Vrhnika lies at the southwest end of the Ljubljana Marsh near the sources of the Ljubljanica River, where the Ljubljana Basin opens up between the foot of Ljubljana Peak (Slovene: Ljubljanski vrh, 819 meters or 2,687 feet) and Ulovka Hill (801 meters or 2,628 feet). Močilnik Springs is located south of the settlement; together with nearby Retovje Springs, water flows mainly from the subterranean streams of the Unica River to produce the Little Ljubljanica River (Mala Ljubljanica) and Big Ljubljanica River (Velika Ljubljanica), which join to create the Ljubljanica River.[3] The territory of the town extends south onto the Logatec Plateau (Slovene: Logaška planota), where the Big and Little Drnovica Collapse Sinkholes (Slovene: Velika Drnovica, Mala Drnovica) are found.[4]
The settlement at the location of today's Vrhnika was attested in antiquity as Nauportus in Latin, and as Ναύποντος and Νάμπορτος in Greek. Medieval attestations of the name include de superiory Laybaco in 1300, Oberlaybach in 1308 (and Ober Laybach in 1309), and Vernich in 1481, corresponding to the modern Slovene name. In the past, the town was known as Oberlaibach in standard German. The Slovene name is probably a compound of vrh 'top, summit' + nikaornikve 'creek, spring', referring to the source of the Ljubljanica River. The Latin name Nauportus is a compound of navis 'boat' + portus 'transfer', referring to a place where cargo had to be transferred from boats to pack animals or carts along a trade route. A mythological reinterpretation of the Latin name as referring to the portage of a boat itself (specifically, the Argo) appears in Pliny the Elder's Natural History.[5]
In Roman times, Nauportus was an important communication point.[6] Vrhnika as it exists today started to develop in the High Middle Ages.
Vrhnika became a market town and was among the wealthiest towns in Carniola[7] up to the early 18th century, when it started to lose importance. Nevertheless, it remained one of main transportation junctions in Inner Austria because of its strategic location on the crossroads between the trade routes from TriestetoVienna and from RijekatoKlagenfurt.[8] The development of the town was strongly impaired by the construction of the Austrian Southern Railway in the 1840s, which bypassed it. From then on, it started losing importance, becoming a satellite town of Ljubljana, which has remained up to this day.
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±%
1948
2,882
—
1953
3,347
+16.1%
1961
3,924
+17.2%
1971
4,849
+23.6%
1981
6,718
+38.5%
1991
7,056
+5.0%
2002
7,520
+6.6%
2011
8,413
+11.9%
2021
8,889
+5.7%
Population size may be affected by changes in administrative divisions.
Vrhnika is the site of a mass grave from the period immediately after the Second World War. The Pikec Valley Mass Grave (Slovene: Grobišče pri Pikčevi dolini) is located at the bottom of a sinkhole southwest of the town, on Sveč Hill near the Vojc house. It contains the remains of six German prisoners of war that were murdered in May 1945.[9][10]
^Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru, vol. 6: Kranjsko. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 120.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuSavnik, Roman (1968). Krajevni leksikon Slovenije, vol. 1. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije. pp. 453–454.
^Čepon, Barbara. 2010. Vrednotenje naravnih znamenitosti v Občini Vrhnika za turistično rabo. Bachelor's thesis. Ljubljana: Biotehniška fakulteta, Oddelek za krajinsko arhitekturo, p. 25.
^Snoj, Marko. 2009. Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen. Ljubljana: Modrijan and Založba ZRC, pp. 468–469.
^Curk I. et al. (1993). In the footsteps of Roman soldiers in Slovenia. Ljubljana: Zavod Republike Slovenije za varstvo naravne in kulturne dediščine Slovenije. COBISS35642624
^Ferenc, Mitja (December 2009). "Grobišče pri Pikčevi dolini". Geopedia (in Slovenian). Ljubljana: Služba za vojna grobišča, Ministrstvo za delo, družino in socialne zadeve. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
^Dežman, Jože. 2009. Poročilo Komisije vlade Republike Slovenije za reševanje vprašanj prikritih grobišč: 2005-2008. Ljubljana: Družina, p. 1909.
Slovenia
Media related to Vrhnika at Wikimedia Commons
