Podčetrtek ( or ; german: Windisch Landsberg
) is a settlement in eastern
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 ...
by the river
Sotla. It is the seat of the
Municipality of Podčetrtek. The area belongs to the traditional region of
Styria. It is now included in the
Savinja Statistical Region
The Savinja Statistical Region ( sl, Savinjska statistična regija) is a statistical region in Slovenia. The largest town in the region is Celje. It is named after the Savinja River. The region is very diverse in natural geography; it mainly c ...
.
Name
The castle in Podčetrtek was mentioned in written sources in 1209 as ''de Landesperc'' (and as ''de Lonsperch'' in 1213, ''de Landesperch'' in 1227, and ''ze Lantsperch'' in 1328, among other names). The name appears on a 1763–87 map in both German and Slovene as ''Landsberg Windisch Pod Tschetertkom''. The name implies that the castle above the settlement was once called ''*Četrtek'' (literally, 'Thursday'). The motivation for the name is unknown. It may refer to the day that court sentences were handed down, to a market day, to a day of
corvée
Corvée () is a form of unpaid, forced labour, that is intermittent in nature lasting for limited periods of time: typically for only a certain number of days' work each year.
Statute labour is a corvée imposed by a state for the purposes of ...
, or to the day when the settlement was founded. In the past the German name of the settlement was ''Windisch Landsberg''.
Castle
Most of the current structure of the castle dates to the early 17th century, when a two-story building with a central courtyard and two southern towers was built. It was adapted again in the late 18th century to the
Baroque style
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
, but retains its original features. After 1945 it was looted and fell into a state of disrepair, although the imposing building on a hill above the settlement is still a prominent landmark.
Church
The
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
in the settlement is dedicated to
Saint Lawrence and belongs to the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Celje
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Celje ( la, Dioecesis Celeiensis; sl, Škofija Celje) is a diocese located in the city of Celje in the Ecclesiastical province of Maribor in Slovenia.
History
* April 7, 2006: Established as Diocese of Celje from ...
. The
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
dates to the 14th century and the
belfry is from the 17th century. In the early 18th century the
sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...
was extended.
Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage
reference number 3254
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Podcetrtek
Populated places in the Municipality of Podčetrtek
Spa towns in Slovenia