Kočevje is situated in the heart of the forest that covers the majority of southern Slovenia and is 50 minutes by car from the capital Ljubljana. The forest environment dominates the local landscape, which has led to the region having one of the highest concentration of Brown Bears anywhere in the world. 

Kočevje was originally settled in the 14th Century by Germans from lower Austrian. In near isolation from the outside world due to the impenetrable forest these settlers interacted with local Slovenians and developed a unique language and culture know as Gottschee. The language is a blend of medieval German and Slovenian but the culture was predominantly German. Sadly, speakers of this language have largely left us but vibrant communities of Gottschee people still thrive in New York and elsewhere. Also the local Slovenian dialect is heavy with old German words. 

The Gottschee people lived in the area for over 600 years until the outbreak and end of the Second World War saw thousands of Gottschee people forcibly displaced from their homes and to ultimately settle in places such as Queens New York. 

 

A SHORT HISTORY OF KOČEVSKA

Different explanations exist for the early history of Kočevska region and the origin of its name. Contemporary linguists believe that the name originates from the word ‘hvocevje’, a Slovenian regional term for a fir forest.

Historians and their findings support the linguistic theory surrounding the Slovenian origin of the word Kočevje. Even though archaeological evidence shows that man has lived here since the end of the ice age, the sparsely populated area was not colonised until the 13th and 14th centuries by the Ortenburg counts. They started colonising it with Slovenians from the neighbouring areas and people from Upper Carinthia and Eastern Tirol. Referred to as Gottschee, the German version of the name, the first written reference to Kočevje appeared in 1363. In 1377 the settlement already had the status of a market town, but it was burnt down during Turkish invasions in 1469. Relocated to a safer place, the settlement was rebuilt and fortified on a bend of the River Rinža. Three years later Emperor Frederick III awarded Kočevje city rights, and a blue and white coat of arms with an image of St. Jernej, which continues to represent the municipality to this day.

In October 1492 Frederick allowed the people of Kočevje and Ribnica to trade their livestock, linen and other domestic products in order to alleviate the effects of the Turkish invasions. This ruling represents the beginning of Ribnica’s woodenware making tradition. Kočevars soon refocused their trading activities; instead of selling domestic products, they traded the more profitable Mediterranean fruits from Adriatic ports. When the demand for citrus fruits diminished, they expanded their trade to include roast chestnuts and various small items, including sweets.

From the Ortenburgs to the duchy

The Ortenburgs’ male lineage died out in the first quarter of the 15th century, and forty years later the same fate befell their successors, the Counts of Celje. The ruins of Fridrihstajn Castle remind us of their presence. The castle had also been the setting for the romance between Frederick and Veronika Deseniška. Following the extinction of the Counts of Celje, Kočevska was handed over to the House of Habsburg, who leased the land out to various tenants who were not always good wardens.

This was very much true in the case of Jurij Thurn, who was killed by Kočevars in the early 16th century due to his violent behaviour. The mutiny spread from Kočevje and other towns across the whole Slovenian territory. The first printed Slovenian words come from this era: ‘stara prauda’ (the peasants’ demand for the return of old taxes) and ‘lewkhup, lewkhup lewkup woga gmaina' (come together, poor commoners). Since that time Kočevars haven't been able to shake off their reputation as eternal rebels.

During the following three centuries they resisted on three further occasions; the most recent was in 1809, involving people from Kostel and Poljane against the French. The French, in retaliation, burnt down Poljane and Kostel Castles and looted Kočevje.

In March 1618 Barron Janez Jakob Khisl bought the domains of Kočevje and Ribnica from Archduke Ferdinand. Five years later Kočevska became a county, but that didn't last long as Khisl's stepson sold Kočevje and Poljane to the Auerspergs.

During the following centuries the Auerspergs, the driving force behind its development, left their mark on the region. They were also among the first in Europe to legally protect the brown bear on their land. Their forest manager, Leopold Hufnagl, laid the foundations of institutionalised nature conservation in Slovenia with the introduction of sustainable forest management and protection of the lowland jungle. In 1791 Emperor Leopold II granted a ducal title to the Kočevje branch of the family, and so Kočevje became a duchy.

The decline

While the linguistic island of 800 km² reached its peak population of 23,000-26,000 in the mid-19th century, the economic crisis at the end of the century and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918 caused mass emigration. Kočevje had the highest emigration in Slovenia, and by the Second World War there were supposedly more Kočevars living in America than in Kočevje.

With the decline of the Empire and an unsuccessful attempt to establish the Kočevje Republic in 1919, the situation of the Gottschee Germans deteriorated. Slovenes, Croats and Serbs in the new state were confronted with pressures similar to those of the Carinthian Slovenes in Austria. In the 1930s these pressures escalated owing to their strong support of Hitler, followed by their deep disappointment when, in 1941, Kočevje was occupied by Italian and not German forces.

Nazi racial policy dictated that these Germans had to be brought back into the Reich. They were resettled in the Nazi-occupied Posavje and Posotelje after the deportation of 37,000 Slovenians from the area. Despite the unwillingness of many Gottscheer to leave, in the winter of 1941/1942, the leaders managed to persuade and intimidate around 11,500 people to move. After the war they escaped across the border. Many suffered the terror of concentration camps, most notably Strnišče. The survivors were deported and settled mostly in the USA, Austria and Germany. Only a few remained in their fatherland.

Following the departure of the Germans, the conditions were perfect for the formation of the partisan movement. Despite Italians burning down most of the depleted villages in 1942, partisan units, their hospitals and command headquarters remained in the forests of Kočevska during most of WW2. After the capitulation of Italy in October 1943, The Assembly of the Delegates of Slovene Nation held its assembly in Kočevje. Unfortunately, this period is also characterised by the Kočevje conflict with the contra revolutionaries and the resulting mass executions.

Surrounded by forest

The end of the war demolished Kočevska. More than half of the villages were annihilated and two thirds of the houses were destroyed, which is double the Slovenian average. The authorities tried to revitalise the area with various measures, even forcing people to move there, but were only partially successful. Because of traumatic events after the war, such as the extrajudicial killings in Kočevski Rog, labour camps, destruction of cultural heritage and formation of the closed area with the underground objects in Gotenica and Škrilj, Kočevje received a distinctly negative portrayal in the public eye.

Throughout emerging Slovenian independence, Kočevska played an important role in formation of Manoeuvre structures for national protection. In December 1990 the reformed Territorial Defence forces were first presented to the public in Kočevska Reka. A mobile communication system between the Central and Regional Territorial Army Headquarters was established in June the following year. The majority of Slovenian arms came from warehouses in Kočevska Reka and Gotenica, which is also where the police helicopters were kept. Most of the recruits from Ig and Pekre were moved to Kočevska during the conflict.

The independence, however, also resulted in the collapse of leading economic agents in the area. Due to the unfavourable educational and age structures, lack of entrepreneurial tradition, bad traffic connections and ownership structure – the majority of land is owned by the state – Kocevje is among the municipalities with the highest unemployment. The sparsely populated areas with dense forests that offer shelter to all three of Europes’ big beasts: bear, wolf and lynx, are among the richest natural complexes of this type in Europe. They are a precious offering, being rediscovered and becoming increasingly popular among nature lovers. In 2012, Lonely Planet travel guides placed Kočevski Rog among the twelve most interesting Slovenian destinations.

Gottschee and Gottscheer

Kočevje is first mentioned as Gotsche in the Charter of the Aquillean Patriarch in 1363. Gradually the name morphed into the form Gottschee, with the accent on the second syllable. The residents of Kočevska called themselves Gottscheeabare, which is where the Slovenian name Kočevarji comes from. Their name for the region was the diminutive Londle (‘little land’) and Schtattle (‘little town’) for Kočevje.

Due to its geographical isolation and bad traffic connections, the Gottscheer language was preserved as a relic of South Bavarian languages in the Middle Ages. Through generations it became further and further removed from contemporary German language. Janez Vajkard Valvasor, a 17th-century chronicler, wrote that the Gottscheer dialect cannot be understood either by Germans or Slovenians. The Gotscheer idiom is now classified by UNESCO as critically endangered.

At the meeting point of two cultures the residents of the smallest German language enclave in Slovenia created a heritage that mixes Germanic and Slavic elements while keeping a German identity. Despite their geographical remoteness, they made valuable contributions to the wider cultural area. Playwright Gert Jonke, gynaecologist Hermann Knaus, and supposedly the second German Chancellor Georg Leo von Caprivi, were Kočevar descendants. It is thought that, in 1848, Gottschee German Peter Kosler together with Anton Globočnik even selected the colours of the Slovenian flag.

With the departure of Gottscheers and the end of the Second World War the Gotschee culture almost completely disappeared. A major part of the material cultural heritage, especially sacred objects and cemeteries, was destroyed during and after the war. Interest in the old inhabitants of Kočevska was reignited with the democratisation of the political system and Slovenian independence. Nowadays, we can occasionally see the near-forgotten national costume of the Gottschee Germans and hear their songs on special cultural events, such as Days of Gottscheer culture.

Text by Mihael Petrovic, jr.