Mežica (;

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Mießdorf'') is a town in northern

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 is the seat of the Municipality of Mežica. It lies on the

Meža The Meža (Slovene language, Slovene) or Mieß (German language, German; ) is a river in the Austrian state of Carinthia (state), Carinthia and in Slovenia, a right tributary of the Drava. It is long, of which are in Slovenia. Its catchment area ...

River in the traditional Slovenian province of Carinthia) near the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n border. The town developed close to a

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

mine under Mount Peca. Mining began in 1665 and ended in 1994. Today the mine is only open for tourist visits. The town once had a small ski area on Mount Peca, but this closed soon after the mining operations ceased to operate. 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 settlement is dedicated to Saint James. It is a single-

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

building built in 1840 to replace an earlier smaller building.Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage
reference number 3174

References

External links

Mežica on Geopedia

Peca Underground
tourist mine and museum (in Slovene, English and German)
Mežica na spletu
Local information portal Populated places in the Municipality of Mežica Cities and towns in Carinthia (Slovenia) {{Mežica-geo-stub