Puštal (; ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 64.) is a settlement on the right bank of the Sora River in the Municipality of Škofja Loka 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 ...

. It is connected to the town of

Škofja Loka Škofja Loka (; ) is a town in Slovenia. It is the economic, cultural, educational, and administrative center of the Municipality of Škofja Loka in Upper Carniola. It has about 12,000 inhabitants. Geography Škofja Loka lies at an elevation of ...

by a road bridge and a well-known wooden footbridge called the Devil's Footbridge ().

Name

Puštal was first attested in written sources in 1214–20 as ''Purchstallo'' and ''Purchstal'' (and as ''Burchstal'' in 1291 and 1318, ''Bůrchstal'' in 1360, and ''Purgstal'' in 1501). The original Slovene form of the name, ''*Purštal'', was borrowed from the

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

name of the settlement and is derived from the Middle High German common noun ''burcstal'' 'fortified settlement'. In the past the German name was ''Burgstall''.

Mass grave

Puštal 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 ...

associated with the Second World War. The Žovšče Mass Grave (), also known as the Žolšče Mass Grave (), is located in the Žovšče Commons, on the northeast slope of Dešna Hill, between Puštal and Bodovlje. It contains the remains of about 10 Slovene civilians that were murdered and buried at two locations about apart.

Church

The local church is dedicated to the Holy Cross and stands on a small hill dominating the settlement. This gives it its local name of ''Cerkev na Hribcu'' ('church on the little hill'). There are twelve small chapel-shrines representing the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

alongside the path up to the church.

Cultural heritage

Another point of interest in Puštal is a 500-year-old wooden house known as Nace's House (), in which a small museum collection has been assembled. A

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

mansion known as Puštal Castle, now housing the Škofja Loka Music School, was originally built circa 1220 and has a rounded corner tower and an arcaded

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...

. On the wall of the castle chapel is a

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

by Giulio Quaglio the Younger, the ''

Descent from the Cross The Descent from the Cross (, ''Apokathelosis''), or Deposition of Christ, is the scene, as depicted in art, from the Gospels' accounts of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Christ down from the cross after his crucifixion (John 19, ). I ...

'', dating to 1706.Škofja Loka Tourist Association website
/ref> Image:NacetovaHisa-SkLoka-Pustal.JPG, Nace's House in Puštal Image:PustalskiGrad-SkLoka.JPG, Puštal Castle Image:Pustal Slovenia - bridge.jpg, The Devil's Bridge

References

External links

*
Puštal on Geopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pustal Populated places in the Municipality of Škofja Loka