Podgorje (; ) 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 ...
in the
City Municipality of Koper
The Urban Municipality of Koper (; , ) is one of twelve urban municipalities of Slovenia. It is located at the coastline of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Slovenia and was established in 1994. The seat of the municipality is the town of Koper. ...
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 ...
on the border with
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
.
Geography
The village is located below Mount
Slavnik (1,028 m), the highest peak in
Slovenian Istria
Slovene Istria is a region in southwest Slovenia. It comprises the northern part of the Istrian peninsula and is part of the wider geographical-historical region known as the Slovene Littoral. Its largest urban center is Koper. Other large settle ...
. The location of the village is reflected in its name, which literally means 'below the mountain'.
Mass graves
Podgorje 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 ...
associated with the Second World War. The Vrženca Mass Grave () is located 1.2 km southwest of Podgorje and 1.2 km northwest of the summit of Kojnik Hill, on the east edge of a meadow next to the woods.
Spelunkers
Caving, also known as spelunking (United States and Canada) and potholing (United Kingdom and Ireland), is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology is the scientific st ...
found human remains at the site; the remains were collected in 1992 and were reburied in 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 ...
cemetery in 2004. The Podgorje 6 Cave Mass Grave () is located on the steep slope of a small valley in the Jančarija area in the foothills of Mount Slavnik. It contains the remains of undetermined victims. The remains of two people were collected from the grave in July 1992 and were reburied in the Koper cemetery in 2004.
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 Sabbas.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Koper List of Churches May 2008
Notable people
Notable people that were born or lived in Podgorje include:
*Zlatko Dedič Zlatko ( sr-Cyrl, Златко, ) is a South Slavic masculine given name. The name is derived from the word ''zlato'' meaning gold with hypocoristic suffix ''-ko'' common in South Slavic languages.
Zlatko is a given name. Notable people with the n ...
(born 1984), football player
References
External links
*
Podgorje on Geopedia
Populated places in the Urban Municipality of Koper
{{Koper-geo-stub