Time zone CET (UTC+01) Population 16,549 (2010) | Area 555 km² | |
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The Municipality of Kočevje ([kɔˈtʃeːu̯jɛ]; Slovene: Občina Kočevje) is a municipality in southern Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the city of Kočevje. Today it is part of the Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region. In terms of area, it is the largest municipality in Slovenia.
Contents
Map of Kocevje, Slovenia
History
In 1247 Bertoldo de Merania, Patriarch of Aquileia granted the area around Ribnica within the Imperial March of Carniola to the Carinthian counts of Ortenburg. When the counts received further estates on the wooded plateau down to Kostel on the Kolpa River in 1336 from the hands of Patriarch Bertram, they called for German-speaking settlers from Carinthia and Tyrol.
The Kočevje area is also the location where the summary executions of thousands people believed to be guilty of collaboration with the Axis Powers during World War II (such as the Slovene Home Guard) and their families took place immediately after the end of the war. They were thrown into various pits and caves, which were then sealed with explosives.
Notable people
Notable people that were born or lived in the Municipality of Kočevje include: