The Municipality of Brezovica ( sl, Občina Brezovica) is a municipality in central

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, just south of its capital

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

. It has approximately 9,300 inhabitants. Its administrative centre is the settlement of Brezovica pri Ljubljani. It is the central municipality in the

Ljubljana Marsh The Ljubljana Marsh ( sl, Ljubljansko barje), located south of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, is the largest marsh in the country. It covers or 0.8% of the Slovene territory. It is administered by the municipalities of Borovnica, Brezovica ...

. The entire municipality is part of the traditional region of

Inner Carniola Inner Carniola ( sl, Notranjska; german: Innerkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the southwestern part of the larger Carniola region. It comprises the Hrušica karst plateau up to Postojna Gate, bordering the Slovenian Littoral (the ...

and is now included in the

Central Slovenia Statistical Region The Central Slovenia Statistical Region ( sl, Osrednjeslovenska statistična regija) is a statistical region in central Slovenia. Geography This is the second-largest region in terms of territory. It has a total area of 2,555 km², with a ...

Geography

Geographically it is rather diverse, containing of the Ljubljana Marsh, with its isolated "sunken" hills, a section of the

Ljubljanica The Ljubljanica (), known in the Middle Ages as the ''Sava'', is a river in the southern part of the Ljubljana Basin in Slovenia. The capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, lies on the river. The Ljubljanica rises south of the town of Vrhnika and flow ...

River, a siphonic karst lake located just outside Jezero, and the Rakitna Plateau with a lake and of forest. To the east, it borders the municipalities of

and Ig. To the south, it borders the

Municipality of Cerknica The Municipality of Cerknica (; sl, Občina Cerknica) is a municipality in the Karst region of southwestern Slovenia, with a population of 11,350 in 2012. The seat of the municipality is the town of Cerknica. It belongs to the traditional region ...

, to the west the municipalities of Borovnica and

Vrhnika Vrhnika (; german: Oberlaibach;''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 120. la, Nauportus) is a town in Slovenia. It is the seat of the Mun ...

, and to the north the

Municipality of Dobrova–Polhov Gradec The Municipality of Dobrova–Polhov Gradec (; sl, Občina Dobrova - Polhov Gradec) is a municipality in Slovenia. Its administrative seat is Dobrova. History Originally, according to the ''Establishment of Municipalities and Municipal Boundari ...

Settlements

In addition to the municipal seat of Brezovica pri Ljubljani, the municipality also includes the following settlements: * Dolenja Brezovica * Gorenja Brezovica * Goričica pod Krimom * Jezero * Kamnik pod Krimom * Notranje Gorice * Planinca * Plešivica * Podpeč * Podplešivica * Preserje * Prevalje pod Krimom * Rakitna * Vnanje Gorice * Žabnica

History

The area has been inhabited since ancient times. People known as the Lake Dwellers, described by the Slovene writer

Janez Jalen Janez Jalen (26 May 1891 – 12 April 1966) was a Slovene writer and priest. Life Janez Jalen was born into a rural family in the Upper Carniolan village of Rodine. His father awakened in him a great interest in nature early on in his life. ...

in his novel ''Bobri'' (Beavers), arrived when the marshland was still covered by a lake. Later, the area covered by the present municipality was crossed by

Roman roads Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

, traces of which are still visible, near Rakitna for example. The Ljubljanica River was navigated by boatmen. The

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

redirected it towards Podpeč, a village known for its good quality stone. The nearby forests and the settlements proximity to Ljubljana, have positively influenced the development of

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

, trade, and enterprise in the area. Many old crafts, such as lime, stone, and

wood processing Wood processing is an engineering discipline in the wood industry comprising the production of forest products, such as pulp and paper, construction materials, and tall oil. Paper engineering is a subfield of wood processing. The major wood pro ...

, and wickerwork have survived to the present day. Stone from Podpeč, known as Podpeč marble, was used in many prominent monuments in Ljubljana by the architect

Jože Plečnik Jože Plečnik () (23 January 1872 – 7 January 1957) was a Slovene architect who had a major impact on the modern architecture of Vienna, Prague and of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, most notably by designing the iconic Triple Bridge an ...

, such as the

National and University Library of Slovenia The National and University Library ( sl, Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, ), established in 1774, is one of the most important national educational and cultural institutions of Slovenia. It is located in the centre of Ljubljana, between Aue ...

. The quarry is now protected and only small excavations are allowed.

References

External links

*
Municipality of Brezovica on GeopediaOfficial webpage of the municipality
{{Authority control Brezovica 1994 establishments in Slovenia