Raka (; ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 78.) 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

Municipality of Krško A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...

in eastern

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 ...

. The area is part of the traditional region of

Lower Carniola Lower Carniola ( ; ) is a traditional region 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 an ...

. It is now included with the rest of the municipality in the

Lower Sava Statistical Region The Lower Sava Statistical Region (; until December 31, 2014 ) is a Statistical regions of Slovenia, statistical region in Slovenia. It has good traffic accessibility and is located in the Sava and Krka Valleys, with hilly areas with vineyards and ...

. The village is known for a quality variety of

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

Name

Raka was attested in written sources in 1161 as ''Arch'' (and as ''Archa'' in 1249, and ''Arch'' in 1279). The Slovene name is derived from the common noun ''raka'' 'wooden cladding preventing water erosion of a bank' or 'cladded chute carrying water to a mill'. Both the Slovene and German names are ultimately derived from Latin ''arca'' 'box'.

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 centre of the settlement is 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 ...

and belongs to the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Novo Mesto The Diocese of Novo Mesto (; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the city of Novo Mesto in the ecclesiastical province of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ljubljana, Ljubljana in Slovenia. History * April 7, 2006: Established as ...

. It is a Late Baroque church built between 1799 and 1804 on the site of an earlier building. It has two belfries.

Raka Castle

Raka Castle is a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

west of the main settlement. It is one of the oldest castles in Slovenia as far as written sources are concerned, mentioned in documents dating to the 12th century. It was destroyed in a peasant revolt in 1515. The current building dates to the major refurbishing and rebuilding in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Raka include: * Andrej Recelj (?–ca. 1600),

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

and the translator of '' Gorske bukve'' (1582), the first legal text in Slovene * Martin Humek (1870–1943), beekeeper *Amalija Ulčnik, the mother of

Melania Trump Melania Knauss Trump (born Melanija Knavs, April26, 1970) is a Slovenian and American former model who is married to U.S. President Donald Trump. Since 2025, Melania Trump has served as the first lady of the United States, a role she previous ...

, is a native of Raka, and the daughter of the local man who created the Raka red onion by crossing Egyptian and Ptuj onions.Lauren Collins
The Model American
in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' dated May 9, 2016 *

Ivan Tavčar Ivan Tavčar () (28 August 1851 – 19 February 1923) was a Slovenian writer, lawyer, and politician. Biography Tavčar was born into the poor peasant family of Janez and Neža née Perko in the Carniolan village of Poljane near Škofja Lo ...

, (1851–1923) Slovenian writer, lawyer, and politician. * Vili Resnik, (1963) Slovenian rock singer and guitarist, represented Slovenia in Eurovision Song Contest in 1998 * Miran Rudan, (1965) Slovenian pop and rock singer ( Pop Design)

References

External links

*
Raka on Geopedia
Populated places in the Urban Municipality of Krško {{Krško-geo-stub