Sveti Štefan, Šmarje pri Jelšah

Sveti Štefan Vinski Vrh pri Slivnici (1955–1994)
Sveti Štefan Location in Slovenia
Coordinates: 46°11′14.01″N 15°30′5.29″E
Country	Slovenia
Traditional region	Styria
Statistical region	Savinja
Municipality	Šmarje pri Jelšah
Area
• Total	1.22 km^2 (0.47 sq mi)
Elevation	375 m (1,230 ft)
Population  (2002)
• Total	126
Postal code	3264
[1]

Sveti Štefan (pronounced [ˈsʋeːti ˈʃteːfan]) is a small settlement in the Municipality of Šmarje pri Jelšah in eastern Slovenia. It lies in the hills south of Šmarje in the Kozje region (Slovene: Kozjansko). The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. The municipality is now included in the Savinja Statistical Region.[2]

Name

The name of the settlement was changed from Sveti Štefan (literally, 'Saint Stephen') to Vinski Vrh pri Slivnici (literally, 'Wine Peak near Slivnica') in 1955. The name was changed on the basis of the 1948 Law on Names of Settlements and Designations of Squares, Streets, and Buildings as part of efforts by Slovenia's postwar communist government to remove religious elements from toponyms. The name Sveti Štefan was restored in 1994.[3][4][5]

Church

The local parish church, from which the settlement gets its name, is dedicated to Saint Stephen and belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Celje. It is a 15th-century church that was rebuilt in the 17th century.[6]

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Sveti Štefan include:

• Saša Vegri (1934–2010), poet

References

1. Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia
2. Šmarje pri Jelšah municipal site
3. Spremembe naselij 1948–95. 1996. Database. Ljubljana: Geografski inštitut ZRC SAZU, DZS.
4. Premk, F. 2004. Slovenska versko-krščanska terminologija v zemljepisnih imenih in spremembe za čas 1921–1967/68. Besedoslovne lastnosti slovenskega jezika: slovenska zemljepisna imena. Ljubljana: Slavistično društvo Slovenije, pp. 113–132.
5. Urbanc, Mimi, & Matej Gabrovec. 2005. Krajevna imena: poligon za dokazovanje moči in odraz lokalne identitete. Geografski vestnik 77(2): 25–43.
6. Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage reference number ešd 3437

External links

• Sveti Štefan on Geopedia