Radeče (; ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 88–89.) is a small town in the Lower Sava Valley 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 is located in the

Sava Hills The Sava Hills () are the eastern part of the Slovene Prealps. They are oriented in the east-west direction and are located to the north and south of the Sava River in central and eastern Slovenia, among the Ljubljana Basin to the west, the Ce ...

() on the right bank of the

Sava The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, 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 reac ...

River at the confluence with Sopota Creek. It is the seat of the Municipality of Radeče and part of the traditional province 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 ...

. The town and the municipality are now included 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 ...

; until January 2014 they were part of the

Savinja Statistical Region The Savinja Statistical Region () is a Statistical regions of Slovenia, statistical region in Slovenia. The largest town in the region is Celje. It is named after the Savinja River. The region is very diverse in natural geography; it mainly compr ...

History

Archaeological finds in the area, including such items as bone tools, cave bear bones, altars to water gods, and an altar to the goddess Adsaluta and god Savus indicate that it has a long history of human occupation. Radeče was first mentioned in written documents dating to 1297. The town was granted

market rights A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

in 1338. Until 1918, the town was part of the

Austrian monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ( composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it ...

(

Cisleithania Cisleithania, officially The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council (), was the northern and western part of Austria-Hungary, the Dual Monarchy created in the Compromise of 1867—as distinguished from ''Transleithania'' (i.e., ...

after the

compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (, ) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which was a military and diplomatic alliance of two sovereign states. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereign ...

), in the Gurkfeld (

Krško Krško (; ) is a town in eastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the City Municipality of Krško. The town lies on the Sava River and on the northwest edge of the Krško Plain (), which is part of the larger Krka Flat (). The area is divided between t ...

) district, one of the 11 ''Bezirkshauptmannschaften'' in the province of

Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...

. In 1925, Radeče was formally given

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

status by a decree issued by King Alexander. In 1994, it became the seat of the Municipality of Radeče.

Landmarks

Church

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 dedicated to

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

and belongs to the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ljubljana The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Ljubljana (, ) is a Latin ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Slovenia.Gothic

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

of the former church has been incorporated into the new one as a side chapel at its eastern side. The bell tower stands at the western side of the church.

Bridges

An old one-arch

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

road bridge links the town center of Radeče with an old railway station on the other side of the Sava. It was built in the time of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

and originally linked the crown lands of

and

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 was designed by the Czech architect Jan Vladimír Hráský. Its construction started in September 1893 and was completed in August 1894. It was open for traffic in June 1894. The

rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylinder (geometry), cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the deformed e ...

ed bridge is long and wide and originally had a bearing strength of , but was reinforced after World War II. Its steel construction was made by the Griedl company from Vienna, whereas its supporting foundations were made by the builder Tršek from Šmarjeta. Since 1980, when a staircase was added to it on the left bank, it has been used only by pedestrians and cyclists. A new concrete road bridge across the Sava in Radeče stands near Hotemež. It is long and wide. It was constructed by the Ingrad corporation (TOZD Laško branch) and was solemnly opened in December 1980.

Weixelstein Castle

Weixelstein Castle (Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage
reference number ešd 9686 or ''Novi dvor''Gradovi v Sloveniji: Novi dvor
) stands east of Radeče at Pot na Brod no. 23. It is a four-winged two-story structure with an arcade courtyard. The building mainly dates from the 16th century, and the courtyard from the 17th century. Some wooden ceilings are preserved in the interior. The castle park originally had a geometric pattern, but was redesigned in a landscaped style in the 18th century. The castle's 16th-century owner Johann von Weixelstein sold it to Christoph von Raumschussl (or RambschüsselSavnik, Roman, ed. 1976. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 3. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije. p. 194.) in 1595, after which it was owned by the Zetschker family, the Augustinians of Ljubljana, Franz Johann von Amigoni, Anton Gollmayer, the Plusk family, and Ludwig Guttmannsthal-Benvenuti. It was purchased by the Ljubljana-based Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul in 1926. The nuns were evicted by German forces during the Second World War. After the war, the property was nationalized and converted into a reform school.

Economy

The community's development is closely connected to the Sava River because it used to be an important traffic route for water

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

. The confluence of the Sava and

Savinja The Savinja () is a river in northeast Slovenia which flows mostly in the Upper and Lower Savinja Valley () and through the cities of Celje and Laško. The Savinja is the main river of the Savinja Alps (Sln. ''Savinjske Alpe''). It flows into ...

in nearby

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 ...

gave Radeče a role of the central

raft A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barre ...

ing

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

. This tradition is preserved by modern Radeče rafters, who nurture memories of the customs of their

ancestors An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from w ...

at the annual event Rafting Days on the Sava (''Dnevi splavarjenja na Savi''). Radeče has been renowned for its

paper industry The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood, specifically pulpwood, as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard, and other cellulose-based products. Manufacturing process In the manufacturing process, pulp is intro ...

, and has modern foundations for development in its rich cultural heritage and unspoiled nature. After the paper producer entered bankruptcy proceedings in April 2012, a new company was established in June 2012.

References

External links

*
Radeče on Geopedia

Radeče on Google Maps
(map, photographs, street view) {{DEFAULTSORT:Radece Populated places in the Municipality of Radeče Cities and towns in Lower Carniola Bridges over the Sava in Slovenia