Leše (, german: Leschach) is a village in the

Municipality of Tržič The Municipality of Tržič (; sl, Občina 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. Settlements ...

in the

Upper Carniola Upper Carniola ( sl, Gorenjska; it, Alta Carniola; german: Oberkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The centre of the region is Kranj, while other urban centers include Jeseni ...

region of

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

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, province, ...

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

hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus 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. (1999). ...

'. 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 in 1944. A new school was built after the war.

Church

The local church is dedicated to Saint James ( sl, sveti Jakob). It dates from 1822 and contains paintings by

Matija Bradaška Matija is a South Slavic masculine and feminine given name, a variant of Matthew. Notable people with the name include: * Matija Ahacel (1779–1845), Carinthian Slovene philologist, publicist, and collector of folk songs * Matija Antun Relković ( ...

(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 *

Sunita Williams Sunita Lyn Williams (born September 19, 1965) is an American astronaut and United States Navy officer who formerly held the records for most spacewalks by a woman (seven) and most spacewalk time for a woman (50 hours, 40 minutes). Williams was ...

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

Delo ''Delo'' (russian: Дело) 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 e ...

, March 26, 2013

References

External links

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