Brezovica

Description:

Brezovica pri Ljubljani (German: Bresowitz) is a municipality in Slovenia near Ljubljana, at the edge of the Julian Alps. It has approximately 9,300 inhabitants.

The Municipality of Brezovica is the central municipality in the Ljubljansko barje marshland area. To the east, it borders with the Municipalities of Ljubljana and Ig, it also borders Velike Lašče. To the south, it borders the Municipality of Cerknica and, to the west, those of Borovnica and Vrhnika. Its northern neighbour is the Municipality of Dobrova - Polhov Gradec.

Geographically it is rather diverse, containing thirty square kilometres of the Barje marshland, with its isolated "sunken" hills, a section of the Ljubljanica river, a siphonic karst lake; located just outside Jezero and Rakitniška planota with a lake and medicinal climate along with sixty square kilometres of forest.

History
The area has been inhabited since ancient times. The lake dwellers - described by a Slovene writer, Janez Jalen, in his book Bobri (Beavers) -arrived when the marshland was still covered by a lake. Later on, the area covered by the present Municipality was crossed by Roman roads, traces of which are still visible, near Rakitna for example. The Ljubljanica river was navigated by boatmen. The Romans redirected it towards Podpeč, a village known for its good quality stone. The vicinity of forests, on the one hand, and of Ljubljana, on the other, has positively influenced the development of agriculture, trade and enterprise in the area. Horse and cart carriers were subsequently replaced by other forms of goods transportation. Many old crafts, such as lime, stone and wood processing, and wickerwork have survived till the present day. Brezovica light on the southern part of Ljubljansko Barje.