Mount Saint Mary ( sl, Šmarna gora, german: Großkahlenberg''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 115.), originally known as Holm, is an

inselberg An inselberg or monadnock () is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, a ...

in the north of

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 ar ...

, the capital of

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, and ...

. The mountain is part of the city's

Šmarna Gora District The Šmarna Gora District ( sl, Četrtna skupnost Šmarna gora), or simply Šmarna Gora, is a district () of the City Municipality of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It has been named after Mount Saint Mary, an inselberg An inselberg ...

. It is the highest hill in the city and a popular hiking destination. The two-peaked mountain resembles the humps of a

Bactrian camel The Bactrian camel (''Camelus bactrianus''), also known as the Mongolian camel or domestic Bactrian camel, is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of Central Asia. It has two humps on its back, in contrast to the single-humped dro ...

or woman's

breast The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues. In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and sec ...

s, and it has two peaks: Mount Saint Mary (; ) to the east and Grmada () to the west. The toponym contains the archaic contraction ''Šmarna'' for ''Sveta Marijina'' 'St. Mary's'. The name of the western peak, ''Grmada'', literally means 'heap, pile (of wood for a bonfire)'. The slightly lower eastern peak lends its name to the mountain as a whole. In clear conditions, the mountain offers a view across much of Slovenia, from

Mount Triglav Triglav (; german: Terglau; it, Tricorno), with an elevation of , is the highest mountain in Slovenia and the highest peak of the Julian Alps. The mountain is the pre-eminent symbol of the Slovene nation. It is the centrepiece of Triglav Natio ...

and Mount Stol on the northeastern Austrian–Italian border to

Mount Krim Mount Krim () is a 1,107-meter-high mountain on the southern edge of the Ljubljana Marsh in Slovenia. Due to its location and shape, it is one of the most recognizable features of the Ljubljana Basin and it is visited each year by thousands of hike ...

, Mount Snežnik, and Trdina Peak ( sl, Trdinov vrh) on the Croatian border to the southwest. Nearby hills include Bare Hill (), Tošč Face (), Rožnik, and Rašica. The hill is surrounded by the villages of

Vikrče Vikrče () is a settlement on the left bank of the Sava River southeast of the town of Medvode in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. Name Vikrče was attested in written sources in 1394 as ''Weykers'', and in 1436 as ''Waikers''. The name pr ...

and

Spodnje Pirniče Spodnje Pirniče (; german: Unterpirnitsch''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 114.) is a village on the left bank of the Sava, Sava River ...

to the west,

Zavrh pod Šmarno Goro Zavrh pod Šmarno Goro (; sl, Zavrh pod Šmarno goro) is a settlement in the Municipality of Medvode in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia. Name Zavrh pod Šmarno Goro was attested in written sources as ''Newdorf'' in 1372, ''Kollenperg'' in ...

to the north, and the former villages (now part of Ljubljana) of

Šmartno pod Šmarno Goro Šmartno pod Šmarno Goro (; german: Sankt Martin unter dem Großkahlenberge''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 115.) is a formerly indep ...

and

Tacen Tacen (; in older sources also ''Tacenj'',''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 114–115. german: Tazen) is a formerly independent settle ...

to the southeast. The southern slope of the mountain is wooded with

downy oak ''Quercus pubescens'', the downy oak or pubescent oak, is a species of white oak (genus ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus'') native to southern Europe and southwest Asia, from northern Spain (Pyrenees) east to the Crimea and the Caucasus. It is also fou ...

and hop hornbeam, while the northern slope is covered by a beech forest. The bell tower on the top of the mountain rings each day half an hour before midday.

References

External links

Mount Saint Mary website
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Hills of Slovenia Geography of Ljubljana Šmarna Gora District {{Slovenia-geo-stub