Official Name: | Lokavec |
Pushpin Map: | Slovenia |
Pushpin Label Position: | right |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Slovenia |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Slovenia |
Subdivision Type1: | Traditional region |
Subdivision Name1: | Littoral |
Subdivision Type2: | Statistical region |
Subdivision Name2: | Gorizia |
Subdivision Type3: | Municipality |
Subdivision Name3: | Ajdovščina |
Area Total Km2: | 13.74 |
Population As Of: | 2020 |
Population Total: | 1119 |
Population Density Km2: | auto |
Coordinates: | 45.9021°N 13.878°W |
Elevation M: | 173 |
Footnotes: | [1] |
Lokavec (in Slovenian pronounced as /lɔˈkaːʋəts/) is a settlement on the northern edge of the Vipava Valley northwest of Ajdovščina in the Littoral region of Slovenia.[2] It lies below the slopes of Mount Čaven, below the Slano Blato Landslide. It includes the hamlets of Bitovi, Brith (or Britih[3]), Čohi, Gorenje, Kuši, Lahovše, Loretovše, Mizinška Vas (Slovenian: Mizinška vas), Paljki (or Palki[3]), and Slokarji.[4]
Lokavec was first attested in written sources in 1086 as Locunz and Locarizz. The name is derived from the adjective *lǫkavъ 'twisted, winding' or from the common noun *lǫkava 'curve, twist', perhaps originally a hydronym.[5]
The discovery of Celtic grave sites in Lovavec shows that it was already settled in prehistoric times. The Celtic settlement there had a defensive structure built on Gradišče Commons Hill (Slovenian: Gradiška gmajna, elevation: 215m (705feet)) in neighboring Ajdovščina.[4]
During the Second World War, German forces arrested all of the men in the settlement capable of bearing arms and sent them to perform forced labor.[4]
Lokavec is the site of a mass grave from the period immediately after the Second World War. The Lokavec Mass Grave (Slovenian: Grobišče Lokavec) is located in a field 600m (2,000feet) west of the settlement. It contains the remains of five to seven Slovenian civilians murdered around 20 June 1945.[6] [7] [8]
Lokavec annexed the formerly independent settlements of Dolnji Lokavec and Slokarji in 1952.[9]
There are three churches in the village: the parish church, belonging to the Koper Diocese and dedicated to Saint Lawrence, a second church dedicated to Saint Urban,[10] and a church dedicated to St. Mary of the Assumption.
Notable people that were born or lived in Lokavec include: