History Velenje

1 history

1.1 name
1.2 mass grave
1.3 modern history

history
name

velenje first attested in written sources in 1264 weln (and welan in 1270, , belen , welen in 1296). name derives *velen′e selo velenъ s village . less hypothesis derives name slovene common noun velen(je) pasture livestock . name of town changed titovo velenje (literally, tito s velenje ) in 1981 in honor of yugoslav leader josip broz tito. name velenje restored in 1990, before declaration of slovenian independence in 1991. in past, german name of settlement wöllan.

mass grave

the koželj mass grave (slovene: grobišče koželj) period after world war ii, located in goll woods (gollova hosta) below big koželj hill (veliki koželj) beside tributary of trubušnica creek. contains remains of truckload of slovene civilian prisoners, including many velenje natives, transported prisons in celje , shot on 15 june 1945. site marked official inventory sign , small concrete plaque.

modern history

newly built quarter of velenje in 1960

the 1889 old velenje (slovene: staro velenje), old part of today s city, small market town 364 citizens, located downtown @ foot of velenje castle. lignite mining industry in area contributed expansion of town before world war ii.

after war, velenje rapidly advanced , developed modern city. city planned , built in 1950s, in time of socialist republic of slovenia. manufacturer of home appliances, gorenje, moved headquarters city nearby settlement of gorenje.

the central tito square officially opened on september 20, 1959, , features tallest statue of tito in world (about 10 m or 33 ft). designed antun augustinčič , vladimir herljević. square once used meeting place of nikita khrushchev , leonid brezhnev, edward gierek , nicolae ceaușescu.