Vipavski Križ (; ) is a settlement on a small hill in the

Vipava Valley The Vipava Valley (; , , ) is a valley in the Slovenian Littoral, roughly between the village of Podnanos to the east and the border with Italy to the west. The main towns are Ajdovščina and Vipava. Geography The narrow valley of the Vipav ...

in the

Municipality of Ajdovščina The Municipality of Ajdovščina (; ) is a municipality with a population of a little over 19,000 located in the Vipava Valley, southwestern Slovenia. The municipality was established in 1994. Its seat is in the town of Ajdovščina. , its mayor ...

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 ...

. There is evidence of habitation on the hill in the pre-Roman period. The settlement was first mentioned in written documents dating to the 13th century. The houses in the village are clustered inside a defence wall around 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 ...

from the late 15th century. It was built to protect the residents against Ottoman raids. In 1532 Vipavski Križ was declared a town. In 1636 a Capuchin

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

with a rich

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

was founded in the town and it is now open to visitors.

Name

The name of the settlement was changed from ''Sveti Križ'' (literally, 'holy cross') to ''Vipavski Križ'' (literally, 'Vipava cross') in 1955. The name was changed on the basis of the 1948 Law on Names of Settlements and Designations of Squares, Streets, and Buildings as part of efforts by Slovenia's postwar communist government to remove religious elements from toponyms. A referendum was held in 1999 on whether to restore the name ''Sveti Križ'', but 51% of the voters favored retaining the name ''Vipavski Križ''.

Parish 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 the

Exaltation of the Cross The Feast of the Holy Cross, or Feast of the Cross, commemorates True Cross, the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus. In the Christianity, Christian liturgical calendar, there are several different celebrations which honor and celebrate the ...

and belongs to the Diocese of Koper.Koper Diocese list of churches
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Notable people

Tobia Lionelli Tobia Lionelli (1647 – 17 October 1714) was a Slovenes, Slovene–Italians, Italian preacher and writer in the Baroque period. His sermons had a crucial role in the affirmation of Slovene as a language. He is also known by his religiou ...

(; 1647–1714), Slovene preacher * Rudolf Perhinek (1906–1982), Yugoslav military officer, Chetnik

References

External links

*
Vipavski Križ on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Ajdovščina {{Ajdovščina-geo-stub