenian Littoral, roughly between the village of Podnanos to the east and the border with Italy to the west. The main towns are Ajdovščina and Vipava. Geography The narrow valley of the Vipav ...

northwest of

Ajdovščina Ajdovščina (; ,trilingual name "Haidenschaft, Aidussina, Ajdovščina" inGemeindelexikon, der im Reichsrate Vertretenen Königreiche und Länder. Bearbeit auf Grund der Ergebnisse der Volkszählung vom 31. Dezember 1900. Herausgegeben von der K. ...

in the

Littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

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 ...

. It lies below the slopes of Mount Čaven, below the Slano Blato Landslide. It includes the hamlets of Bitovi, Brith (or Britih), Čohi, Gorenje, Kuši, Lahovše, Loretovše, Mizinška Vas (), Paljki (or Palki), and

Slokarji Slokarji (; ) is a formerly independent settlement in the Municipality of Ajdovščina in southwestern Slovenia. It is now part of the village of Lokavec. It is part of the traditional region of the Littoral and is now included with the rest of ...

Name

Lokavec was first attested in written sources in 1086 as ''Locunz'' and ''Locarizz''. The name is derived from the adjective ''*lǫkavъ'' 'twisted, winding' or from the common noun ''*lǫkava'' 'curve, twist', perhaps originally a

hydronym A hydronym (from , , "water" and , , "name") is a type of toponym that designates a proper name of a body of water. Hydronyms include the proper names of rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, swamps and marshes, seas and oceans. As a subset of top ...

History

The discovery of Celtic grave sites in Lovavec shows that it was already settled in prehistoric times. The Celtic settlement there had a defensive structure built on Gradišče Commons Hill (, elevation: ) in neighboring Ajdovščina. During the Second World War, German forces arrested all of the men in the settlement capable of bearing arms and sent them to perform forced labor.

Mass grave

Lokavec is the site of a

mass grave 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 Lokavec Mass Grave () is located in a field west of the settlement. It contains the remains of five to seven Slovenian civilians murdered around 20 June 1945.

Postwar

Lokavec annexed the formerly independent settlements of Dolnji Lokavec and Slokarji in 1952.

Churches

Lokavec Ajdovscina Slovenia - Assumption

There are three churches in the village: 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 ...

, belonging to the

Koper Koper (; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fifth-largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Slovenian Istria, Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, Koper is the main urban center of the Slovene coast. Port of Koper i ...

Diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

and dedicated to

Saint Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the Persecution of Christians, persecution of the Christians that the Roman Empire, Rom ...

, a second church dedicated to Saint Urban,Koper Diocese list of churches
and a church dedicated to St. Mary of the

Assumption Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Assumption may also refer to: Places * Assumption, Alberta, Canada * Assumption, Illinois, United States ** Assumption Town ...

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Lokavec include: * Miha Blažko (1810–1897), master mason * Edmund Čibej (1861–1954), journalist and mineralogist * Venceslav Čopič (1893–1980), education specialist *

Michael Cussa Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

(ca. 1657–1699), sculptor * Teodor Posteli (1909–1993), cardiologist * Anton Slokar (1898–1982), politician

References

External links

*
Lokavec on Geopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lokavec, Ajdovscina Populated places in the Municipality of Ajdovščina