Cerknica

45°47′47″N 14°21′29″E / 45.79639°N 14.35806°E / 45.79639; 14.35806Country SloveniaTraditional regionInner CarniolaStatistical regionLittoral–Inner CarniolaMunicipalityCerknicaArea • Total14.8 km² (5.7 sq mi)Elevation558.8 m (1,833.3 ft)Population • Total4,018 • Density270/km² (700/sq mi)Vehicle registrationLJClimateCfb^[1]

Cerknica (pronounced [ˈtseːɾknitsa] ^ⓘ; Italian: Circonio, German: Zirknitz^[2]) is a town in the Karst region of southwestern Slovenia, with a population of 4,018 (2016 census). It is the seat of the Municipality of Cerknica. It belongs to the traditional region of Inner Carniola.^[3]

Name

Cerknica was first attested in written sources as Circhinitz in 1040 (and as Czirknicz in 1145, Cyrknitz in 1261, and Cirnizza in 1581). The name is derived from *Cerkvnica, a univerbation of *Cerkvna (vas) 'church village'. A church was established very early in Cerknica, probably already in the 9th century. The original structure was burned down in an Ottoman attack in 1472.^[4]

Churches

There are three churches in Cerknica. The parish church is dedicated to the Nativity of Mary.^[5] It stands at the top of a hill in the center of Cerknica at the site of a former fortification against Ottoman raids. It is a late Gothic hall church, a triple-naved structure with lierne vaulting built between 1480 and 1520 at the site of an earlier church that was burned during an Ottoman attack in 1472. A Baroque chapel was added to the church in the 18th century and the church's furnishings date from the 19th century.^[6]

The other two churches are chapels of ease dedicated to John the Baptist and Saint Roch.^[5] Saint John the Baptist Church is a cemetery church south of the main settlement. A chapel was mentioned at the site in a visitation report of 1581; the church itself was built in 1642. It has a rectangular nave, a polygonal chancel walled on three sides, and a bell tower. The interior combines groin vaulting and barrel vaulting with spandrels.^[7] Saint Roch's Church stands in the northern part of Cerknica. It was built between 1630 and 1644 at the site of a plague chapel dating to 1578. It has a rectangular nave, a polygonal chancel walled on three sides, and a bell tower. The altar painting of Saint Roch is a 1763 work by Anton Cebej.^[8]

• 
  Nativity of Mary Church
• 
  Saint John the Baptist Church

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Cerknica include:

• France Arhar (born 1948), banker and politician
• Jože Udovič (1912–1986), poet

References

External links

• Media related to Cerknica at Wikimedia Commons
• Cerknica on Geopedia
• Official site of the municipality (in Slovene)
• Illustrated page about Cerknica