Topli Vrh, Semič Explained

Official Name:Topli Vrh
Pushpin Map:Slovenia
Pushpin Label Position:top
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Slovenia
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Slovenia
Subdivision Type1:Traditional region
Subdivision Name1:Lower Carniola
Subdivision Type2:Statistical region
Subdivision Name2:Southeast Slovenia
Subdivision Type3:Municipality
Subdivision Name3:Semič
Population As Of:2002
Population Total:none
Population Blank1 Title:Ethnicities
Population Blank2 Title:Religions
Coordinates:45.686°N 15.0857°W
Elevation M:609.8

Topli Vrh (in Slovenian pronounced as /ˈtɔːpli ˈʋəɾx/; also Topli Vrh pri Črmošnjicah,[1] German: Untertap(pe)lwerch[2]) is an abandoned settlement in the Municipality of Semič in southern Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region.[3] Its territory is now part of the village of Črmošnjice.

History

Topli Vrh was a village inhabited by Gottschee Germans. In 1574 it consisted of six half-farms. In 1770 it had 15 houses, and in 1931 it had 25. The original inhabitants were evicted in the fall of 1941. Italian troops burned the village during the Rog Offensive in the summer of 1942 and it was never rebuilt.[1]

Church

The church in the village was a chapel of ease dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. It had a rectangular nave and an octagonal chancel walled on three sides. A square belfry stood against the south wall of the building. The church was first mentioned in written sources in 1689 by Johann Weikhard von Valvasor, who referred to it as the Church of "S. Pauli zu Toplaverch." The church was probably built in the 17th century, but architectural features indicate that it may date from a century earlier. The church had a simple stone door casing and small rectangular windows, with quoined corners and decorative painting. The belfry also featured quoining. The nave and the chancel were covered with a tiled gabled roof. The church fell into ruin after the departure of the Gottchee Germans, and the local people removed much of the material, leaving only the belfry, whose roof was repaired in 2004.[4]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Savnik, Roman, ed. 1971. Krajevni leksikon Slovenije, vol. 2. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, p. 61.
  2. Ferenc, Mitja. 2007. Nekdanji nemški jezikovni otok na kočevskem. Kočevje: Pokrajinski muzej, p. 4.
  3. http://www.semic.si/ Semič municipal site
  4. http://www.pmk-kocevje.si/media/pdf/sakralna_dediscina/31_topli_vrh.pdf Ferenc, Mitja. "Topli vrh (Črmošnjice) Podružnična cerkev sv. Petra in Pavla / Untertappelwerch (Tschermoschnitz): Filialkirche St. Peter und Paul"