Britof

Britof (pronounced [ˈbɾiːtɔf]; German: Freithof[2][3]) is a settlement just northeast of the town of Kranj in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia.[4]

Britof
Britof
Location in Slovenia
Coordinates: 46°15′28.39″N 14°23′0.5″E
Country Slovenia
Traditional regionUpper Carniola
Statistical regionUpper Carniola
MunicipalityKranj
Area
 • Land2.07 km2 (0.80 sq mi)
Elevation
407 m (1,335 ft)
Population
 (2002)
 • Total1,657
[1]

Name

The settlement was attested in written sources in 1387 as Vreytof (and as Freithoff in 1447). The Slovene common noun britof was borrowed from Middle High German vrîthof, both meaning 'cultivated fenced area'. The denotation of the common noun in both languages later developed from this original meaning to 'churchyard' and then to 'cemetery'.[5] The settlement was known as Freithof in German in the past.[2][3]

History

A linseed oil and varnish factory, Zabret & Comp., was established in Britof in 1905. Before the Second World War it had its own electrical generator and processed 300 train cars of linseed per year, mostly imported from Argentina and India. The oil and varnish were sold in Yugoslavia, and the linseed pomace was exported to Austria and Germany.[6] The factory had 30 workers in the 1930s;[6] it developed further after the war, and employed 100 workers by the 1960s.[7]

Mass grave

Britof is the site of a mass grave from the period immediately after the Second World War. The Britof Mass Grave (Slovene: Grobišče Britof) was located on the left bank of the Kokra River north of the settlement, in a meadow on the edge of the woods. It contained the remains of a civilian man and woman that were taken to the site by the Partisans in May or June 1945 and murdered. The victims' remains were exhumed in 1994.[8]

Church

The local church is dedicated to Saint Thomas. It dates to 1512 and was renovated in 1888. The presbytery contains late Gothic frescos and the altar dates to the 17th century.[9][7]

  • Historical postcard of Britof

References
  1. Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia
  2. Intelligenzblatt zur Laibacher Zeitung, no. 141. 24 November 1849, p. 6.
  3. Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru, vol. 6: Kranjsko. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 56.
  4. Kranj municipal site
  5. Snoj, Marko (2009). Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen. Ljubljana: Modrijan. p. 82.
  6. Krajevni leksikon Dravske Banovine. 1937. Ljubljana: Zveza za tujski promet za Slovenijo, pp. 60, 234, 626–627.
  7. Savnik, Roman (1968). Krajevni leksikon Slovenije, vol. 1. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije. p. 156.
  8. Ferenc, Mitja (December 2009). "Grobišče Britof". Geopedia (in Slovenian). Ljubljana: Služba za vojna grobišča, Ministrstvo za delo, družino in socialne zadeve. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  9. Krajevni leksikon Dravske Banovine. 1937. Ljubljana: Zveza za tujski promet za Slovenijo, p. 246.


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