Bela Krajina

In the article the results of archival research into the Early
Iron Age cemetery of Veliki Nerajec near Dragatuš in Bela
krajina are presented. The cemetery was excavated in the
years 1900, 1901 and 1903 by Jernej Pečnik, and the material
from all three excavations was sent to the Natural History
Museum in Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien). A
detailed revision of the material as well as archival sources
has shown that an error was made when inventorizing the
material from the so-called large tumulus, excavated in 1900,
and thirty graves, excavated in 1903. The material from both
excavations was in fact attributed only to the large tumulus,
while reports of Pečnik’s third excavation campaign in 1903
have remained overlooked till now.

The purpose of this thesis is to analize ALS vizualizations of archeological sites in Bela krajina
and correlation of the recognizable traces with already known topographical data. The thesis
consists of a brief outline of Bela krajina (geographical and archeological), a description of the
methodology and analysis of ALS visualizations. ALS analysis consists of a short outline of
already recognized traces, analysis of ALS vizualizations and comparison of new and old data. Main goal of this thesis was the correlation of already
documented topographical traces and their visibility on ALS visualizations. Based on the result
of the analysis, I then applied the finds in search for potential archeological sites in the rest of
Bela krajina. Findings are presented in a catalog with the description of the sites, documented
topographical traces, their visibility and newly identified traces. In the analysis I relied on the
work of Janez Dular: Arheološka topografija Slovenije: Topografsko območje XI (Bela krajina)
and reports from Varstvo spomenikov. My goal was to upgrade current knowledge of the
arhaeological landscape and to discover new potential archaelogical sites.

The e-publication entitled Gradivo za topografijo Dolenjske, Posavja in Bele krajine v železni dobi (only in Slovenian, 'Available evidence for the topography of the Dolenjska, Posavje and Bela krajina regions in the Iron Age') presents over six hundred sites in the three regions of south-eastern Slovenia that date from this distant period of the past. It is a database that upgrades the first register of Slovene archaeological heritage (Arheološka najdišča Slovenije), published in 1975 by the Institute of Archaeology at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. This register was created with the data then available in literature, while field surveys were only performed on select sites or areas. It was followed up by a project devoting to the archaeological topography of Slovenia (Arheološke topografije Slovenije), the main objective of which was to accurately map the already known sites, as well as to discover new ones. Of all the regions of Slovenia, only the updated topography of three regions was published, among them Bela krajina, which was an integral part of the Dolenjska community in the Early Iron Age.
Filling the void was a project focused on the prehistoric fortified settlements in Dolenjska (Utrjena prazgodovinska naselja na Dolenjskem), but also other types of sites from the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages. As remote sensing technologies such as LiDAR were not yet available at that time, field surveys were conducted across the entire area. The characteristics of the Early Iron Age settlement in south-eastern Slovenia, with hillforts and tumulus cemeteries, partially predetermined the field surveying activities. In the framework of this project, archaeological sites were precisely located, measured, somewhere also trial trenched, and dated.
Studies of archival sources were a special segment of these investigations. Excavators at the end of the nineteenth and in the twentieth century, who opened many tumuli in Dolenjska, left behind not only valuable finds, but also a multitude of letters, reports and notes, important for the study of settlement structures. Based on the collected and evaluated archival sources, it was possible to reconstruct the history of research of individual sites.
The database thus created was used in a comprehensive study on the Early Iron Age settlement, economy and society in south-eastern Slovenia, published in 2007. The collected data and archival sources are upgraded in the present e-publication and openly available to interested researchers for their future investigations of this important period of the local ancient past.

Prispevek predstavi dve novo odkriti listini, ki ju je maja in decembra 1251 nemškemu viteškemu redu izdal goriški grof Majnhard III. in ju v prepisih z začetka 16. stoletja hrani Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz (GStA PK) v Berlinu. Izvirnika nista ohranjena. Listini nista bili zajeti v nobenem izmed dosedanjih pregledov listin izstavitelja, Goriških grofov, ali prejemnika, nemškega viteškega reda.

The paper presents two previously unknown charters, granted to the German knights order by Mainhard III., Count of Goerz (Gorica, Gorizia), in may and december 1251. Both are preserved only in the copies made in the beginning of 16th century and kept in the Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz (GStA PK) in Berlin, the originals are lost. Charters are a new find, and werent presented as yet in any of the collections of charters of Counts of Goer or of the German Knights Order.

V obsežnejšem članku, ki bo razdeljen na tri dele, bodo predstavljene cerkve goriške nadškofije na Kranjskem, ki so omenjene v vizitacijskih zapisnikih prvega goriškega nadškofa Karla Mihaela grofa Attemsa (1752–1774). V prvem delu prikazujemo cerkve arhidiakonata kartuzije Bistre, gorenjskega arhidiakonata in arhidiakonata nemškega viteškega reda v Beli krajini. Na začetku članka so prikazani patrociniji oziroma titulature oltarjev na osnovi liturgične hierarhije, sledi predstavitev posameznih cerkva po začrtani strukturi.

The Churches of the Archdiocese of Gorizia in Carniola in the Time of Archbishop Karl Michael von Attems.
Part 1: The Archdeaconry of Bistra, Upper Carniola (Gorenjska) and Metlika
The churches of the Archdiocese of Gorizia in Carniola, mentioned in the visitation records of the first archbishop of Gorizia, Karl Michael von Attems (1752–1774), will be presented in an extensive article, which will be divided into three parts. The churches that stood in the archdeaconry of the Bistra Carthusian monastery, the archdeaconry of Upper Carniola, and the archdeaconry of the German Teutonic Order in Bela krajina will be presented in Part 1. The patrocinia or the titulature of the altars are presented at the beginning of the article based on liturgical hierarchy, followed by introductions of individual churches according to the outlined structure.

Komtur nemškega viteškega reda oziroma metliški prošt v njegovem imenu na »svojem« teritoriju pri podeljevanju cerkvenih služb nista imela ovir, zato so bili skoraj vsi duhovniki v metliškem okraju oz. komisariatu, v katerega je cerkvenoupravno spadala Bela krajina, člani nemškega viteškega reda. Prispevek poskuša ponovno odkriti že zdavnaj pozabljene življenjske poti belokranjskih duhovnikov, delujočih v času prvega goriškega nadškofa Karla Mihaela Attemsa. Članek je brati kot dopolnilo in v nekaterih pogledih nadgradnjo članka Bela krajina v vizitacijskih zapisnikih goriškega nadškofa Karla Mihaela Attemsa (1752–1774) v pričujoči številki Kronike. Pri sestavi biogramov so nam bili v pomoč vizitacijski zapisniki, ki se hranijo v Nadškofijskem arhivu v italijanski Gorici, ordinacijski zapisniki iz videmskega in goriškega nadškofijskega arhiva, številne matične knjige iz ljubljanskega nadškofijskega arhiva ter tudi nekateri objavljeni arhivski viri.

The occupation border between fascist Italy and the Ustashe Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in Bela krajina ran along the border of the Črnomelj district, from Trdinov vrh along the Gorjanci ridge and Žumberk to the Kolpa River near Božakovo, moving along the Kolpa River up to Predgrad. To prevent the Slovenian and Croatian partisan brigades from crossing the border, the Italians intended to fortify the border at Gorjanci/Žumberk with a corridor of wire fence and bunkers. No wire fence was conceived along the Kolpa River, only fortified bridges and other structures. Due to the capitulation in the spring of 1943, the Italians only managed to build five bunkers near Metlika.  The border cut deep into people's daily lives, especially farmers who had land on both sides of the border. People along the border also faced the issue of refugees coming from the NDH, especially the Jewish population.  Residents of Žumberk with Orthodox roots believed the border was quite useful since it prevented the Ustashe from coming to the Italian occupation area. In May 1941, there were individual attempts to annex the municipality of Radatovići, which was part of the Černomelj district, to the NDH; and an attempt to annex the entire region of Bela krajina to Nazi Germany. A strong resistance movement evolved very quickly, forcing the Italians to leave smaller border outposts as early as December 1942. From then on, they stayed in larger towns only, surrounding them completely or partially with bunkers and barbed wire.
After the capitulation of Italy in September 1943, Bela krajina became a free territory where the headquarters of the National Liberation Army and the partisan detachments of Slovenia was set up in addition to the Executive Committee of the Liberation Front, and many other institutions. By the end of the war, only a couple of individual invasions of Germans and Ustashe had hit Bela krajina.
Zilje is a small village on the banks of the Kolpa River. There was a crew of the Italian Guardia di Finanza. The villagers had no problems with them. Like in other places in Bela krajina, the Italian Army deported many men from Zilje to camps. A lot of them died there due to unbearable conditions.
Today, comparisons between the former occupation border and the current wired border with the Republic of Croatia are being made.

Students from Bela krajina on the universities of Vienna and Graz from the beginning of 15th up to 18th century

The essay deals with the problem of students in the universities of Vienna and Graz in the time span of three centuries. University in Vienna, established in 1365 by the Austrian duke Rudolph III. and his brothers Albrecht and Leopold von Habsburg, is the oldest university in the German speaking area and the third oldest in the central Europe. Its first reform took place in 1384 when the young duke Albrecht III. finally established the theological faculty with the consent of pope Urban V. and the  scholars arriving from then schismatic Paris university gave new stimulans to the reorganization of the university as a whole. From then onwards the university had four faculties, the faculty of theology, law, medicine and liberal arts. As the first university in the German lingual area it attracted students from all over central Europe which were then divided into four nationes: Austrian nation including all the students from the hereditary Habsburg lands, Rhenic nation including the students from lower Germany, Hungarian nation including students from the Hungarian lands and broader and Saxon nation which included all the students from nothern Germany, England, Netherlands etc. We have very limited information about the studies and successes of 77 students enrolled in the university of Vienna and Graz in the time period 1400-1700, because the sources are scarce and dont offer much insight. For the most we only know that they enrolled, paid their fees and studied for at least a year on the faculty of liberal arts where the basic sciences were thought. Of their social status we know that the majority came from burger families of Metlika and Črnomelj, three of them were nobles (Gräz, Freidong, Palmburg) and some of them probably of peasant origin. Yet we do know that some of them obtained the degrees and masters even in their fields of study. Specially known is the Clemens Kuku (Klemen Kukič) from Metlika, enrolled in 1518, which finished the mathematical studies, lectured astronomy, lead the students of natio Hungarica for a year, and was a member of the bishopric dome church in Vienna. The other one is Jacob Kozian from Črnomelj, who finished the studies of philosophy and obtained a philosophiae doctor grade in theology. On the basis of this we can conclude the high education has a long tradition in Bela krajina with first students arriving in the beginning of 15th century. The burgerschaft, the townsfolk of Metlika and Črnomelj obviously treasured the high education and offered their sons, when they had the sufficient economical background, the support and money for the studies. This tradition was severely challenged in the 16th century with the arrival of protestantism which excluded the studies on Catholic universities of Vienna and Graz, but half a century later, with the successful counter-reformation we can again follow the constant inow of students on the both universities.