Stari Kot (; in older sources also ''Stari Vinkelj'', ,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 42–43.Petschauer, Erich. 1980. "Die Gottscheer Siedlungen – Ortsnamenverzeichnis." In ''Das Jahrhundertbuch der Gottscheer'' (pp. 181–197). Klagenfurt: Leustik. Gottschee German: ''Autbinkl'') is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the

Municipality of Loški Potok The Municipality of Loški Potok (; ) is a Municipalities of Slovenia, municipality in southern Slovenia. It is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region. The municipal admini ...

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 ...

, next to the border with

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. 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 ...

. It consists of the hamlets of Binkl, Kurja Vas (), Pri Ambrožiču, Hrib, and Preska (). The main road from Lazec to Prezid runs through the village.Savnik, Roman, ed. 1971. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 2. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, p. 244.

Name

The Slovene name ''Stari Kot'' and the German name ''Altwinkel'' are semantically equivalent, both meaning 'old closed

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

', referring to the end of a valley where it meets the mountains. The designation 'old' (''Stari'', ''Alt-'') distinguishes the settlement from Novi Kot () (literally, 'new closed valley.'). Traditionally, the people of Stari Kot and Novi Kot were nicknamed ''Bajtarji'' (literally, 'tenant farmers'), but this nickname is rarely used today.

History

Oral tradition indicates that Stari Kot was founded around 1700. The village had 32 houses in 1770 and had a minority Gottschee German population. The men traditionally performed seasonal work in the forests of Croatia, Hungary, and elsewhere. A part-time school was founded in the village in 1904, and a separate school building was built in 1910. During the Second World War, on 19 April 1942 the men of the village joined the Partisans en masse. On 29 July 1942 Italian forces burned the entire village and removed the population to concentration camps. After the war some of the villagers settled in neighboring villages and others rebuilt their houses with the assistance of the recovery association in Draga. The prewar/postwar number of houses in the village's hamlets were Binkl (11/6), Kurja Vas (4/2), Pri Ambrožiču (3/2), Hrib (2/1), and Preska (2/1).

Church

The local

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

is built on a hill west of the village next to the

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, dead people are burial, buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ...

. It is dedicated to

Saint Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus and, as a representative o ...

and belongs to the

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Draga. It is a late

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

building that contains three 19th-century wooden

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

s.Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage
reference number ešd 1793 It was consecrated before 1740, but the building's current architecture dates from circa 1900. It has a single entry through the bell tower. The church is registered as cultural heritage.

Other cultural heritage

In addition to the church, two other structures in Stari Kot are registered as cultural heritage: * There is a roadside chapel in the western part of the village. It is a square structure with a metal gabled roof. The entrance is accentuated with

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s and an arched door casing. It dates from the first half of the 20th century. *A monument to two unknown Partisans that fell in 1943 stands in the village cemetery, surrounding the church. The monument was erected in 1966 in the southwest corner of the cemetery. It is a stone pyramid with a stylized representation of

Mount Triglav Triglav (; ; ), with an elevation of , is the highest mountain in Slovenia and the highest peak of the Julian Alps. The mountain is the pre-eminent symbol of the Slovene nation, appearing on the Coat of arms of Slovenia, coat of arms and Flag ...

and it has a granite plaque with an inscription.Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage
reference number ešd 22546

References

External links

Stari Kot on Geopedia
{{Authority control Populated places in the Municipality of Loški Potok