Ortnek (; )''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 50. is a settlement in the

Municipality of Ribnica The Municipality of Ribnica (; ) is a municipality in southern Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Ribnica. It is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region ...

in southern

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 ...

. The

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

from

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

Kočevje Kočevje (; ; ''Göttscheab'' or ''Gətscheab'' in the local Gottscheerish dialect; ) is a town and the seat of Municipality of Kočevje in southern Slovenia. Geography The town is located at the foot of the Kočevski Rog karst plateau on t ...

runs through the settlement and the village has a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

. The area is part of the traditional region of

Lower Carniola Lower Carniola ( ; ) is a traditional region in 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 an ...

and is now included in the

Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region The Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region () is a statistical region in southeast Slovenia. It is the largest statistical region. The development of this region is largely the result of industry (the auto industry, pharmaceuticals, and other light ...

Strategic petroleum reserve

A major storage site for Slovenia's strategic petroleum reserves is located in a valley immediately west of Ortnek. In the past, it was used as a military petroleum reserve. The Ortnek facility is one of Slovenia's largest petroleum storage sites, the total stockpiles of which are envisaged as sufficient to supply Slovenia's needs for three months. Diesel fuel and gasoline are stored at the site, as well as kerosene at times. In addition to the visible reservoirs, there are seven underground reservoirs built into the surrounding hills. Access to the site is strictly controlled.

Ortnek Castle and Ortnek Manor

The ruins of Ortnek Castle stand on Big Žrnovec Hill () southwest of the settlement. The castle was first mentioned in written documents dating to 1355, but it was built in the 13th century on a site that has also yielded

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

artefacts. The castle was abandoned in the 19th century. Ortnek Manor stands along Zastava Creek, east of the road from Ljubljana to Kočevje. It is a three-story structure with a four-sided roof that was built at the end of the 17th century on the site of a former manor farm. After the Kosler family abandoned Ortnek Castle in 1884, the manor was reworked into a residence for them. In addition to the manor, the grounds include outbuildings and a park.

Church

The best-preserved part of the Ortnek Castle complex is the 17th-century

castle chapel Castle chapels () in European architecture are chapels that were built within a castle. They fulfilled the religious requirements of the castle lord and his retinue, while also sometimes serving as a burial site. Because the construction of suc ...

, dedicated to

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

(). The church stands on Big Žrnovec Hill southeast of the ruins of Ortnek Castle. Its nave is divided into three sections by pilasters, the chancel is walled on three sides, and the bell tower stands to the northwest. The church's furnishings—three altars, paintings from 1641 by Master HGG, and the pulpit—were restored between 1999 and 2003, and they are stored in various locations.

References

External links

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Ortnek on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Ribnica {{Ribnica-geo-stub