Breginj (; locally ''Brgin'' and ''Bәrgin'', it, Bergogna, fur, Bergogne) is a village in the

Municipality of Kobarid The Municipality of Kobarid (; sl, Občina Kobarid) is a municipality in the Upper Soča Valley in western Slovenia, near the Italian border. The seat of the municipality is the town of Kobarid. The municipality was established on 3 October 19 ...

in the

Littoral The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal areas ...

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 is located in the

Breginj Combe The Breginj Combe ( sl, Breginjski kot) is a valley in extreme western Slovenia.''Veliki splošni leksikon''. 1997. Vol. 1: A–Ch. Ljubljana: DZS, p. 508. It lies between the elongated ridge of Mount Stol () to the north and Mount Mia ( sl, Mija, ...

Name

Breginj was first attested in written sources in 1170 as ''Vergia'' and ''Vergin'' (and in 1275 as ''Bergona''). The modern Slovene name ''Breginj'' is based on the local name ''Brgin''. This was borrowed from the Romance name ''Bergona'', which is of unknown origin.

History

Until the 18th century, Breginj was part of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...

, and it is still considered part of the historical region known as

Venetian Slovenia Slavia Friulana, which means Friulian Slavia ( sl, Beneška Slovenija), is a small mountainous region in northeastern Italy and it is so called because of its Slavic population which settled here in the 8th century AD. The territory is located in ...

. Breginj was a comune of the

County of Gorizia The County of Gorizia ( it, Contea di Gorizia, german: Grafschaft Görz, sl, Goriška grofija, fur, Contee di Gurize), from 1365 Princely County of Gorizia, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. Originally mediate '' Vogts'' of the Patriarch ...

(as Bergogna), and during Italian rule (1918–1943, nominally lasting until 1947) it was assigned to the

Province of Udine The province of Udine ( it, provincia di Udine, fur, provincie di Udin, sl, videmska pokrajina, Resian: , german: Provinz Weiden) was a province in the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia of Italy, bordering Austria and Slovenia. Its capita ...

, but only until 1927, when it was assigned to the new Italian

Province of Gorizia The Province of Gorizia ( it, Provincia di Gorizia, fur, Provincie di Gurize; sl, Goriška pokrajina) was a province in the autonomous Friuli–Venezia Giulia region of Italy, which was disbanded on 30 September 2017. Overview Its capital was t ...

1976 earthquake and aftermath

Most of the village was demolished by the

1976 Friuli earthquake Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

, with only the Church of

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day De ...

and a couple of buildings remaining standing. Breginj was the settlement in Slovenia most damaged by the earthquake and a new settlement of

prefabricated houses Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term is u ...

was erected for its residents. Media reports at the time on the failure to preserve cultural heritage in the village were censored by Slovenia's communist government. One of the few remaining houses, a complex of three-story stone houses intertwined with corridors, has been declared an architectural and ethnological monument and houses a small museum.Slovenian Tourist Board site
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Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Breginj include: * Jožef Školč (born 1960), liberal politician

References

External links

*
Breginj on Geopedia Breginjski kot - Breginj

Populated places in the Municipality of Kobarid {{Kobarid-geo-stub