Šilentabor (; in older sources also ''Tabor'', german: Schillertabor) is a small settlement north of Zagorje in the

Municipality of Pivka The Municipality of Pivka (; sl, Občina Pivka) is a municipality in Slovenia in the Pivka Basin in the Littoral–Inner Carniola Statistical Region. Its seat is the town of Pivka. It belongs to the traditional region of Inner Carniola. Settlem ...

in the

Inner Carniola Inner Carniola ( sl, Notranjska; german: Innerkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the southwestern part of the larger Carniola region. It comprises the Hrušica karst plateau up to Postojna Gate, bordering the Slovenian Littoral (th ...

region 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 ...

. It lies on a 751 m high hill called Šilen Tabor, which is a part of ''Slavniški ravnik'', a hill chain that separates the

Pivka Basin The Pivka Basin or the Pivka Valley, also simply Pivka, is a varied basin in southwestern Slovenia, lying between high Dinaric plateaus, the Karst Plateau, and the Brkini Hills. It covers an area of . To the northwest, it is bordered by Mt. Nan ...

from the Reka Valley.

Name

The name of the settlement was changed from ''Tabor'' to ''Tabor nad Knežakom'' in 1955. The name was changed again to ''Šilentabor'' in 2000. The name originates from the time of Turkish invasions, when it was used as a shelter from Turkish soldiers. At that time, ''tabor'' meant 'shelter' and the word ''silen'' used to mean 'strong'. There are also some unofficial names, such as ''Šilentabor nad Zagorjem''.

History

There are some finds that show there were two

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post- Rom ...

s from the Iron Age (around the eighth century BC) along the ridge, which were later used by the Romans: Šilentabor and Gradišče. The first one was more than 300 m in diameter. In the Middle Ages, a castle was built. One of the only records from that time mentioning Šilentabor Castle was ''

The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola ''The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola'' (german: Die Ehre deß Hertzogthums Crain, sl, Slava vojvodine Kranjske) is an encyclopedia published in Nuremberg in 1689 by the polymath Johann Weikhard von Valvasor. It is the most important work on his ...

'' by

Johann Weikhard von Valvasor Johann Weikhard Freiherr von Valvasor or Johann Weichard Freiherr von Valvasor ( sl, Janez Vajkard Valvasor, ) or simply Valvasor (baptised on 28 May 1641 – September or October 1693) was a natural historian and polymath from Carniola, pr ...

. The castle was finished in 1471 and it was mostly used as a shelter from Turkish soldiers and thieves for people from the both sides of the hill. The castle was then burned down by the rebels around 1635. Then, in 1700, the castle burned down again when it was hit by a lightning and then demolished by the French in Napoleonic wars 100 years later. The end of the castle was also described by Miroslav Vilhar (1818–1871) in his work ''Silni Tabor''. The village used to have eleven houses, but now it has only seven houses, of which four are inhabited.

Sinkhole pond

According to a story, once a castle cook threw a beehive onto the Turkish soldiers to repel them and save the castle. The people then made a pond to thank the bees.

Castle

Šilentabor Castle was a 15th-century castle, of which only few ruins are visible today.

Archaeological excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

have revealed the remains of a medieval defence structure and yielded numerous artifacts, confirming construction and life within the castle complex from the 15th to 17th centuries, as mentioned in historical sources. It had more than fifty granaries. A model of a castle can be found in the

Pivka Park of Military History The Pivka Park of Military History ( sl, Park vojaške zgodovine Pivka) is a military museum in the town in Pivka, Slovenia. It is operated jointly by the Municipality of Pivka and the Military Museum of the Slovene Armed Forces. The museum's exhi ...

Church

The local church, built south of the settlement, is dedicated to

Saint Martin Saint Martin may refer to: People * Saint Martin of Tours (c. 316–397), Bishop of Tours, France * Saint Martin of Braga (c. 520–580), archbishop of Bracara Augusta in Gallaecia (now Braga in Portugal) * Pope Martin I (598–655) * Saint Mart ...

and belongs to the

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of Zagorje. It stands on its own nearby hill called St. Martin at an elevation of 723 m. It has a chancel with Gothic elements and frescoes from 1464, which are in the Istrian-Karst artistic style. During the Baroque period, it was expanded. It can be seen from the outside, but to see the inside visitors have to make prior arrangements with Ivana Lenarčič, a local guide. The church is surrounded by a small cemetery. According to some records, there were two vaults; in one lies Bishop Andrej Jakob de Raunach, who lived in a nearby castle. Records also say it was its own parish with a monastery below it. There is still a mass every Sunday after St. Martin's Day (11 November).

Gallery

File:Šilentabor panorama.jpg, Šilentabor panorama

References

External links

*
Šilentabor on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Pivka {{Pivka-geo-stub