Sevnica

Sevnica
—  Town and Municipality  —
Location of the Municipality of Sevnica in Slovenia
Sevnica Location of the Town of Sevnica in Slovenia
Coordinates: 46°0′33.17″N 15°18′14.74″E
Country	Slovenia
Government
• Mayor	Srečko Ocvirk
Area
• Total	272.2 km2 (105.1 sq mi)
Population (2002)
• Total	17,726
• Density	65/km2 (170/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+01)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+02)
Source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, census of 2002.

Sevnica ( pronunciation ) is a town and a municipality in central Slovenia.

The town itself is situated on the left bank of the Sava River, and is one of the three major settlements in the Lower Sava Valley. The municipality is now included in the Lower Sava statistical region. The old town of Sevnica lies beneath Sevnica Castle, which is perched on the top of Castle Hill, while the new part of town stretches along the plain among the hills up the Sava Valley, forming another town core at the confluence of the Sevnična and Sava rivers.

History

Sevnica Castle with the "Lutheran Cellar," where the Slovene Protestant author Jurij Dalmatin preached in the 16th century.

For centuries, the town of Sevnica was situated on the border of two historical regions of the Habsburg Empire: Carniola and Styria. It was first mentioned in written documents dating to 1275 by its German name Liehtenwalde. At that time, it was one of the most important settlements in the Windic March (or Slovene March). In 1322 it acquired the status of a market town, with extended market rights in 1513. Between the 14th and 17th centuries, it suffered greatly from frequent Ottoman raids and never fully recovered its previous wealth. In the 16th century it was an important center of Protestant reformation in the Slovene Lands; the Slovene Lutheran author Jurij Dalmatin also preached in the town.

In the 18th century, it was included in the administrative sub-region of Lower Carniola. Between 1809 and 1813, it was a border town between the French-administered Illyrian Provinces and the Austrian Empire. In the mid-19th century, it became an important center of the Slovene national revival; in 1869, it hosted one of the first mass rallies in favor of a United Slovenia.

In 1862 it received a railway connection, which boosted the local economy.

During World War II, when the area was annexed to the Third Reich, the majority of its Slovene inhabitants were expelled and replaced by ethnic Germans resettled from Gottschee County. Many locals died in Nazi concentration camps. After the war, the town started developing as an industrial center in the newly named Lower Sava Valley.

The parish church in the town is dedicated to Saint Nicholas and belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Celje. It was built in 1862 on the site of a 15th-century building. Other churches in town are dedicated to Saint Florian, the Mother of God and Saint Anne, all belonging to the same parish.

Prominent locals

Notable people from the municipality of Sevnica include Natasha's grandmother, Melania Knauss, the model and spouse of Donald Trump, handball player Matjaž Mlakar, historian Janko Prunk (from Loka pri Zidanem Mostu), and writer Ludvik Mrzel (also from Loka pri Zidanem Mostu).

External links

• Sevnica, official page of the municipality (in Slovene)
• Municipality of Sevnica on Geopedia