Kostanjevica na Krki

The name of the settlement was changed from Kostanjevica to Kostanjevica na Krki in 1955.[4] In the past the German name was Landstraß.[2]

The town is protected as a cultural and historical monument.[5] Kostanjevica is the oldest city of the region. In the early 13th century, the Carinthian duke Bernhard von Spanheim established the Fons Sanctae Mariae Cistercian Abbey on the southern frontier of the March of Carniola, which he claimed against the resistance of the Patriarchs of Aquileia and the Dukes of Merania.

Kostanjevica Abbey

The monastery, a filial of Viktring Abbey near Klagenfurt, was enlarged in a Baroque style in the early 18th century. It was nevertheless finally disbanded in 1785 by the Habsburg emperor Joseph II.

The settlement of Kostanjevica was first mentioned as a town in 1210 and received market rights in 1249. During the Late Middle Ages it was an important commercial centre in the Duchy of Carniola held by the Habsburg archdukes of Austria. After several devastations by Ottoman military raids in the 15th and 16th centuries, it lost its importance. After the 17th century, it turned into a mostly rural settlement, which however retained its town status. In 2000, it was recognised by the National Assembly as a city.[6]

In 1945, a mass post-war massacre occurred in the Krakovo Forest near Kostanjevica. The Commission on Concealed Mass Graves in Slovenia has discovered a World War II mass grave of victims of the Slovene Partisans.[7]

A former monastic complex, which was severely damaged in World War II, has been renovated and now houses the Božidar Jakac Gallery, an art gallery with a sculpture park and a permanent exhibition of works by Božidar Jakac. It is dominated by the Early Gothic abbey church built in 1234.[8]

The town's parish church is dedicated to Saint James and belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Novo Mesto. It is an originally 13th century Romanesque building that was largely rebuilt in the Baroque style in the 17th century.[9]

Kostanjevica Cave (Slovene: Kostanjeviška jama), a popular tourist destination, is nearby.

Notable people that were born or lived in Kostanjevica na Krki include:

• Ivan Belle (1867–1924), viticultural and orchard specialist[10]
• Božo Borstnik (?–1974), journalist and translator[10]
• Franc Bučar (1926–2000), veterinarian and technical writer[10]
• Franc Fabinc (1881–1923), educational writer, journalist, and editor[10]
• Jože Gorjup (1907–1932), painter, sculptor, and graphic artist[10]
• Jože Jankovič (1901–1973), cultural activist[10]
• Mirko Kuhelj (1904–1958), writer[10]
• Jože Likar (1895–1986), writer and enologist[10]
• France Lokar (1917–1994), poet[10]
• Anton Makovic (1750–1803), surgeon, member of the national awakening movement and founder of formal education for midwives[10]
• Franc Marešič (1750–1801), translator and religious writer[10]
• Ivan Oražen (1869–1921), physician[10]
• Lenart Pachenecker (?–1581), Cistercian monk and author of the first Catholic Slovenian book[10]
• Josef Ressel (1793–1857), Bohemian-Austrian inventor of the screw propeller[10]
• Franc Rueh (1887–1968), technical writer and electrical engineer[10]
• Niko Sever (1889–?), education specialist[10]
• Ilka Vašte (1891–1967), writer[10]
• Avgust Žabkar (1854–1930), metalworking industrialist[10]
• Radoslav Žargi (1918–1993), physician and specialist in infectious diseases[10]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kostanjevica na Krki.

• Kostanjevica municipal website
• Kostanjevica na Krki on Geopedia