Čužnja Vas (; ) is a village in the hills southeast of

Mokronog Mokronog (; ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 82–83.) is a settlement in the Municipality of Mokronog-Trebelno in southeastern Slove ...

in the

Municipality of Mokronog-Trebelno The Municipality of Mokronog-Trebelno (; ) is a municipality in Slovenia. The municipality was created in 2006, when it seceded from the Municipality of Trebnje. It is part of the traditional province of Lower Carniola. The municipality is now inc ...

in southeastern

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. The area is part of the historical region of

Lower Carniola Lower Carniola ( ; ) is a traditional region in Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south an ...

and is now included in the

Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region The Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region () is a statistical region in southeast Slovenia. It is the largest statistical region. The development of this region is largely the result of industry (the auto industry, pharmaceuticals, and other light ...

. The village includes the hamlets of Jerenga, Sela, and Zapadeži.Savnik, Roman, ed. 1971. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 2. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, p. 596.

Name

The name of the village was first recorded in 1484 as ''Zissendorf'' (and as ''Zisseldorf'' in 1485, and ''Czhushndorf'' or ''Czuschendorff'' in 1763–87). The name is believed to derive from the personal name or nickname ''*Čuž'', thus meaning 'Čuž's village'. The nickname ''*Čuž'' may refer to the

screech owl Screech owls are typical owls (Strigidae) belonging to the genus ''Megascops'' with 22 living species. For most of the 20th century, this genus was merged with the Old World scops owls in ''Otus'', but nowadays it is again considered separ ...

or may be a derogatory reference to

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

, among various possibilities.

History

Hallstatt Hallstatt () is a small town in the district of Gmunden District, Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Sa ...

burial mounds at the Osredek fallows near the village show that the area was already inhabited in prehistoric times. Prehistoric graves have also been found in fields and vineyards in the hamlet of Jerenga.

Mass grave

Čužnja Vas is the site of a

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may Unidentified decedent, 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 exec ...

and an unmarked grave associated with the Second World War. The Lukovnik 1 Mass Grave () and the Lukovnik 2 Grave () are located north of the settlement. The first grave lies in a wooded area from the bridge across Lukovnik Creek, in a V-shaped area where two forest paths meet. It contains the remains of 20 civilians murdered by the

Partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

Lower Carniola Detachment in spring and summer 1942. The second grave lies from the junction of the paths, below a large hornbeam. A young Partisan soldier is buried there.

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Čužnja Vas include: *

Lojze Peterle Alojz "Lojze" Peterle (born 5 July 1948) is a Slovenian politician. He is a member of New Slovenia, part of the European People's Party. He served as Prime Minister of Slovenia from 1990 to 1992, Leader of the Christian Democrats from the found ...

(born 1948), Slovene politician and first prime minister of Slovenia

References

External links

Čužnja Vas on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Mokronog-Trebelno {{MokronogTrebelno-geo-stub