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 that we are passing through one of the largest former Gottscheer villages in this part of Kočevski Rog. This is Topli Vrh, situated on the sunny side of Topli vrh Hill. As early as prehistoric times, there was a hillfort or elevated settlement on top of this hill, and it controlled the road through the valley.
The village dates back to the 13th century. In the 1574 urbarium, the name of the village is recorded as Tablwerch. At that time, there were 6 part-time farming operations in the village, with between 30 and 35 residents. In 1770, the village had 15 houses, and the number was the same in 1824. At that time, the compilers of the Franciscan cadastre recorded that the village had 114 inhabitants, of which 56 were men and 58 women. It is also evident from the cadastre that the houses stood along the road, and the village was surrounded by meadows, orchards, fields and forest.
In 1880, there were 21 houses and 123 inhabitants, and in 1900 there were 129 inhabitants. In 1936, the village had 24 occupied houses with 125 inhabitants, and another five houses stood derelict. The villagers were engaged in cutting down the forest and selling wood. Some were probably also charcoal burners. In addition, they also farmed and raised livestock to meet their needs. In 1834, 3 horses, 30 oxen, 11 cows, 10 calves and lambs, 45 sheep and 15 pigs were recorded in the village. Some inhabitants were also involved in the manufacture and sale of wooden containers. Two landowners also cultivated a vineyard on Semiška gora Hill.
Children from Tople Vrh attended school in Črmošnjice. Its origins go back to the year 1822. In 1929, 24 out of 108 inhabitants of Topli vrh were schoolchildren. Heavy snow and snow drifts were a problem for children attending school in winter.
The Church of St St Peter and St Paul
Church of Peter and Paul (whose feast day is 29 June) is a parish church of the Črmošnjice parish. Its first mention dates back to 1689, when Valvasor referred to it in his Glory of the Duchy of Carniola. The church is probably at least 200 years older than this. On the main, engraved altar (erected at the end of the 17th or beginning of the 18th century) were statues of St Peter and St Paul, and adorning the side were statues of St Anthony and St Francis, as well as some other lesser known saints. There were also two side altars decorated with paintings of St Mary, the Mother of Good Counsel, and the Saints Cosmas and Damian. A wooden vault arched over the church nave, and there was a wooden chancel, a pulpit and 27 pews. Three bells hung in the bell tower.
The village and church during and immediately after World War II
Topli Vrh shared the fate of most of the Gottscheer villages in Kočevski Rog. After the occupation by the army of fascist Italy, all 118 inhabitants of the village left the village on 20 and 21 December 1941 and moved via the railway station to Semič in the Lower Sava Valley and Posotelje on what was then the lower border of Hitler’s Nazi Third Reich. The village was burnt down by the Italian army on 22 July 1942 during an offensive. One house and the church escaped the fire. During the offensive, Italian soldiers stayed there and destroyed the church pews and parts of the altars by burning them. On the wall, which had been scorched by fire, they scratched in Italian the words “Partisans were destroyed” (still visible in 1947). Partisans also spent at least one night in the church; in August 1942, a battalion of the Tomšič Brigade is mentioned. The village was never rebuilt. Between 1943 and 1945, several hidden partisan hospitals functioned in the forests nearby. The window frames of the damaged church and some of the roof tiles were used to build them. Paintings and altar statues were destroyed or damaged.
Immediately after the end of the war, the ruins of the houses were razed and the building materials used in constructing the embankments of the road to Komarna village. The church walls were once again blasted in 1964. The bell tower was, however, left in place, as due to its strategic position it served as an orientation point for the military authorities. The village of Topli Vrh was abandoned as a settlement in 1955, as were one third of the destroyed former settlements in the Kočevska region.
“We went to Topli Vrh” – a wedding in March 1945
The painters Alenka Gerlovič and Vito Globočnik worked as artists in the Partisan movement. In 1944 and 1945, they also visited and depicted the burnt village of Topli Vrh. The lovers decided to get married. Their superiors initially opposed this. They wanted a modest wedding without pomp, which they arbitrarily held on 23 March 1945 at the top of the bell tower of the church in Topli Vrh. This ritual was witnessed by the statues of two armless saints that they took from the damaged altar. They carved their names and the date into the beam on the bell tower, and their informal marriage was sealed.
Topli Vrh in the 21st Century
Today, the scant stone remains of the church, houses, their water reservoirs and fruit trees are all that is left of the former village. The 1:50 scale model of the church was made by Tone Troha. The pastures are grazed by cattle and horses from the Mihelčič farm in the Municipality of Semič.
The most visible remnant of the former village is the church bell tower. In 2004, the modest remains of the church were cleaned and the roof of the bell tower was restored and covered with copper roofing. Inside, wooden stairs have been installed. The restoration was carried out by the Society of Native Gottschee Settlers and volunteers with financial support from South Tyrol. The greed for copper roofing and repeated attempts to steal it finally struck a final blow to the renovation efforts. During an attempted theft of the copper roofing on 3 April 2023, a spark from metal cutting probably caused the fire. Thus, the bell tower is once again roofless, left to slow dilapidation and silently calling out for restoration or at least some temporary protection. Perhaps in the future, the will and the strength to preserve and showcase our heritage will be mustered again.
Sources:
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