Zajčje Polje (; also formerly ''Zajčja vas'',''Intelligenzblatt zur Laibacher Zeitung'', no. 141. 24 November 1849, p. 27.Petschauer, Erich. 1980. "Die Gottscheer Siedlungen – Ortsnamenverzeichnis." In ''Das Jahrhundertbuch der Gottscheer'' (pp. 181–197). Klagenfurt: Leustik. or ''Hasenbach'',

Gottscheerish Gottscheerish (''Göttscheabarisch'',Maridi Tscherne: Wörterbuch Gottscheerisch-Slowenisch. Einrichtung für die Erhaltung des Kulturerbes Nesseltal, Koprivnik/Nesseltal 2010. , ) is an Upper German dialect which was the main language of c ...

: ''Huəshnbold'') is a settlement in the

Municipality of Kočevje The Municipality of Kočevje (; ) is a Municipalities of Slovenia, municipality in southern Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the city of Kočevje. Today it is part of the Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region. In terms of area, it is t ...

in southern

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 was inhabited mostly by Gottschee Germans. 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 ...

and is now 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 ...

.Kočevje municipal site

Name

The Slovene name ''Zajčje Polje'', the German name ''Hasenfeld'', and the Gottscheerish name ''Huəshnbold'' all literally mean '

hare Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live Solitary animal, solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are precociality, able to fend for themselves ...

field'. It is presumed that ''Haas'' (literally, 'hare') was the surname of one of the early settlers here, and that the village is named after him. The alternate Slovene name ''Zajčja vas'' means 'hare village' and the alternate German name ''Hasenbach'' means 'hare creek'.

History

Zajčje Polje was a Gottschee German village. In the Kočevje land registry of 1574 the village had six full farms that were subdivided into 12 half-farms,Savnik, Roman, ed. 1971. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 2. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, p. 248. corresponding to a population between 90 and 100. In 1770 the settlement had 22 houses. Before the Second World War the settlement had 24 houses and a population of 96.''Krajevni leksikon Dravske Banovine''. 1937. Ljubljana: Zveza za tujski promet za Slovenijo, p. 220. Early in the war its original population was evicted. Italian troops burned the area in the summer of 1942 but did not destroy all of the houses. Some of the old houses were renovated after the war.

Churches and cemetery

The local church was originally a 17th-century building dedicated to Saint Anthony.Ministry of Culture register of national heritage
reference number ešd 2817 The church stood on the southwest edge of the village and was first mentioned in written sources by

Johann Weikhard von Valvasor Johann Weikhard Freiherr von Valvasor or Johann Weichard Freiherr von Valvasor (, ) or simply Valvasor (baptised on 28 May 1641 – September or October 1693) was a natural historian and polymath from Carniola, present-day Slovenia, and a Li ...

. It had a polygonal

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

walled on three sides. It was razed in 1741.Ferenc, Mitja. "Zajčje polje: Podružnična cerkev sv. Valentina, nekoč sv. Andreja / Hasenfeld: Filialkirche St. Valentin, einst St. Andreas."
In its place a chapel dedicated to

Saint Valentine Saint Valentine (; ) was a 3rd-century Roman saint, commemorated in Western Christianity on February 14 and in Eastern Orthodoxy on July 6. From the High Middle Ages, his feast day has been associated with a tradition of courtly love. He is al ...

was built, and this was converted to a church when a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

was added to it in 1867. Saint Valentine's Church had a hexagonal

walled on five sides, a rectangular nave, and a wooden

bell-cot A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...

above the entrance. The church received a new roof and a new ceiling in the nave in 1938 and 1939. The chancel had a metal roof, and the nave had a tile roof. The bell-cot had a square metal

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downward to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, with variants including Tented roof, tented roofs and others. Thus, a hipped roof has no gables or other ve ...

. A simple stone door casing stood at the entrance. The nave had two rectangular windows set in stone casings on either side, and a

coffer A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, al ...

ed wooden ceiling. Saint Valentine's Church survived the war in good condition, but was demolished after 1947. The village also has a cemetery, which was established in 1836.Ministry of Culture register of national heritage
reference number ešd 9215 It lies south of the village, along the road from Črni Potok pri Kočevju to

Kočevje Kočevje (; ; ''Göttscheab'' or ''Gətscheab'' in the local Gottscheerish dialect; ) is a town and the seat of Municipality of Kočevje in southern Slovenia. Geography The town is located at the foot of the Kočevski Rog karst plateau on t ...

. The cemetery is in active use and is one of the better-preserved cemeteries in

Gottschee Gottschee (, ) refers to a former German-speaking region in Carniola, a crownland of the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg Empire, part of the historical and traditional region of Lower Carniola, now in Slovenia. The region has been a county, duchy, di ...

, containing many stone and cast-iron Gottschee German grave markers.

References

External links

Zajčje Polje on GeopediaPre–World War II map of Zajčje Polje with oeconyms and family names
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zajcje Polje Populated places in the Municipality of Kočevje