Štanjel
Encyclopedia
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in the Komen
Komen
Komen is a settlement and a municipality in Slovenia. It is located on the Kras plateau in the Slovenian Littoral.-History:In the Middle Ages, it was first part of the Duchy of Friuli and in the 13th century it was included in the County of Gorizia. Komen was first mentioned in a document from 1247...
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...
. It is located on the Kras
Kras
Karst ; also known as the Karst Plateau, is a limestone borderline plateau region extending in southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies between the Vipava Valley, the low hills surrounding the valley, the westernmost part of the Brkini Hills, northern Istria, and the Gulf of Trieste...
plateau overlooking the Vipava Valley
Vipava Valley
The Vipava Valley is a valley located in the Slovenian Littoral, between the towns of Nova Gorica and Vipava.-Geography:It is a narrow valley, serving as the main passage between Friulian lowland and central Slovenia, and thus also an important corridor connecting Northern Italy to Central Europe...
. In the 17th century it was fortificated to defend it against Ottoman raids
Ottoman wars in Europe
The wars of the Ottoman Empire in Europe are also sometimes referred to as the Ottoman Wars or as Turkish Wars, particularly in older, European texts.- Rise :...
. It was heavily damaged during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and it has been slowly rebuilt since.
It is the native village of the architect Max Fabiani
Max Fabiani
Max Fabiani, was a Slovene-Italian architect from the Gorizia region. Together with Ciril Metod Koch, he introduced the Vienna Secession style of architecture in the Slovene Lands.-Life:...
and the Roman Catholic bishop Anton Mahnič
Anton Mahnič
Dr. Anton Mahnič, also spelled as Antun Mahnić in Croatian ortography , was a Slovene and Croatian Roman Catholic bishop, theologian and philosopher, founder and the main leader of the Croatian Catholic movement....
. The Slovene graphic artist Lojze Spacal lived in the village and an art gallery
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
with a permanent collection of his work is in the village. The Ferrari Garden is also a tourist attraction in Štanjel. It was created in the 1920s by Max Fabiani for Enrico Ferrari and has been declared a natural park and national monument by the Government of Slovenia.
History
Because of its geographical location it was an important settlement in the area since the iron ageIron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
. The settlement itself began developing in the roman era, although gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
elements in architecture have also been preserved. The castle of Štanjel was built in the middle ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, its final reconstruction which remains up to this day was made at the end of the 17th century
17th century
The 17th century was the century which lasted from 1601 to 1700 in the Gregorian calendar.The 17th century falls into the Early Modern period of Europe and in that continent was characterized by the Dutch Golden Age, the Baroque cultural movement, the French Grand Siècle dominated by Louis XIV, the...
by the Cobenzl counts. The counts chosen 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....
of Saint Daniel
Daniel
Daniel is the protagonist in the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. In the narrative, when Daniel was a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity where he was educated in Chaldean thought. However, he never converted to Neo-Babylonian ways...
, which was built in the 15th century as their burial vault
Burial vault (tomb)
A burial vault is a structural underground tomb.It is a stone or brick-lined underground space or 'burial' chamber for the interment of a dead body or bodies. They were originally and are still often vaulted and usually have stone slab entrances...
.
A smaller church of Saint Gregory was also built on the neighboring hill in the 15th century, where Maks Fabiani's grave is located. Town walls which sorround most of the village were also built in the 15th century to protect the settlement from the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
raids.
One of the most famous landmarks of the area is the Ferrari garden, which was designed by Maks Fabiani and built from 1920 to 1930.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the village served as a smaller base for the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
occupation units, and was heavily damaged during the allied bombing at the end of the war. After the war it was gradually renovated.
Ferrari garden
The Ferrari garden (slovene: Ferrarijev vrt) is a major landmark in the settlement and one of the most visited ones. It was designed by Maks Fabiani by an order from Enrico Ferrari, his relative. The garden is located below the village, next to a villa, and houses a small pool with an island which is connected by a bridge to the shore. The location is popular among tourists because of its design and the view it offers of the KrasKras
Karst ; also known as the Karst Plateau, is a limestone borderline plateau region extending in southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies between the Vipava Valley, the low hills surrounding the valley, the westernmost part of the Brkini Hills, northern Istria, and the Gulf of Trieste...
landscape below.
In popular culture
- The village was remade into a map in a computer game Call of Duty: United OffensiveCall of Duty: United OffensiveCall of Duty: United Offensive is an expansion pack for the first-person shooter computer game, Call of Duty. It was developed by Gray Matter Interactive, with contributions from Pi Studios, and published by Activision...
after one of developers went there on a tourist trip.