The Tuhinj Valley (; ) is a valley 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 ...

linking the

Celje Basin Celje (, , ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, third-largest city in Slovenia. It is a regional center of the traditional Slovenian region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria and the administrative seat of the City Municipality of Celje. Th ...

with the Ljubljana Basin in an east-west direction along the courses of the Nevljica and Motnišnica rivers.

Geography

The western part of the valley was formed by the

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

of the Nevljica, flowing into the

Kamnik Bistrica The Kamnik Bistrica (, ) is an Alpine river in northern Slovenia, a left tributary of the Sava River. It springs from the Kamnik Alps (part of the Southern Limestone Alps) near the border with Austria. It is long. The Kamnik Bistrica flows th ...

, and the narrower, eastern part by the Motnišnica, a tributary of the Savinja River. Their

drainage divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a single ...

is at the Kozjak Pass at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

of 655 m between Cirkuše v Tuhinju and Špitalič. The largest settlements in the valley include Laze v Tuhinju, Šmartno v Tuhinju, and Motnik. The large number of old settlements points to the fact that the valley was an important

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way of transport, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. Originally, the word referred to a main road or open street which was frequented thoroughly. Different terms *Roa ...

in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and later as a passage between

Lower Styria Styria (, ), also known as Slovenian Styria (; ) or Lower Styria (; ) to differentiate it from Austrian Styria, is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy of Styria. The population of St ...

and

Upper Carniola Upper Carniola ( ; ; ) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The largest town in the region is Kranj, and other urban centers include Kamnik, Jesenice, Jesenice, Jesenice, Domžale and ...

Name

The Tuhinj region was mentioned in written sources circa 1400 as ''Tuchein'', ''Tuchen'', and ''Tucheiner alben''. The name was originally ''*Tuxyn′ь'', derived from the

hypocorism A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek ; sometimes also ''hypocoristic''), or pet name, is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as ''Izzy'' for Isabel or ''Bob (given name), Bob'' fo ...

''*Tuxynъ'' (based on the Slavic personal name ''*Tuxъ'' or ''*Tuxa''). This root is also the source of similar names such as ''Tuhinje'' in Herzegovina, ''Tuin'' in Macedonia, '' Tukhin'' in Russia, and '' Tuchyňa'' in Slovakia.

Industry

Until the mid-20th century

brown coal Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, Combustion, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered ...

was mined in the valley near Motnik. Tourism has only recently started to develop with the building of the Snovik Spa.Slovenian Tourist Board site
/ref>

References

External links

* Valleys in Upper Carniola Kamnik Bistrica basin Savinja basin {{Slovenia-geo-stub