Litija

{{Infobox settlement | name = Litija | native_name = | native_name_lang = sl | settlement_type = Town | image_skyline = {{Photomontage|position=center |photo1a = Litija iz zraka.jpg |photo2a = Saint Nicholas church in Litija (6).jpg |photo2b = Litija library.jpg |photo3a = MŠD 14686 (2).jpg |photo3b = Valvazorjev trg 5 in Litija (1).jpg | photo4a = SLO-Litija5.JPG |size = 270 |spacing = 1 |color = |border = 1 }} | imagesize = | image_caption = <small>From top, left to right: Overview of Litija, St. Nicholas' Church, Library, Turn Castle, Old town house, Litija Riverbank</small> | image_flag = | flag_size = | image_seal = | seal_size = | image_shield = Grb Občine Litija.jpg | shield_alt = | nickname = | motto = | image_map = | map_alt = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Slovenia | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = Location of Litija in Slovenia | coordinates = {{coord|46|04|N|14|49|E|region:SI_type:city|display=inline,title}} | coor_pinpoint = | coordinates_footnotes = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|Slovenia}} | subdivision_type1 = Traditional region | subdivision_name1 = Lower Carniola | subdivision_type2 = Statistical region | subdivision_name2 = Central Sava | subdivision_type3 = Municipality | subdivision_name3 = Litija | established_title = | established_date = | founder = | seat_type =  | seat = | government_footnotes = | leader_party = | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Franci Rokavec | unit_pref = Metric | area_footnotes = | total_type = | area_total_km2 = 5.3 | area_note = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | population_footnotes = <ref name="SORS-LITIJA" /> | population_total = 6505 | population_as_of = 2013 | population_density_km2 = 1231 | population_demonym = | population_note = | timezone1 = CET | utc_offset1 = +01 | timezone1_DST = CEST | utc_offset1_DST = +02 | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code_type = | area_code = | iso_code = | registration_plate = LJ | website =  | footnotes = }}

'''Litija''' ({{IPA|sl|liˈtíːja|pron|Sl-Litija.ogg}}; {{langx|de|Littai}}<ref name="Leksikon">''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 90, 92–93.</ref>) is a town in the Litija Basin in central Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Litija. It is located in the valley of the Sava River, east of the capital Ljubljana, on the border of Upper Carniola and Lower Carniola traditional regions. The entire municipality is now included in the Central Sava Statistical Region; until January 2014 it was part of the Central Slovenia Statistical Region. The town is home to about 6,500 people.<ref name="SORS-LITIJA">{{cite web |url=http://www.stat.si/KrajevnaImena/default.asp?txtIme=LITIJA&selNacin=celo&selTip=naselja&ID=2294 |title=Litija, Litija |publisher=Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia |access-date=20 February 2013 |work=Place Names}}</ref>

==Name== Litija was mentioned in written documents in 1256 as ''apud Litigiam'' and ''apud Lvtyam'' (and as ''Lutya'' in 1363, ''Littai'' in 1431, ''Luttey'' in 1444, and ''propre Lutiam'' in 1480). Medieval transcriptions indicate that the name was originally *''Ljutija'', derived from *''Ľutoviďa (vьsь)'' (literally, 'Ľutovidъ's village'). Suggestions that ''-ija'' is a suffix or that the name is derived from German ''Lutte'' '(mining) drain' are less likely.<ref>Snoj, Marko. 2009. ''Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen''. Ljubljana: Modrijan and Založba ZRC, pp. 236–237.</ref> Other pseudoetymologies include Johann Weikhard von Valvasor's suggestion that the name evolved from ''litus'', the Latin word for 'riverbank'.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Terstenjak |first1=Davorin |title=Starozgodovinski pomenki |url=https://www.dlib.si/stream/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-186F3OOU/70007dd6-2520-4cf7-91a6-dcc38fbc79fc/PDF |access-date=April 12, 2022 |work=Kmetijske in rokodelske novice |issue=38 |date=May 12, 1855 |page=174}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Dimitz |first1=August |title=Geschichte Krains von der ältesten Zeit bis auf das Jahr 1813. Vierter Theil |date=1876 |publisher=Ig. v. Kleinmayr & Fed. Bamberg |location=Ljubljana |page=61 |url=https://www.sistory.si/cdn/publikacije/14001-15000/14351/Geschichte_%20Krains_Vierterr_Theil.pdf |access-date=April 12, 2022}}</ref> The town was officially known as ''Littai'' in German until 1918.<ref>Klein, Wilhelm. 1967. ''Die postalischen Abstempelungen auf den österreichischen Postwertzeichen-Ausgaben 1867, 1883 und 1890.''</ref>

==History== Litija developed as a trading post between Trieste, Ljubljana, and Croatia. The town gained market rights in the 14th century. In Roman times mining developed in Litija and remained one of the primary sources of income until the 1965, when the biggest of the mines closed. In 1849 the Austrian Southern Railway reached Litija and boosted its economy. This development, however, also meant a decline in some of the traditional local professions. The Litija post office was opened in December 1852.<ref>Handbook of Austria and Lombardy-Venetia Cancellations on the Postage Stamp Issues 1850-1864, by Edwin MUELLER, 1961.</ref> After the Second World War, Litija annexed the formerly independent settlements of Podsitarjevec, Gradec, Grbin, and Podkraj.<ref>Savnik, Roman, ed. 1971. ''Krajevni leksikon Slovenije'', vol. 2. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, pp. 270–272.</ref>

==Landmarks== thumb|left|St. Nicholas's Church The parish church in the settlement is dedicated to Saint Nicholas and belongs to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ljubljana. The current building was built in 1884 and extended in 1997.<ref>[http://rkd.situla.org/ Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritage] reference number ešd 1970</ref>

==Notable people== Notable people that were born or lived in Litija include: *France Bezlaj (1910–1993), linguist *Luka Svetec (1826–1921), politician *Peter Jereb (1867–1951), composer *Viktor Parma (1858–1924), composer *Rudolf Badjura (1881–1963), writer and mountaineer *Mira Pregelj (1905–1966), painter *Milan Borišek (1920–1950), glider pilot{{historical populations|25=1948|26=2639|27=1953|28=2762|29=1961|30=3474|31=1971|32=4169|33=1981|34=5900|35=1991|36=6592|37=2002|38=6420|39=2011|40=6467|41=2021|42=6767|footnote=Population size may be affected by changes in administrative divisions.}}

==Gallery== <gallery> File:Litija Turn.jpg|Turn Castle File:SLO-Litija5.JPG|Litija lies on both banks of the Sava River Litija_2021.jpg|Downtown Litija in 2021 </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{Commons category-inline|Litija}} * [https://www.geopedia.world/#T12_L362_F2473:1564_x1650449.683184005_y5790079.6491576135_s14_b2345 Litija on Geopedia]

Category:Populated places in the Municipality of Litija Category:Cities and towns in Upper Carniola