Leše, Tržič

Leše
Leše Location in Slovenia
Coordinates: 46°21′16.27″N 14°15′22.43″E
Country	Slovenia
Traditional region	Upper Carniola
Statistical region	Upper Carniola
Municipality	Tržič
Elevation	518.9 m (1,702.4 ft)
Population  (2002)
• Total	210
[1]

Leše (pronounced [ˈleːʃɛ], German: Leschach[2]) is a village in the Municipality of Tržič in the Upper Carniola region of Slovenia.

Name

Leše was attested in written sources in 1040 as silva que Leschahc nuncupator (and as predium Lêscah in 1050–63, and Loschach and Leschach in 1498). The name is derived from the plural demonym Lěščane, derived from the word lěska 'hazel'. The name thus originally means 'people living by the hazel grove'.[3]

History

During the Second World War, the school in Leše was burned by the Partisans in 1944. A new school was built after the war.[4]

The local club Slovenian Astronaut (Slovenski astronavt) has arranged a memorial room for Sunita Williams, an astronaut of Slovene descent, in Leše.[5] Her great-grandmother Marija Bohinjec was born and lived in Leše until she emigrated to the United States in 1900 or 1901.[6] Her birth house is still standing. An annual event called the Day of Astronautics (astronavtski dan) aimed at promoting spaceflight was organised in Leše annually from 2009 to 2016.[7]

Church

The local church is dedicated to Saint James (Slovene: sveti Jakob). It dates from 1822 and contains paintings by Matija Bradaška (1852–1915).[4]

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Leše, or with ancestry from Leše, include:

• Josip Valjavec (1897–1959), lexicographer and religious writer[4]
• Sunita Williams, American astronaut[8]

References

1. Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia
2. Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru, vol. 6: Kranjsko. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna. 1906. p. 148.
3. Snoj, Marko. 2009. Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen. Ljubljana: Modrijan and Založba ZRC, p. 232.
4. Savnik, Roman (1968). Krajevni leksikon Slovenije, vol. 1. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije. p. 440.
5. Teran Košir, Alenka (14 May 2020). "Astronavtka slovenskih korenin razkriva, kaj se dogaja na vesoljski ladji #video" [An Astronaut of Slovenian Origin Reveals What is Going in a Spaceship #video]. Siol.net (in Slovenian).
6. Hanc, Marjana (March 26, 2013). "Sunita Williams spet v svoji pradomovini" [Sunita Williams in her maternal ancestors' homeland one more time]. Delo (in Slovenian).
7. Primožič, Melanija (1 August 2019). "V Lešah smo obeležili že 7. Astronavtski dan" [Leše Celebrates the 7th Astronaut Day] (PDF). Tržičan (in Slovenian). Vol. 20, no. 5. ISSN 1581-4831.
8. Sunita Williams in her ancestors' homeland one more time, Delo, March 26, 2013

External links

• Media related to Leše at Wikimedia Commons
• Leše on Geopedia