The Municipality of Žirovnica (; sl, Občina Žirovnica) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

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 ...

. The seat of the municipality is the village of Breznica. In the Završnica Valley, behind the Reber range that overlooks the villages, the first public hydroelectric plant in Slovenia was built in 1914. In 1952, after building a 60 m dam (the highest dam in Slovenia to date) in the Kavčke Gorge, a second hydroelectric plant opened in nearby Moste. This was the first hydroelectric plant to operate on the

Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally t ...

River.

Geography

It is located in the traditional

Upper Carniola Upper Carniola ( sl, Gorenjska; it, Alta Carniola; german: Oberkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The centre of the region is Kranj, while other urban centers include Jeseni ...

region, on the southern slope of the

Karawanks The Karawanks or Karavankas or Karavanks ( sl, Karavanke; german: Karawanken, ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps on the border between Slovenia to the south and Austria to the north. With a total length of in an east–west dir ...

mountain range, along the border with

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

( Carinthia). The municipality borders the municipalities of

Jesenice Jesenice (, german: Aßling''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru'', vol. 6: Kranjsko. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 144.) is a Slovenian town and the seat of the Municipality of Jesenice on the ...

to the west,

Bled Bled (; german: Veldes,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 146. in older sources also ''Feldes'') is a town on Lake Bled in the Upper C ...

and

Radovljica Radovljica (; german: Radmannsdorf) is a town in the Upper Carniola region of northern Slovenia. It is the administrative seat of the Municipality of Radovljica. Geography The town is located on the southern slope of the Karawanks mountain ra ...

to the south, and

Tržič Tržič (; german: Neumarktl) is a town in northern Slovenia, close to the Austrian border. It is the seat of the Municipality of Tržič. Geography The town is located within the historic Upper Carniola region on the Tržič Bistrica River ...

to the east.

Settlements

In addition to the municipal seat of Breznica, the municipality also includes the following settlements: * Breg * Doslovče * Moste * Rodine * Selo pri Žirovnici * Smokuč *

Vrba Vrba ("willow" in several Slavic languages) may refer to: Places Austria * Velden am Wörther See ( sl, Vrba na Koroškem, link=no) Bosnia and Herzegovina * Vrba (Glamoč), Bosnia and Herzegovina * Vrba (Gacko), Bosnia and Herzegovina Mon ...

* Zabreznica * Žirovnica

Notable people

A number of figures important to Slovenes come from the Municipality of Žirovnica: the poet

France Prešeren France Prešeren () (2 or 3 December 1800 – 8 February 1849) was a 19th-century Romantic Slovene poet whose poems have been translated into many languages.

, the linguist

Matija Čop Matija Čop (; 26 January 1797 – 6 July 1835), also known in German as Matthias Tschop, was a Slovene linguist, polyglot, literary historian and critic. Biography Čop was born in the small northern Carniolan town of Žirovnica, in what ...

, Archbishop Anton Vovk, the pioneering bee-keeper

Anton Janša Anton Janša (c. 20 May 1734 – 13 September 1773) was a Carniolan apiarist and painter. Janša is known as a pioneer of modern apiculture and a great expert in the field. He was educated as a painter, but was employed as a teacher of api ...

, and the writers

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. ...

and

Fran Saleški Finžgar Fran Saleški Finžgar (February 9, 1871 – June 2, 1962) was perhaps the most popular Slovene folk writer. He is particularly known for his novels and short stories, although he also wrote poems and plays. Life Fran Saleški Finžgar was born ...

. Bronze busts of all five have been put up in front of the school in Zabreznica. There is a well-marked trail through the villages called The Cultural Heritage Route. This can be followed to visit certain monuments associated with the above figures (e.g., the houses where Prešeren, Čop, Finžgar, and Jalen were born, all of which are small museums, Janša's beehive) and a number of other historical and cultural monuments in the area.

References

External links

*
Municipality of Žirovnica website
(in Slovene)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Municipality of Zirovnica Zirovnica 1998 establishments in Slovenia