Litija | |
|---|---|
Town | |
   .jpg)   From top, left to right: Overview of Litija, St. Nicholas' Church, Library, Turn Castle, Railway Station, Litija Riverbank | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Litija Location of Litija in Slovenia | |
| Coordinates:46°04′N14°49′E / 46.067°N 14.817°E /46.067; 14.817 | |
| Country |  Slovenia |
| Traditional region | Upper Carniola |
| Statistical region | Central Sava |
| Municipality | Litija |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Franci Rokavec |
| Area | |
• Total | 5.3 km2 (2.0 sq mi) |
| Population (2013)[1] | |
• Total | 6,505 |
| • Density | 1,231/km2 (3,190/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02 (CEST) |
| Vehicle registration | LJ |
Litija (pronounced[liˈtiːja]ⓘ;German:Littai[2]) is a town in theLitija Basin in centralSlovenia. It is the seat of theMunicipality of Litija. It is located in the valley of theSava River, east of the capitalLjubljana, in the traditional region ofUpper Carniola. The entire municipality is now included in theCentral Sava Statistical Region; until January 2014 it was part of theCentral Slovenia Statistical Region. The town is home to about 6,500 people.[1]
Litija was mentioned in written documents in 1256 asapud Litigiam andapud Lvtyam (and asLutya in 1363,Littai in 1431,Luttey in 1444, andpropre Lutiam in 1480). Medieval transcriptions indicate that the name was originally *Ljutija, derived from *Ľutoviďa (vьsь) (literally, 'Ľutovidъ's village'). Suggestions that-ija is a suffix or that the name is derived from GermanLutte '(mining) drain' are less likely.[3] Otherpseudoetymologies includeJohann Weikhard von Valvasor's suggestion that the name evolved fromlitus, the Latin word for 'riverbank'.[4][5] The town was officially known asLittai in German until 1918.[6]
Litija developed as a trading post betweenTrieste, Ljubljana, andCroatia. The town gainedmarket rights in the 14th century. In Roman times mining developed in Litija and remained one of the primary sources of income until the 1965, when the biggest of the mines closed. In 1849 theAustrian Southern Railway reached Litija and boosted its economy. This development, however, also meant a decline in some of the traditional local professions. The Litija post office was opened in December 1852.[7] After the Second World War, Litija annexed the formerly independent settlements ofPodsitarjevec,Gradec,Grbin, and Podkraj.[8]
Theparish church in the settlement is dedicated toSaint Nicholas and belongs to theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Ljubljana. The current building was built in 1884 and extended in 1997.[9]
Notable people that were born or lived in Litija include:
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 2,639 | — |
| 1953 | 2,762 | +4.7% |
| 1961 | 3,474 | +25.8% |
| 1971 | 4,169 | +20.0% |
| 1981 | 5,900 | +41.5% |
| 1991 | 6,592 | +11.7% |
| 2002 | 6,420 | −2.6% |
| 2011 | 6,467 | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 6,767 | +4.6% |
| Population size may be affected by changes in administrative divisions. | ||
Media related toLitija at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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| National | |
