Kolovec (; ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 23.) is a settlement northeast of Domžale in the

Upper Carniola Upper Carniola ( ; ; ) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The largest town in the region is Kranj, and other urban centers include Kamnik, Jesenice, Jesenice, Jesenice, Domžale and ...

region of

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 ...

History

The Kolovec area was settled in Roman times, as attested by the discovery of artifacts there. Until the 19th century, bandits were active in the area; the Paleževina farm was owned by a bandit chief named Groga circa 1810, and the Čeh farm northwest of the village center was portrayed in

Josip Jurčič Josip Jurčič (4 March 1844 – 3 May 1881) was a Slovene writer and journalist. He was born in Muljava, Austrian Empire (now part of the municipality of Ivančna Gorica, Slovenia)Levec, Fran. 1881. Josip Jurčič. ''Ljubljanski zvon'' 1(6) ...

's novel '' Rokovnjači'' (The Bandits) as the Mozolovina farm. During the Second World War, the Partisans stored food and weapons in the forest near Kolovec.

Castles

Kolovec was the site of two

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

s in the past. Both are mentioned and depicted by

Johann Weikhard von Valvasor Johann Weikhard Freiherr von Valvasor or Johann Weichard Freiherr von Valvasor (, ) or simply Valvasor (baptised on 28 May 1641 – September or October 1693) was a natural historian and polymath from Carniola, present-day Slovenia, and a Li ...

in his '' The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola'' as ''Gerlachstein''.

Old Gerlachstein Castle

Old Gerlachstein Castle, also known as Kolovec Castle (), stood on a hill northeast of the settlement and was built in the 12th century. It burned down in 1560, and the site was abandoned. Today it is referred to in Slovene as ''Stari grad'' 'the old castle'. The ruins of the castle are still visible.

New Gerlachstein Castle

The second castle, built just outside the settlement to the southwest, was built in 1530. It burned down in 1679, but was rebuilt by the owners. 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 by the

German army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

as its local headquarters until 1942, and it was burned down by Partisans in April 1943, supposedly to prevent the army from using it again. The remains are barely visible today.

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Kolovec include: *Franz Erasmus von Hohenwart (1650–1714), hereditary cupbearer and genealogist

References

External links

*
Kolovec on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Domžale {{Domžale-geo-stub