Otlica

Otlica
Otlica is located in Slovenia
Otlica
Otlica
Location in Slovenia
Coordinates: 45°55′39.37″N 13°54′36.7″E / 45.9276028°N 13.910194°E / 45.9276028; 13.910194
Country Slovenia
Traditional regionLittoral
Statistical regionGorizia
MunicipalityAjdovščina
Area
 • Total12.17 km2 (4.70 sq mi)
Elevation
817.8 m (2,683.1 ft)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total282
 • Density23/km2 (60/sq mi)
[1]

Otlica (pronounced [ˈoːtlitsa]) is a dispersed settlement in the hills north of Ajdovščina in the Littoral region of Slovenia. It is made up of smaller clusters of the hamlets of Sibirija, Kitajska, Kurja Vas (Slovene: Kurja vas), and Cerkovna, as well as a number of outlying isolated farms.[2]

Geography

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Otlica is located on the high Trnovo Forest Plateau (Slovene: Trnovski gozd), overlooking the Vipava Valley. The part of the larger plateau known as the Otlica Plateau (Slovene: Otliška planota) is named after Otlica.[3] Together with the ridge-top villages of Predmeja, Kovk, and Gozd, it is part of an area locally known as Gora (literally, 'the mountain').[4]

Names

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The name Otlica is derived from the Slovene adjective otel 'hollow'. It refers to a karst sinkhole about 500 meters (1,600 ft) west of Navrše Hill (elevation 500 meters, 1,600 ft); the bottom of the sinkhole leads to the opposite side of the Gora Ridge through a passage 20 meters (66 ft) high and 15 meters (49 ft) wide that opens above a footpath to Ajdovščina. In folk tradition the mountain was therefore referred to as being hollow.[5][6] The hamlet of Siberija (literally, 'Siberia') is so named because of its exposure to the frost and the bora wind, and the hamlet of Kitajska (literally, 'China') is a reference to the large number of children that people living there had.[7]

Church

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Guardian Angels Church

The parish church in the settlement is dedicated to the Guardian Angels and belongs to the Koper Diocese.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia
  2. ^ Ajdovščina municipal site
  3. ^ Habič, Peter (1968). Kraški svet med Idrijco in Vipavo. Ljubljana: Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti. p. 78.
  4. ^ Ajdovščina Tourism Information Center. Naša dežela: Gora.
  5. ^ Savnik, Roman (1968). Krajevni leksikon Slovenije, vol. 1. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije. pp. 25–26.
  6. ^ Bezlaj, France. 1982. Etimološki slovar slovenskega jezika, vol. 2. Ljubljana: Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti, p. 261.
  7. ^ Okno Tourist Board. Pot po Angelski gori.
  8. ^ Koper Diocese list of churches Archived 2009-03-06 at the Wayback Machine
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