Višnja Gora (; german: Weixelburg,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 96, 99. also ''Weichselburg'', ''Weichselberg'') is a town in the Municipality of Ivančna Gorica 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, and ...

. It is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Slovenia. The area is part of the historical region of

Lower Carniola Lower Carniola ( sl, Dolenjska; german: Unterkrain) is a traditional region in Slovenia, the southeastern part of the historical Carniola region. Geography Lower Carniola is delineated by the Ljubljana Basin with the city of Ljubljana to the n ...

. The municipality 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 ...

. It includes the hamlets of Žabjek, Na Štacjonu, and Grintavec,Savnik, Roman, ed. 1971. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 2. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, pp. 160–161. as well as the former hamlet of Suhi Malen (german: Weixelbach).

Geography

The town is located in the Višnjica Valley 20 km southeast of Ljubljana just south of the A2 Slovenian motorway. Nearby is the Kosca Valley with the highest waterfall on a travertine foundation in Slovenia. Regular long-distance bus and rail-lines connect Višnja Gora to Ivančna Gorica and

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 ...

History

Višnja Gora was granted town rights in 1478. In the same period, a coat of arms showing a masonry wall with doors and two roofed towers was adopted. The snail representing a local legend was added later. The citizens of the town were given a golden

snail shell The gastropod shell is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium storage. Some ...

for nursing the

Venetian doge The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 ...

's son wounded in the Battle of Sisak (1593) by his relatives. The golden shell has since been lost, but the legend remains. During the Second World War, Višnja Gora was bombarded by German forces on 22 September 1943. At the end of October 1943, Partisan forces burned Turn Castle, the courthouse, and the school in the town.

Castles

The old centre is built on a hill (384 m) under the ruins of Višnja Gora Castle ( sl, Višnjegorski grad), generally known as Old Castle ( sl, Stari grad), once home of the Višnja Gora knights. A second castle, Turn Castle (german: Weixelbach), stood west of the town center. It was also later known as the Codelli Manor ( sl, Codellijeva graščina) and was burned by the Partisans in October 1943.

Recreation

The 12 km Jurčič Trail is named after Josip Jurčič, author of the first Slovene novel, ''Deseti brat'', who attended primary school in Višnja Gora. Part of the trail has been recently turned into a forest trail known as ''Po poteh višnjanskega polža'' (The Višnja Gora Snail Trail).

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Višnja Gora include: * Josip Jurčič (1844–1881), author * Ive Krevs (1912–1990), Yugoslav Olympic athlete *Pashal Skerbinc (1780–1824), religious writer

Gallery

File:Višnja Gora town hall.jpg, Town hall

References

External links

*
Višnja Gora on Geopedia.si

Višnja Gora (The Official Website)

* ttp://www.burger.si/VisnjaGora/VisnjaGoraENG.html Višnja Gora (images at burger.net) {{DEFAULTSORT:Visnja Gora Populated places in the Municipality of Ivančna Gorica Cities and towns in Lower Carniola