The Central Sava Valley is a region in central Slovenia

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...

. The region consists of five municipalities: Zagorje ob Savi

Zagorje ob Savi

Zagorje ob Savi is a town and a municipality in central Slovenia. It is located in the valley of Medija Creek, a minor left-bank tributary of the Sava River, east of Ljubljana southwest of Celje, and west of Trbovlje. Traditionally the area was part of the Upper Carniola region. The entire...

, Trbovlje

Trbovlje

Trbovlje is a town and municipality in central Slovenia. Traditionally the area was part of the Lower Styria region. The entire municipality is now included in the Central Sava statistical region. Located in the valley of a minor left bank tributary of the Sava River, the area is known for its...

, Hrastnik

Hrastnik

Hrastnik is a town and a municipality in central Slovenia. Traditionally the area was part of the Lower Styria region. The entire municipality is now included in the Central Sava statistical region. Located in the valley of a minor left bank tributary of the Sava River, the area is known for its...

, Litija

Litija

Litija is a town and a municipality in central Slovenia. It is located in the valley of the river Sava, to the east of the capital Ljubljana. Traditionally, the area was situated on the border between the historical provinces of Carniola and Styria. Most of the municipality belonged to the...

, and Šmartno pri Litiji

Šmartno pri Litiji

Šmartno pri Litiji is a town and a municipality in central Slovenia. It is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Central Slovenian statistical region. The town itself is located 3 km southeast of Litija at the confluence of three creeks: Reka, Črni potok and...

. Several coal mines operated in the Central Sava Valley, although all except Rudnik Trbovlje-Hrastnik are now defunct.

History

The Slovene term Zasavje is a recent coinage that did not exist until the 1920s, with the western part of the region being part of Carniola

Carniola

Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is now Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918. In 1849, the region was subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola...

  and its eastern part (Trbovlje and Hrastnik) belonging to Styria

Duchy of Styria

The history of Styria concerns the region roughly corresponding to the modern Austrian state of Styria and the Slovene region of Styria from its settlement by Germans and Slavs in the Dark Ages until the present...

 . Due to its coalmining tradition, it was one of the first regions in today's Slovenia to be industrialized in the 19th century. Construction of the Austrian Southern Railway

Austrian Southern Railway

The Austrian Southern Railway was an Austrian railway company established in 1841...

, which led from 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...

 to 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...

 through Slovenia and the Central Sava Valley in 1849, was a major milestone.

Tourism

Major attractions include Vače

Vače

Vače is a settlement in the Municipality of Litija in central Slovenia. Traditionally the area was part of Lower Styria and is now included with the rest of the municipality into the Central Slovenia statistical region....

 with finds from the Early Iron Age

Iron Age

The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

 (among them the Vače situla

Vače situla

The Vače situla is the most decorated of four situlas found near Vače, Slovenia. The Vače situla dates from the turn of the 6th century BC and is one of the oldest situla objects of the northern Illyrians...

) and the Geometric Centre of Slovenia (GEOSS), Bogenšperk Castle

Bogenšperk Castle

Bogenšperk Castle is a 16th century castle located in the municipality of Šmartno pri Litiji in central Slovenia. It is best known for its association with the 17th-century historian Janez Vajkard Valvasor.- Architecture :...

 near Šmartno pri Litiji

Šmartno pri Litiji

Šmartno pri Litiji is a town and a municipality in central Slovenia. It is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Central Slovenian statistical region. The town itself is located 3 km southeast of Litija at the confluence of three creeks: Reka, Črni potok and...

, and Izlake

Izlake

Izlake is a settlement in the municipality of Zagorje ob Savi in central Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Upper Carniola...

 with the Medijske Toplice

Medijske toplice

Medijske Toplice is a spa located in the town of Izlake in central Slovenia. It was established in 1877 by the local businessman Alojz Prašnikar, although thermal baths at the location were already mentioned by Johann Weikhard von Valvasor in his The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola in the 17th...

 thermal baths.