Spodnja Kapla () is a
dispersed settlement
A dispersed settlement, also known as a scattered settlement, is one of the main types of settlement patterns used by landscape historians to classify rural settlements found in England and other parts of the world. Typically, there are a num ...
in the hills north of the
Drava River
The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe. in the
Municipality of Podvelka
The Municipality of Podvelka (; ) is a municipality in the traditional region of Styria in northern Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Podvelka. The Municipality of Podvelka–Ribnica was created in 1994, and it then split int ...
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 and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
, close to the border with
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 ...
.
Name
The name ''Spodnja Kapla'' literally means 'lower Kapla', distinguishing the settlement from neighboring ''
Zgornja Kapla'' (literally, 'upper Kapla'). Like other settlements named Kapla (e.g., ''
Kapla
Kapla is a construction set for children and adults. The sets consist only of identical wood planks measuring 11.7 cm x 2.34 cm x 0.78 cm. This 15:3:1 ratio of length:width:thickness is different than the dimensions used for tradi ...
'' in the Municipality of Tabor) and similar names (e.g., ''
Kaplja vas'', ''
Kapljišče'', and ''
Železna Kapla'' in Austria), the name is derived from the Slovene common noun ''*kapla'' 'chapel' (< ''*kapela'' <
MHG and
OHG ''kappella'' < Latin ''cappella'' 'chapel'), referring to a local religious structure.
Mass graves
Spodnja Kapla is the site of three known
mass graves
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may Unidentified decedent, not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of exec ...
or unmarked graves associated with the Second World War. They all contain the remains of victims murdered in May 1945 by the Jože Lacko Detachment of the
Partisan
Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to:
Military
* Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line
** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII
** Ital ...
forces. The Četrtnik Cross Mass Grave () is located at the Četrtnik farm in the southern part of the settlement. It contains the remains of a family of five from
Ruše
Ruše (; ) is a small town in northeastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Ruše and lies on the right bank of the Drava River west of Maribor. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. It is now included in the Drava ...
that was murdered because the head of the family was suspected of being an
informant
An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a "snitch", "rat", "canary", "stool pigeon", "stoolie", "tout" or "grass", among other terms) is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information inten ...
. The Breznik Chapel-Shrine Mass Grave () lies behind a
chapel-shrine
A wayside shrine is a religious image, usually in some sort of small shelter, placed by a road or pathway, sometimes in a settlement or at a crossroads, but often in the middle of an empty stretch of country road, or at the top of a hill or mount ...
about west of the Breznik farm (at Spodnja Kapla no. 43). It contains the remains six people murdered on suspicion of being informants. The Sršen Grave ()—also known as the Sršen Shack Grave (), Pekel Grave (), or Spodnji Krampl Grave ()—is located about southwest of the house at the Spodnji Krampl farm (at Spodnja Kapla no. 19). It contains the remains of an Austrian murdered on suspicion of being an informant.
Notable people
*
Zinka Zorko (1936–2019), linguist and academic
References
External links
Spodnja Kapla on Geopedia
Populated places in the Municipality of Podvelka
{{Podvelka-geo-stub