Kočevska Reka

Kočevska Reka (pronounced [kɔˈtʃeːu̯ska ˈɾeːka]; German: Rieg[2][3]) is a settlement in the Municipality of Kočevje in southern Slovenia. It was a village settled by Gottschee Germans. A major fire destroyed most of the village in 1929, but it was restored. During the Second World War its original population was expelled. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region.[4]

Kočevska Reka
Kočevska Reka
Location in Slovenia
Coordinates: 45°34′29.76″N 14°47′57.12″E
Country Slovenia
Traditional regionLower Carniola
Statistical regionSoutheast Slovenia
MunicipalityKočevje
Area
 • Total17.5 km2 (6.8 sq mi)
Elevation
567 m (1,860 ft)
Population
 (2002)
 • Total277
[1]

Name

The settlement was originally called Reka (literally, 'river'), after the Reka River south of the settlement. The specifier Kočevska 'Kočevje' was added later in order to distinguish the settlement from the town of Rijeka (Slovene: Reka) on the Kvarner Gulf, with which the population had trade connections.[5]

History

The Kočevska Reka volunteer fire department became a founding unit of the Kočevje municipal fire department on 28 August 1955.[6]

Church

The local parish church, dedicated to John the Baptist, was a 16th-century building that survived the Second World War, but it was demolished in 1954. The current church was built between 1994 and 1999.[7]

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Kočevska Reka include:

  • Johann Kosler (1819–1898), politician and agriculture expert[5]
  • Josef Kosler (1822–1917), lawyer and head of efforts to drain the Ljubljana Marshes[5]
  • 12 kr Austrian stamp in 1899 with German and Slovenian names
  • The largest walnut tree in Slovenia (in Kočevska Reka).

References
  1. Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia
  2. Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru, vol. 6: Kranjsko. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 36.
  3. Ferenc, Mitja. 2007. Nekdanji nemški jezikovni otok na kočevskem. Kočevje: Pokrajinski muzej, p. 4.
  4. Kočevje municipal site
  5. Savnik, Roman, ed. 1971. Krajevni leksikon Slovenije, vol. 2. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, pp. 227–228.
  6. Gasilska zveza Kočevja: Zgodovina Archived 2011-06-01 at the Wayback Machine (in Slovene)
  7. Slovenian Ministry of Culture Register of National Heritage reference number ešd 18023


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