Športno kulturno društvo

JAVORJE

MUNICIPALITY OF HRPELJE-KOZINA

THE FIRST KNOWN WRITTEN MENTION OF THE JAVORJE VILLAGE

Mr Valter Valenčič from Koper kindly provided us with information about the first known mention of the Javorje village. He was given permission to view written materials at the Institute of History of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

The writings were discovered by the historian Prof Milko Kos who published them in Volume 12 of the “Izvestja muzejskega društva za Kranjsko” publication of the museum society, issued in 1902. There it says:

A notarial deed from Cividale del Friuli, dated 5 May 1391, states as follows:
“Jurij from Arson” declared in his will, among others, that his daughter Pyrina would inherit 150 marks as a dowry and for her ‘nuptial dress’ which would be provided from several estates, including the one in “Javorje near Podgrad (im dorf Jaweriach pey Newnhaus)”.

A notarial deed from Gorizia, dated 19 June 1405, again stated the name of the Javorje village in relation to the abovementioned inheritance, namely “Lawriach bey dem Newnhaus”.

NAME OF THE VILLAGE

JAVORJE is a frequent name of places in Slovenia, namely eight villages bear this name.

There are also two Javorje villages in Croatia and one in Serbia.

Today, Javorje has about 130 inhabitants.

The highest point of the village is located near the church at 614 metres above sea level.

The village belongs to the Littoral-Karst region.

 

 

Lokacija

 

ABOUT THE ORIGIN

AND THE NAME OF THE VILLAGE:

Even before the Turks invaded this territory, an important well-trafficked road passed through Javorje, connecting the seaside and the Dolenjska region. As the area was full of streams and forests, people began to settle in.

Close to where the church stands today, a giant maple tree once grew and notable villagers used to gather beneath it. A horse fair also took place here.

At the edge of Javorje a dense maple forest grew. Legend says one could reach the neighbouring village of Brezovo Brdo only by swinging from one tree branch to another.

Dear visitors to our website, We are very pleased to see that our website has attracted the interest of our fellow countrymen across the world. Mr Žarko Valenčič, who was born in the USA, sent us a friendly letter, making us aware that he knows many people who would love to read about interesting things in our village but who do not speak the language of their ancestors. So we have decided to translate our website into English. In this period of Christmas and New Year’s festivities, we would like to welcome you to our updated website about Javorje.
Mr Žarko Valenčič gave us permission to publish his letter. It is published in its original form and we have also provided an English translation.

Dear villagers,
My name is Žarko Valenčič. My father was from the Lakacov family and my mother from the Klajps family. They were both born in Javorje in 1900 and 1906. I read your description of the history of Javorje and I would like to commend you for having written such beautiful things about our home country.
Please forgive me because I cannot write in correct Slovenian since I was born in the USA. My late brother was born in Javorje. He passed away in 2005, my father in 1975 and my mother in 2002.
I am 87 years old and I am still interested in learning more about our home villages. Do any of you speak English? I can barely read Slovenian because I learned the language from my parents who had only completed 3 years of school, and so I speak a Javorje dialect. It is difficult for me to read literary Slovenian. Would it be possible to translate the history of the village into English? I am asking this because there are more than 90 of us here who come from the Valenčič family and would like to read something about the area of our home.
If you have anything interesting to write, please send me an e-mail:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Thank you very much for your efforts and I hope to receive a letter from you. Thank you all again!
Zarko Valencic

 

We would like to thank all the visitors to our website. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Traffic connections and infrastructure

  • The distance
    to the motorway and the closest railway station is 15 km.
  • Transport
    Villagers commute to work and run errands using their own transport because no public transport is available.
    There is only a school bus that takes children to the primary school in Hrpelje.

This area is quite open. It is a half-hour drive to reach the Slovenian or Croatian seaside, and even less to the town of Trieste in Italy. The village is connected to the public water supply, telephone and optical networks and also has an asphalt road.

JAVORJE SPORT AND CULTURAL SOCIETY

Community centre with a boules court
Community centre with a boules court

In 2005 a community centre was built in Javorje, with the support of the Municipality of Hrpelje - Kozina and the then mayor Albert Pečar, including a boules court and a sports field. The villagers built these facilities with countless hours of voluntary work. The construction works and related activities were managed by the villager Marjan Maslo who can, along with the dedicated villagers, take the credit for all of these achievements..

At that time, an idea emerged to establish the Javorje Sport and Cultural Society (ŠKD Javorje). The idea gained support and thus the Javorje Sport and Cultural Society has been operating for ten years now.
The first Chairman was Marjan Maslo.
So far, the Society has organised various cultural, sports and entertainment events, communal work, excursions etc.

Today, the Society has 67 members. The current Chairman is Andrej Ljubič.
The members’ initial enthusiasm has diminished slightly with time. Yet we are still active. We organise various events and especially communal work campaigns that are attended by numerous villagers.

Contacts:
vasja.valencic@gmail.com
gombac@gmail.com
vladka.ceglar@siol.net