Vešter (; in older sources also ''Bešter'',''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 62. ) is a settlement 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 ...

Geography

Vešter is an old clustered village east of

Trnje Trnje () is a district in the City of Zagreb, Croatia. According to the 2011 census, the district had 42,282 residents. It is located in the central part of the city, south of Donji grad across the railway ( Zagreb Main Station), east of Trešn ...

along the road from

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 ...

Železniki Železniki (; ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 66–67.) is a small town in Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Železni ...

. It stands on the left bank of the Selca Sora River with the settled area in the Vešter Plain (), and Puštal Hill and Cavrn Hill rise north of the settlement.

Name

''Vešter'' was attested in historical sources as ''Obernwester'' in 1291, ''Westreden'' in 1421, ''Westert'' in 1481, and ''Bestrad'' in 1500. The name ''Vešter'' is shortened from German ''Obernwester'' (literally, 'upper Vešter'). The neighboring village of Trnje was formerly called ''Wester'', and so the epithet distinguished the two villages. The name ''Vešter'' is derived from the microtoponym ''Westerfeld'' ('western field', today ''Veštrsko polje''), which stands west of the cluster of villages around

Stara Loka Stara Loka (; ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 62.) is a settlement in the Municipality of Škofja Loka in the Upper Carniola region o ...

; the corresponding ''Osterfeld'' ('eastern field', now the northern part of Škofja Loka) stood east of the built-up area, and there was also a ''Mittelfeld'' 'middle field' between the two.

History

There is an unexcavated

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

on Puštal Hill, testifying to prehistoric settlement in the area. In the 13th century, Vešter belonged to the Gadmar District (). During the Second World War, the Partisans used the Vešter Mill (''Veštrski mlin'') south of the village, a structure attested since the 13th century, as an underground printshop. The building was burned by German forces on February 8, 1944, killing three Partisans. There is a memorial at the site.

Mass graves

Vešter is the site of three 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 ...

from the period immediately after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The Gorge Mass Grave () is located in the narrowest part of the Selca Sora Valley along the road from

, about east of the road. It contains the remains of six to 10

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting ...

soldiers and civilians that were released from the Škofja Loka Castle prison and then intercepted and murdered on their way home. The Lovrec House Mass Grave (), also known as the Matjaž Valley Mass Grave (), lies below the foot of Cavrn Hill, along a path about northwest of the village of

. It contains the remains of eight Home Guard soldiers that were taken from the Škofja Loka Castle prison and murdered. The abandoned and dilapidated Lovrec House () stood at the site in 1945. The Cavrn Mass Grave () is located on the slope of Cavrn Hill near a former

Partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

bunker. It contains the remains of eight Home Guard soldiers that were taken from the Škofja Loka Castle prison and murdered.

References

External links

*
Vešter on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Škofja Loka {{ŠkofjaLoka-geo-stub