The Vintarjevec Valley The Črni Stream Valley is located to the south-west of Šmartno. It is surrounded by Grilovec (399 m a.s.l.), Sveti večer (516 m a.s.l.), Čelo (518 m a.s.l.), Krnica (529 m a.s.l.), Osrenca (709 m a.s.l.) and Straža (633 m a.s.l.). Together with the Kostrevnica Valley, it represented an important connection between…
Velika Štanga and its surroundings The forest of Štanga (Stangenwald) was first mentioned in 1527 in a document by emperor Karel V. Hamburg ordering deforestation to stop. In Slovene archives, it is first mentioned in 1544. The area encompasses several small hamlets beneath the Kampel hill (716 m a.s.l.), the highest peak in the Šmartno…
The heart of the municipality: Šmartno pri Litiji Šmartno pri Litiji lies at the confluence of three streams on the edge of a small basin. The settlement surrounds one of the largest churches in Slovenia. It is consecrated to St. Martin, giving the town its present name, and it is built in the neo-Gothic style.…
Primskovo Primskovo is located in the heart of the Dolenjska hills, which are covered with vigorous forests frequently separated by little valleys with cultivated fields and by vineyards and vineyard cottages on the sunny slopes of the hills, where narrow trails connect 16 hamlets. The first known reference to Primskovo dates from 1258 with the…
Liberga The dispersed villages of Liberga, Jelša and Preska nad Kostrevnico are located on the ridge between the Kostrevnica and Jablanica valleys. The mostly hilly terrain is sometimes craggy and covered with forest. Vineyards are cultivated on the sunny side of hills at lower altitudes. A wine road passes by vineyard cottages from Jelša, through…
Kostrevniška dolina The villages of Mala Kostrevnica, Velika Kostrevnica, Dvor and Lupinica are located in the Kostrevnica Valley. Meadows and fields surround the stream Kostrevniški potok, sometimes closing in and then dispersing into mixed forests. The location name Kostrevnica (Cozdruniz) was first mentioned in 1136. The second written reference dates to 1169. That was when…
A compact hill village with a nucleated centre lies at 560 m a.s.l. in a sunny location at the foot of the Straža hill (630 m a.s.l.). Based on the origin of its name, one can assume that a maple forest once dominated here. There are many forested areas here even today, and the extracted…
At one of the most beautiful castles in Slovenia, you can see museum collections that tell about life in the castle with a special focus on the work of the famous Carniolan polyhistor Janez Vajkard Valvasor (1641–1693). Over the centuries, many stories were created behind these castle walls, which continue to inspire visitors. The castle…
Gradišče pri Litiji Gradišče rises above Litija, above the Sava river on the eastern side (435 m a.s.l.) on the Roven plateau, where the Church of St. Mary Magdalene is situated, reaching up to 539 m a.s.l. This is a nucleated village containing the appurtenant hamlets of Zelenec and Dobovec. Houses are built along the village…
The Jablanica Valley The Jablanica Valley, located east of Šmartno pri Litiji, spreads from Breg pri Litiji to Cerovica and Bukovica, and further across the slopes up to Mamolj and Gradišče pri Litiji. The valley includes 12 settlements: Breg pri Litiji, Bukovica, Tenetiše, Gradiške Laze, Jablaniške Laze, Dolgo Brdo, Mamolj, Gradišče pri Litiji, Spodnja and…