Pivka
Encyclopedia
Pivka is a small town and a municipality in Slovenia
in the Pivka Basin in the Kras
region. It was first mentioned in 1300 as Sancti Petri super Piucha (St. Peter above Pivka). Until 1952 it was called Šentpeter na Krasu (St. Peter in the Karst). It belongs to the traditional region of Inner Carniola.
Although the Pivka region has been a strategically important location since ancient times, it became even more important with the construction of the Vienna
-Trieste
railway (the Austrian Southern Railway
) in 1857 and the Št. Peter na Krasu-Rijeka
railway twenty years later. In 1930, while it was under the Italian control, the strategic hills over the town were heavily fortified and included in the Alpine Wall
system of defenses, which stretched from the Bay of Genoa
to the Kvarner Gulf
. Št. Peter na Krasu and the nearby barracks in Hrastje (now part of the town of Pivka) were one of the strongest points in the eastern section of the Alpine Wall.
On the basis of this rich military history from ancient times to the 20th century, the municipality of Pivka is working on a Park of Military History, which currently has a tank and artillery collection, but the project team has ambitious plans to develop the park into a tourism and experience center that will be a major tourist attraction in an area that already attracts many tourists to Postojna Cave
and elsewhere. The first military re-enactment was staged in the Park in September 2007.
The Parish Church
in the town of Pivka is dedicated to Saint Peter
and belongs to the Koper Diocese. A second church in the Radohova Vas neighborhood of the town belongs to the same parish and is dedicated to Saint Lawrence.
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
in the Pivka Basin in the Kras
Kras
Karst ; also known as the Karst Plateau, is a limestone borderline plateau region extending in southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies between the Vipava Valley, the low hills surrounding the valley, the westernmost part of the Brkini Hills, northern Istria, and the Gulf of Trieste...
region. It was first mentioned in 1300 as Sancti Petri super Piucha (St. Peter above Pivka). Until 1952 it was called Šentpeter na Krasu (St. Peter in the Karst). It belongs to the traditional region of Inner Carniola.
Although the Pivka region has been a strategically important location since ancient times, it became even more important with the construction of the Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
-Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
railway (the Austrian Southern Railway
Austrian Southern Railway
The Austrian Southern Railway was an Austrian railway company established in 1841...
) in 1857 and the Št. Peter na Krasu-Rijeka
Rijeka
Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third largest city in Croatia . It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,735 inhabitants...
railway twenty years later. In 1930, while it was under the Italian control, the strategic hills over the town were heavily fortified and included in the Alpine Wall
Alpine Wall
The Alpine Wall was a system of fortifications along Italy's northern frontier built in the years leading up to World War II...
system of defenses, which stretched from the Bay of Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
to the Kvarner Gulf
Kvarner Gulf
The Kvarner Gulf ); sometimes also Kvarner Bay, in Italian Quarnaro or Carnaro) is a bay in the northern Adriatic Sea, located between the Istrian peninsula and the northern Croatian seacoast....
. Št. Peter na Krasu and the nearby barracks in Hrastje (now part of the town of Pivka) were one of the strongest points in the eastern section of the Alpine Wall.
On the basis of this rich military history from ancient times to the 20th century, the municipality of Pivka is working on a Park of Military History, which currently has a tank and artillery collection, but the project team has ambitious plans to develop the park into a tourism and experience center that will be a major tourist attraction in an area that already attracts many tourists to Postojna Cave
Postojna Cave
Postojna Cave is a 20,570 m long Karst cave system near Postojna, Slovenia. It is the longest cave system in the country as well as one of its top tourism sites.-History:The caves were created by the Pivka River....
and elsewhere. The first military re-enactment was staged in the Park in September 2007.
The Parish Church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
in the town of Pivka is dedicated to Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
and belongs to the Koper Diocese. A second church in the Radohova Vas neighborhood of the town belongs to the same parish and is dedicated to Saint Lawrence.