Brestanica () is an urban settlement in the

Municipality of Krško A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...

in eastern

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 ...

. It lies in the valley at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

of the

Sava River The Sava, is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reaches Serbia, fee ...

with a minor tributary called the Brestanica. The area is part of the traditional region of

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

. It is now included with the rest of the municipality in the

Lower Sava Statistical Region The Lower Sava Statistical Region (; until December 31, 2014 ) is a Statistical regions of Slovenia, statistical region in Slovenia. It has good traffic accessibility and is located in the Sava and Krka Valleys, with hilly areas with vineyards and ...

Name

The settlement was originally called ''Rajhenburg'' in Slovene, after Reichenburg Castle in the settlement. This name was attested in written sources in 895 as ''Richenburch.''Snoj, Marko. 2009. ''Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen''. Ljubljana: Modrijan and Založba ZRC, p. 78. The name of the settlement was changed from ''Rajhenburg'' to ''Brestanica'' in 1952. The name was changed on the basis of the 1948 Law on Names of Settlements and Designations of Squares, Streets, and Buildings as part of efforts by Slovenia's postwar communist government to remove German elements from toponyms. The name ''Brestanica'' was originally a

hydronym A hydronym (from , , "water" and , , "name") is a type of toponym that designates a proper name of a body of water. Hydronyms include the proper names of rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, swamps and marshes, seas and oceans. As a subset of top ...

referring to Brestanica Creek, which runs through the settlement and is a tributary of the

. The creek name was attested in written sources circa 1500 as ''Brestanza'', and in the 16th century as ''Prestonicz''. The hydronym is derived from ''*Brěstovьnica'' (based on the common noun ''*brěstъ'' '

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...

'), literally meaning 'elm creek'.

History

A prehistoric settlement probably stood on the hill above Brestanica, where the castle is now located. Remnants of the Roman era include milestones from the Roman road along the Sava and traces of a bridge across the river. A settlement was attested below Rajhenburg castle as early as the 13th century, and it received market rights in the 14th century, including the right to four annual fairs. The settlement was plundered and burned in an Ottoman attack in 1476. Unsuccessful peasant attacks on the castle occurred in 1515, 1573, and 1583. In 1595, the archbishop of Salzburg granted the settlement and castle to the Moscon family, who were followed by the Gradneck, Gallenstein, and Attems families. A school was established in Brestanica in 1774. On 5 November 1918, armed miners and farmers marched on Brestanica, demanding that merchants sell them goods at low cost. The Communist Party had a strong presence in Brestanica from 1938 onward.Savnik, Roman, ed. 1976. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 3. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije. pp. 127–128.

Mass grave

Brestanica 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 ...

associated with the Second World War. The Hafnar Ravine Mass Grave () is located in the Hafnar Ravine along Suhadol Creek, opposite Rajhenburg Castle. It contains the remains of up to 186 Croatian and Serbian soldiers, as well as 20 to 30 Slovene civilians.

Rajhenburg Castle

On a hill on the right bank of the Sava River, south of the settlement, is Rajhenburg Castle (). It was first mentioned in written documents dating to AD 895, making it the earliest documented castle in Slovenia. It has preserved some of its Romanesque features and an early

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

, but most of its current structure dates to around 1600. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

it was used as a deportee collection centre by the German forces. From June 1948 to October 1956 the communist authorities used the castle as a penal institution for female political prisoners.

Churches

The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

in the town is a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

dedicated to

Our Lady of Lourdes Our Lady of Lourdes (; ) is one the Marian devotions, devotional names or titles under which the Catholic Church venerates the Mary, mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary. The name commemorates a series of Lourdes apparitions, 18 apparitions reported by ...

and belongs to the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Celje The Diocese of Celje (; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church 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 Diocese of Maribor ...

. It was built between 1908 and 1914 in a Neo-Romanesque style. Previously the parish church was a church in the southern part of the settlement, dedicated to Saints Peter and

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

. It was first mentioned in written documents dating to 1213, but the current building was built in 1341 with a 17th-century

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

and two 18th-century side chapels. A third church in the town, close to the parish church, is dedicated to

Saint Sebastian Sebastian (; ) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this d ...

. On a hill to the east of the settlement a further church is dedicated to Saints Hermagoras and Fortunatus. It was built in the late 15th century and has a chapel dedicated to Saint Notburga with well preserved, high-quality wall paintings.Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage
reference number 2904

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Brestanica include: *

Adam Bohorič Adam Bohorič () ( – after 20 November 1598) was a Slovene Protestant preacher, teacher and author of the first grammar of Slovene. Bohorič was born in the market town of Reichenburg in the Duchy of Styria (now Brestanica in Slovenia). He ...

(c. 1520–1598),

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

preacher, teacher, and author of the first

grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...

of Slovene

Transport

Brestanica has been linked via railway with

Zidani Most Zidani Most (; ) is a settlement in the Municipality of Laško in eastern Slovenia. It lies at the confluence of the Sava and Savinja rivers. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. It is now included with the rest of the municipal ...

and

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

since 1861. The principal station in the settlement is the Brestanica railway station.

References

External links

*
Brestanica on Geopedia
{{Authority control Populated places in the Urban Municipality of Krško