Nemška Loka
Encyclopedia
Nemška Loka is a settlement in the Kočevje
municipality in southern Slovenia
. It was inhabited mostly by Gottschee Germans
. 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
.
The local parish church
was dedicated to Saint Mary
and was a large Baroque
pilgrimage
church. It was demolished after the Second World War. A second church, dedicated to Saint Margaret
in the Tanči Vrh settlement to the northwest of the main village was burnt down in 1942 when the entire, previously abandoned settlement was set on fire. It was not restored after the war. In 1980 the remaining nave
collapsed and in 1992 the unsafe sanctuary
was removed.
Kocevje
Kočevje is a city and a municipality in southern Slovenia. In terms of area it is the largest municipality in Slovenia. It is located between the rivers Krka and Kolpa and is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola. It is now included in the Jugovzhodna Slovenija statistical region...
municipality in southern Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
. It was inhabited mostly by Gottschee Germans
Gottschee County
Gottschee County refers to the former German speaking region in the Duchy of Carniola , a crownland of the Habsburg Empire, located in modern day Slovenia...
. During the Second World War its original population was expelled. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola was a kreis of the historical Habsburg crown land of Carniola from 1849 till 1919 and is nowadays a traditional region of Slovenia. Its center is Novo Mesto, while other urban centers include Kočevje, Grosuplje, Krško, Trebnje, Mirna, Črnomelj, Semič, and Metlika.-See also:* Upper...
and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia statistical region
Jugovzhodna Slovenija statistical region
The Southeast Slovenia statistical region is a statistical region in the south-east of Slovenia. The largest town in the region is Novo Mesto. It is the largest region in Slovenia. It has the highest share of young people with 15.8%...
.
The local parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
was dedicated to Saint Mary
Mary Help of Christians
Mary Help of Christians , is a Roman Catholic Marian devotion with a feast day celebrated on May 24. John Chrysostom was the first person to use this title in 345 as a devotion to the Virgin Mary....
and was a large Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
church. It was demolished after the Second World War. A second church, dedicated to Saint Margaret
Margaret the Virgin
Margaret the Virgin, also known as Margaret of Antioch , virgin and martyr, is celebrated as a saint by the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches on July 20; and on July 17 in the Orthodox Church. Her historical existence has been questioned; she was declared apocryphal by Pope Gelasius I in 494,...
in the Tanči Vrh settlement to the northwest of the main village was burnt down in 1942 when the entire, previously abandoned settlement was set on fire. It was not restored after the war. In 1980 the remaining nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
collapsed and in 1992 the unsafe sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
was removed.