Kamnik (; german: Stein
[''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 26–27.] or ''Stein in Oberkrain'') is a town in northern
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 ...
. It is the central settlement of the
Municipality of Kamnik
The Municipality of Kamnik (; sl, Občina Kamnik) is a municipality in northern Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Kamnik. Today it is part of the Central Slovenia Statistical Region. It is the 15th-largest municipality by area ...
. It encompasses a large part of the
Kamnik Alps and the surrounding area. The town of Kamnik has three
castles as well as many examples of historical
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
.
History
The name Kamnik was first mentioned in the 11th century. The first time it was mentioned as a town was in 1229, when it was an important trading post on the road between
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 ...
and
Celje. This makes the town one of the oldest in Slovenia. In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, Kamnik had its own mint and some aristocratic families among its residents. The town was among the most influential centers of power for the
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
n counts of
Andechs in the region of
Carniola at the time. The only remnant of the Bavarian nobility are the two ruined castles which are both strategically built on high ground near the town center. The
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
monastery built in the town itself is a testament to its importance. The building is well preserved and has undergone extensive renovation in recent years.
Historical suburbs of the town include Šut(i)na (german: Schutt
), Na Produ ( sl, Na produ), Novi Trg (, german: Neumarkt
), Pred Mostom (, german: Vor der Brücke
), Graben, and Podgoro. In 1934 the following formerly independent settlements were annexed by Kamnik:
Fužine (german: Fuschine
),
Žale
Žale Central Cemetery ( sl, Centralno pokopališče Žale), often simply Žale, is the largest and the central cemetery in Ljubljana and Slovenia. It is located in the Bežigrad District and operated by the Žale Public Company.
History
The ce ...
(in older sources also ''Žalje'',
german: Sallenberg
),
Zaprice (german: Steinbüchel
), Kratno, Pugled,
Zgornje Perovo (german: Oberperau
),
Spodnje Perovo (german: Unterperau
),
Bakovnik, and the lower part of
Mekinje.
Most of the old town center is built in an
Austro-Hungarian style. Most of the facades have been renovated in recent years but the process is still ongoing.
Mass grave
Kamnik is the site of a
mass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...
from the period immediately after the Second World War. The Cuzak Meadow Mass Grave ( sl, Grobišče Cuzakov travnik) is located in the southeast part of the town, in a grassy area encircled by a road on the premises of the Svit factory. The grave contains the remains of several hundred soldiers and civilians, mostly Croats but also some Serbs, that were murdered on 11 May 1945.
[Ferenc, Mitja, & Želimir Kužatko. 2007. ''Prikrita grobišča Hrvatov v Republiki Sloveniji''. Ljubljana: Inštitut za novejšo zgodovino.]
Notable people
Notable people that were born or lived in Kamnik include:
*
Fran Albreht
Fran Albreht (17 November 1889 – 11 February 1963) was a Slovenian poet, editor, politician and partisan. He also published under the pseudonym Rusmir.
He was born as Franc Albrecht in the Upper Carniolan town of Kamnik in what was then the Aus ...
(1889–1963), author
*
France Balantič (1921–1943), poet
*
Jurij Japelj
Jurij Japelj, also known in German as Georg Japel, (11 April 1744 – 11 October 1807) was a Slovene Jesuit priest, translator, and philologist. He was part of the Zois circle, a group of Carniolan scholars and intellectuals that were instrumental ...
(1744–1807), philologist
*
Rudolf Maister (1874–1934), military leader
*
Jakob Savinšek
Jakob Savinšek (4 February 1922 – 17 August 1961) was a Slovene sculptor, illustrator, and poet.
Life
Savinšek was born in the Upper Carniolan town of Kamnik, then part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (now in Slovenia ...
(1922–1961), sculptor and illustrator
*
Bojan Kraut (1908–1991), engineer
*
Marjan Šarec
Marjan Šarec (born 2 December 1977) is a Slovenian politician, actor and comedian who served as prime minister of Slovenia from 2018 to 2020. He has served as the minister of defence in the government of Prime Minister Robert Golob since 1 June 2 ...
(born 1977), politician and actor
Gallery
File:Kamnik south.JPG, Southern part of Kamnik with suburbs
File:Upper Kamnik valley and Alps.JPG, Kamnik's northern suburbs with the Kamnik–Savinja Alps
The Kamnik–Savinja Alps ( sl, Kamniško-Savinjske Alpe) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps. They lie in northern Slovenia, except for the northernmost part, which lies in Austria.
The western part of the range was named the Ka ...
in the background
File:R Maister-Birthhouse-Kamnik-Slovenia.JPG, House where Rudolf Maister was born
File:Kamnik-Valvasor.jpg, A copper engraving of Kamnik in 1689
File:Kamnik - Mali grad.jpg, Little Castle
File:Kamnik - Castle Zaprice.jpg, Zaprice Castle
File:Kamnik - Franciscan monastery.jpg, Franciscan monastery
References
External links
*
Kamnik on Geopedia*
Visit Kamnik official page of tourist information centre
Kamnik official page of municipality (in Slovene)
Burger.si.
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Upper Carniola
Populated places in the Municipality of Kamnik