Straža () is a settlement on the left bank of the Krka River in 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 ...

in southeastern

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 the largest settlement and the centre of the Municipality of Straža and is included in the

Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region The Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region () is a statistical region in southeast Slovenia. It is the largest statistical region. The development of this region is largely the result of industry (the auto industry, pharmaceuticals, and other light ...

. It has close to 2,000 inhabitants. The main employer in the town was the company Novoles. There are many

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s in the area.

Geography

Straža lies on the left bank of the Krka River. The main part of the town is the former village of Gornja Straža (in older sources ''Gorenja Straža'', ), which was joined with former village of Dolnja Straža (in older sources ''Dolenja Straža'', ) to the northeast to create today's settlement. There are two churches in Straža: Assumption Church in Dolenja Straža, which is part of the Parish of

Prečna Prečna (, ) is a settlement northwest of the town of Novo Mesto in southeastern Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region. The local parish church is ...

, and St. Thomas's Church in Gorenja Straža, which is part of the Parish of Vavta Vas.

Name

The name ''Straža'' is shared with several other settlements in Slovenia, and it is also found in various

toponyms Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper nam ...

, oronyms, and

hydronym A hydronym (from , , "water" and , , "name") is a type of toponym that designates a proper name of a body of water. Hydronyms include the proper names of rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, swamps and marshes, seas and oceans. As a subset of top ...

s. It is derived from the common noun ''straža'' 'guards, guard post', often referring to a place where watch was kept during the danger of Ottoman attacks.

References

External links

*
Straža on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Straža {{Straža-geo-stub