Art Culture Heritage
The Church of the Three Wise Men in Črni Potok
The Church of the Three Wise Men in Črni Potok is one of the few churches in the Kočevje (Gottschee) region that survived the Second World War and the devastation…
Culture History
The Turkish Incursions as Reflected in Gottscheer oral tradition.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, what we today call the “Turkish Incursions” left an indelible mark on Slovenia. Gottschee and its German-speaking inhabitants, the Gottscheers, are often left out…
Culture Heritage Villages
Topli Vrh (Untertaplwerch) – a Former Gottscheer Village under the Patronage of St Peter and St Paul
Village of Topli Vrh Today, as we ascend the asphalt road from Črmošnjice towards the Gače ski resort or venture further into the vast forest, we have only telltale signs…
Culture
The Mala Knežja jama (Fürstloch) and the Jama nad Dolgim vodnjakom caves: archaeological sites in the central part of Kočevski Rog
Human presence in Kočevska Area in prehistoric times It is generally believed that Kočevski Rog was not inhabited until the 14th century, when the Gottscheers were colonised there by the…
crafts Culture Heritage
The Dvor Ironworks: the Story of the Rise (and Fall) of the Auersperg’s Iron Foundry
The first idea of establishing an ironworks in Dvor dates back to 1763, when Prince Heinrich of Auersperg first applied for a concession. He was unable to obtain a permission…
Culture Heritage
The Folk Ballad of the Infanticide: Slovenian and Gottscheer Versions
The motif of the illegitimate mother who murders or casts out her child and is punished for it is known in folk song tradition almost throughout Europe, including Slovenia. In…
Culture Heritage
Reflection of the Aristocratic World in the Gottscheer Folk Song Tradition
Gottscheer couple (Balthasar Hacquet 1778)…
Culture Heritage
How Did Micika v püngradi come to the Kočevska Region? – Folk Songs of the Prekmurje Region in Kočevska Region
How Did Micika v püngradi come to the Kočevska Region? – Folk Songs of the Prekmurje Region in Kočevska Region
The multicultural character of the wider Kočevska area could be thought of as a single intertwined “culture” or community. It is home to people who have migrated from all over…
Heritage History
Cemetery in Stari Log
The cemetery in Stari Log (Altlag) near Kočevje is one of the best preserved Gottscheer cemeteries. It is not only the eternal resting place of the inhabitants of Stari Log,…
Events Gottscheer Communities
German-speaking community: Reflection on the diversity in the Alpe-Adria region
The Alpe-Adria region, which also includes Austria’s Carinthia and Styria, the Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Slovenia and Istria, is a laboratory of many of the characteristics that both divide and unite the…
Art Culture
Artistic activity in Kočevska region
Artistic activity, both by academic and amateur artists, has a special character in Kočevska region. On the one hand, it is strongly linked to the natural features of the area,…
Heritage History
Kočevje Coal Mine: Turbulent mining history of Kočevje
Kočevska region is known for its natural resources, especially its vast, intact forests. In the (not so) distant past, the area was rich in another natural resource that had a…
Culture Heritage Tourism
A stroll through the village of Občice (Gott. Khrapflern)
“Isn’t even the humblest dwelling magnificent, when it is observed intimately?” I took a walk through the village of Občice occupied with similar thoughts as the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard…
Animals Environment
Lynx, the mysterious feline of Slovenian forests
Most probably you will never spot a lynx in the wild. We may see traces of its footprints in the mud or snow. Yet the very thought of a large…
Heritage History
Franc Volf, a miner from Kočevje: memories of a miner’s life in Kočevje
Unfortunately, there are less and less former miners from Kočevje still alive today. One of the few retired mine workers who still remembers his mining years with great joy and…