Brežice (; german: Rann ) is a town in eastern

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 ...

in the Lower Sava Valley, near the

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n border. It is the seat of the

Municipality of Brežice The Municipality of Brežice (; sl, Občina Brežice) is a municipality in eastern Slovenia in the Lower Sava Valley along the border with Croatia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Brežice. The area was traditionally divided betwee ...

. It lies in the center of the Brežice Plain ( sl, Brežiško polje), which is part of the larger Krka Flat ( sl, Krška ravan). The area was traditionally divided between

Lower Styria Styria ( sl, Štajerska), also Slovenian Styria (''Slovenska Štajerska'') or Lower Styria (''Spodnja Štajerska''; german: Untersteiermark), is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy of ...

(territory on the left bank of the

Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally t ...

River) and

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 ...

(territory on the right bank of the Sava River). The entire municipality is now included in the

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

. Brežice prides itself on a rich historical and cultural heritage. The Lower Sava Valley Museum ( sl, Posavski muzej Brežice), housed in Brežice Castle, contains archaeological and ethnological exhibits, exhibits on the Croatian and Slovenian peasant revolt, and a modern history collection. It is one of the largest regional museums in the country. A more recent landmark addition to the town is its

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conjun ...

, as well as the double arches of the 527 m long iron bridge, which spans the Sava and Krka rivers.

History

Celtic graves from the 2nd century BC have been discovered in Brežice, and it has been continuously settled since prehistoric times. A Slavic settlement called ''Gradišče'' was established at the site soon after the arrival of the Slovenes in the area. The castle in Brežice was first mentioned in 1249. The current structure dates to 1529. Brežice was affected by Ottoman raids several times during the 15th and 16th centuries. Peasant uprisings took place during the 16th century; in 1515 peasants attacked the castle in Brežice, burned it, and killed the nobility sheltering in it. The new castle was able to withstand the peasant uprising of 1573. The first school was established in Brežice in 1668, taught by Franciscan friars at the friary. From 1774 to 1780 instruction took place at Baron Moscon's residence, and from 1780 to 1820 at the rectory. A separate school building was built in 1875. A general hospital was established in Brežice in 1872. Its facilities were expanded in 1889. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Brežice and the adjacent countryside to the north and west were known as the Rann Triangle (german: Ranner Dreieck), an area intended for the resettlement of

Gottschee Germans Gottscheers are the German settlers of the Kočevje region (a.k.a. Gottschee) of Slovenia, formerly Gottschee County. Until the Second World War, their main language of communication was Gottscheerish, a Bavarian dialect of German. Origins They ...

that had been evicted from the

Gottschee Gottschee (, sl, Kočevsko) refers to a former German-speaking region in Carniola, a crownland of the Habsburg Empire, part of the historical and traditional region of Lower Carniola, now in Slovenia. The region has been a county, duchy, district ...

region in the territory annexed by Italy. Brežice expanded after the Second World War by annexing the neighboring villages of Brezina (german: Bresina), Črnč (), Šentlenart (), Trnje (), and Zakot ().

Churches

Saint Lawrence's Church in Brežice was first mentioned in written sources in the 12th century. It stood on the bank of the Sava (now an old side channel). It and the adjacent cemetery were heavily damaged by flooding in 1781, which also changed the course of the river, and the current church was built in the town center in 1782. Brežice has been the seat of a parish since 1641. Another church in the town, built in the second half of the 17th century, is dedicated to

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked ...

Main Sights

Brežice Castle

Brežice Castle is the dominant feature of the town, standing above the left bank of the Sava. It is now a museum housing several collections and exhibitions. In the castle chapel there is an altar by

Luka Mislej Luka Mislej (16 October 1670 – 5 October 1727) was a Carniolan stonemason and altar-maker. Life Mislej, who was probably born in Vipava, lived in Ljubljana. In 1722 the Italian sculptor Francesco Robba, who took over his atelier after his deat ...

Water Tower

The Brežice Water Tower is the most prominent structure in the town, and is regarded as its symbol. Built in 1914, it was a key part of the town's water supply system until in was replaced by a new reservoir in 1972, after which it had an auxiliary role until 1983.

Education

Brežice Upper Secondary School

The Brežice Upper Secondary School ( sl, Gimnazija Brežice) opened in 1945, is built on the site of a Franciscan friary. The school was renovated in 1966, when an extension was also added. 690 students attend the school.

Brežice Faculty of Tourism

The Faculty of Tourism was founded in December 2009 and is part of the University of Maribor, Slovenia's second-largest university. It is located in the center of the town on the main street, ''Cesta prvih borcev''. In the 2012–2013 academic year it enrolled the first class of students in two three-year undergraduate programs in tourism: a vocational program and a bachelor's program. The faculty will also offer a master's program in tourism starting in the 2014–2015 academic year.

Notable people

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

Jurij Rovan Jurij Rovan (born 23 January 1975) is a Slovenian pole vaulter. He competed at the 2002 European Indoor Championships, the 2002 European Championships, the 2004 Olympic Games, the 2005 World Championships and the 2008 Olympic Games The ...

(born 1975), pole vaulter *

Ivo Benkovič Ivo is a masculine given name, in use in various European languages. The name used in western European languages originates as a Normannic name recorded since the High Middle Ages, and the French name Yves is a variant of it. The unrelated So ...

(1875–?), politician * Albin Bregar (?–1894), religious writer * Vojko Černelč (born 1934), editor and journalist * Mirjan Damaška (born 1931), jurist * Vanda Gerlovič (1925–2001), opera singer *

Anton Gvajc Anton Gvajc ( 21 August 1865 - August 3 1935) was a Slovene painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the ba ...

(1865–1935), painter * Vera Horvat, (1906–?), painter *

Primož Kozmus Primož Kozmus (born 30 September 1979 in Novo Mesto) is a Slovenian hammer thrower. His gold medals in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the 2009 World Championships in Berlin made him the first ever Slovenian athlete to win both titles. ...

(born 1979), Olympic and world hammer throw champion *

Anton Krošl Anton Krošl (18 May 1905, in Brežice – 4 May 1945, in the concentration camp Neuengamme-Hamburg) was a Slovenian people, Slovenian historian, educator, politician, and writer. Krošl was educated at the Maribor Humanistic Gymnasium, wher ...

(1905–1945), historian *

Jože Krošl Jože is a male given name related to Joseph. Notable people with this name include: * Jože Babič (1917–1996), Slovenian film, theatre and television director * Jože Benko (born 1980), Slovenian football striker * Jože Berc (born 1944), Slov ...

(1894–1978), theologian and sociologist *

Franc Kruljc The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centur ...

(1873–1954), theologian * Dušan Kuščer (1920–), geologist *

Boris Lipužič Boris may refer to: People * Boris (given name), a male given name *:''See'': List of people with given name Boris * Boris (surname) * Boris I of Bulgaria (died 907), the first Christian ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire, canonized after his d ...

(1930–), geographer *

Janez Mencinger Janez may refer to: People: * Janez (given name), a Slovene given name * Janež, a Slovene surname In music: *Janez Detd., a Belgian rock band May also refer to a semi-pejorative term used in the Croatian North and beyond for Slovenes The S ...

(1838–1912), writer, translator, and lawyer *

Avgust Munda Avgust is a male given name. Russian name In Russian, Avgust (russian: А́вгуст or ) is a male given name.Superanskaya p. 21 Its feminine versions are AvgustaPetrovsky, p. 32 and Avgustina.Nikonov, p. 63 The name is derived ...

(1886–1971), ichthyologist * Tomaž Petrovič (born 1979), football manager *

Leopold Poljanec Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...

(1872–1944), natural history expert *

Ljudmila Poljanec Ludmila or Ludmilla is a female given name of Slavic origin. It consists of two elements: ''lud'' ("people") and ''mila'' ("dear, love"). Because the initial L is mostly soft ( palatalized), it is sometimes also transcribed Lyudmila, Lyudmyla or ...

(1874–1948), poet * Miloš Poljanšek (born 1923), Slavic studies specialist *

Karel Přibil Karel may refer to: People * Karel (given name) * Karel (surname) * Charles Karel Bouley, talk radio personality known on air as Karel * Christiaan Karel Appel, Dutch painter Business * Karel Electronics, a Turkish electronics manufacturer * Gr ...

(1877–1944), education expert and translator *

Georgius de Rain Georgius is a masculine given name, the Latin form of the Greek name Γεώργιος ''Georgios''; its English equivalent is ''George''. Notable people with the name include: * Georgius Choeroboscus (7th century), Greek educator * Georgius Tzul (1 ...

( sl, Jurij iz Brežic) (14th century – 1416), religious writer * Radoslav Razlag (1826–1880), poet and politician *

Željko Ražnatović Željko Ražnatović (, ; 17 April 1952 – 15 January 2000), better known as Arkan (), was a Serbian mobster, politician, sports administrator, paramilitary commander and head of the Serb paramilitary force called the Serb Volunteer Guard du ...

(1952–2000), Serb paramilitary leader, also known as "Arkan" * Lavoslav Schwentner (1865–1952), publisher *

Marjan Sidaritsch Marjan may refer to: Places * Marjan, Croatia, Croatia, a hill on the peninsula of the city of Split * Marjan, Albania, a village in the Gorë municipality, Korçë District, Albania * Marjan, Alborz, a village in Iran * Marjan, Fars, a village in ...

(1895–1925), agricultural geographer *

Boris Sikošek Boris may refer to: People * Boris (given name), a male given name *:''See'': List of people with given name Boris * Boris (surname) * Boris I of Bulgaria (died 907), the first Christian ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire, canonized after his d ...

(born 1922), geologist and tectonics expert * Gvidon Srebre (1839–1926), lawyer and politician *

Franjo Stiplovšek Franjo is a Croatian masculine given name. In Croatia, the name Franjo was among the top ten most common masculine given names in the decades up to 1949. Notable people with the name include: *Franjo Arapović (born 1965), former Croatian basketb ...

(1898–1963), painter and graphic artist *

Viktor Tiller The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

(1878–1961), local historian and geographer *

Andrej Urek Andrey, Andrej or Andrei (in Cyrillic script: Андрей, Андреј or Андрэй) is a form of Andreas/Ἀνδρέας in Slavic languages and Romanian. People with the name include: *Andrei of Polotsk ( – 1399), Lithuanian nobleman *An ...

(1836–1904), poet * Jaka Žorga (1888–1942), politician

Gallery

File:Brezice town, Slovenia.jpg, Brežice File:Brezice, Slovenia.jpg, Brežice

References

External links

*
Brežice on Geopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brezice Populated places in the Municipality of Brežice Cities and towns in Styria (Slovenia)