Ožbalt () is a
village
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
on the left bank of the
Drava River in the
Municipality of Podvelka
The Municipality of Podvelka (; ) is a municipality in the traditional region of Styria in northern Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Podvelka. The Municipality of Podvelka–Ribnica was created in 1994, and it then split int ...
in
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
The name of the settlement was changed from ''Sveti Ožbalt'' (literally, 'Saint Oswald') to ''Ožbalt'' (literally, 'Oswald') in 1952. The name was changed on the basis of the 1948 Law on Names of Settlements and Designations of Squares, Streets, and Buildings as part of efforts by Slovenia's postwar communist government to remove religious elements from toponyms.
[Urbanc, Mimi, & Matej Gabrovec. 2005. Krajevna imena: poligon za dokazovanje moči in odraz lokalne identitete. ''Geografski vestnik'' 77(2): 25–43.]
Church
The local
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 ...
, from which the settlement gets its name, is dedicated to
Saint Oswald. It belongs to the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Maribor
The Archdiocese of Maribor (, ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Slovenia. Its episcopal see is Maribor.
History
* 1859 : Maribor (then Marburg) became the see of the Diocese of Lavant
* ...
and was originally a
Gothic building from the late 14th century. It is an old
pilgrimage church. The current structure dates to 1813 and the
belfry
The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...
was added in 1859. The internal furnishings are
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
, whereas the main altar was built in stone before World War II.
References
External links
*
Ožbalt on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Podvelka
{{Podvelka-geo-stub