Avce
Encyclopedia
Avče is a settlement on the left bank of the river Soča
in the Kanal
Municipality in the Littoral
region of Slovenia
.
The Parish Church
in the settlement is dedicated to Saint Martin
and belongs to the Diocese of Koper. A second church built above the village in the Nadavče area is dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows
. It was built around 1515 and contains fresco
s painted by Jernej of Loka
.
On 31 March 1908, the first confirmed meteorite
in Slovenia fell near the village of Avče. It weighs 1,230 g and is a hexahedrite
, composed primarily of iron
. It is kept in the Vienna Natural History Museum
.
Avče is also the location where the Avče Pumped Storage Plant is being built. It will be the first pumped storage hydroelectric power plant
in Slovenia.
Soca
The Soča or Isonzo is a 140 km long river that flows through western Slovenia and northeastern Italy. An Alpine river in character, its source lies in the Trenta Valley in the Julian Alps in Slovenia, at an elevation of around 1,100 metres...
in the Kanal
Kanal ob Soci
Kanal ob Soči is a town and municipality in Slovenia, established in 1995 by secession from Nova Gorica.The town itself is an important crossing point over the River Soča. The first bridge was built by the Romans. The current bridge was built after World War I. The center of the town was fortified...
Municipality in the Littoral
Slovenian Littoral
The Slovenian Littoral is a historical region of Slovenia. Its name recalls the historical Habsburg crown land of the Austrian Littoral, of which the Slovenian Littoral was a part....
region of 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...
.
The 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....
in the settlement is dedicated to Saint Martin
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...
and belongs to the Diocese of Koper. A second church built above the village in the Nadavče area is dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows
Dedication of Saint Mary Major
The Dedication of Saint Mary Major, previously known as Dedicatio Sanctæ Mariæ ad Nives , is a liturgical feast day celebrated on August 5 in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. In the Roman Catholic calendar of saints it has the rank of optional memorial, and in the General Roman Calendar of...
. It was built around 1515 and contains fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
s painted by Jernej of Loka
Jernej of Loka
Jernej of Loka was a 16th-century painter active in the Škofja Loka area, from which his epithet is also derived. He is known to have painted the frescoes in a number of other churches throughout the Upper Carniola region and some in the area of Tolmin and in the Natisone Valley .Churches where...
.
On 31 March 1908, the first confirmed meteorite
Meteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
in Slovenia fell near the village of Avče. It weighs 1,230 g and is a hexahedrite
Hexahedrite
Hexahedrites are a type of iron meteorite.They are composed almost exclusively of the nickel-iron alloy kamacite and are lower in nickel content than the octahedrites. The nickel concentration in hexahedrites is always below 5.8% and only rarely below 5.3%....
, composed primarily of iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
. It is kept in the Vienna Natural History Museum
Naturhistorisches Museum
The Naturhistorisches Museum Wien or NHMW is a large museum located in Vienna, Austria.The collections displayed cover , and the museum has a website providing an overview as a video virtual tour....
.
Avče is also the location where the Avče Pumped Storage Plant is being built. It will be the first pumped storage hydroelectric power plant
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric power generation used by some power plants for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of water, pumped from a lower elevation reservoir to a higher elevation. Low-cost off-peak electric power is used to run the pumps...
in Slovenia.