Kranj | ||
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City | ||
View of Kranj with St. Cantianus and Companions Parish Church (left) and Our Lady of the Rosary Church (right)
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Location of the city of Kranj in Slovenia | ||
Coordinates: 46°14′N 14°22′E / 46.233°N 14.367°ECoordinates: 46°14′N 14°22′E / 46.233°N 14.367°E | ||
Country | Slovenia | |
Region | Upper Carniola | |
Municipality | Kranj | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | Boštjan Triler | |
• Deputy Mayor | Bojan Homan | |
• Deputy Mayor | Stane Štraus | |
• Deputy Mayor | Igor Velov | |
Area | ||
• Total | 148 km2 (57 sq mi) | |
Elevation | 386 m (1,266 ft) | |
Population (1 January 2015) | ||
• Total | 37,373 | |
• Density | 1,413/km2 (3,660/sq mi) | |
Time zone | CET (UTC+01) | |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+02) | |
Website | www |
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Source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, census of 2002 |
Kranj (pronounced [ˈkɾàːn]; also known by other alternative names) is the fourth-largest city in Slovenia, with a population of 37,373 (2015). It is located approximately 20 kilometres (12 miles) northwest of Ljubljana. The centre of the City Municipality of Kranj and of the traditional region of Upper Carniola (northwestern Slovenia) is a mainly industrial city with significant electronics and rubber industries.
The nucleus of the city is a well-preserved medieval old town, built at the confluence of the Kokra and Sava rivers. The city is served by the Kranj railway station on the route from Ljubljana to Munich, Germany (via Jesenice and Villach, Austria) and a highway. Slovenia's national airport, Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (in Brnik) is also very close to Kranj, considerably more so than its nominal client, Ljubljana.
Kranj was attested in written sources in the 5th century and c. 670 as Carnium (and as via Chreinariorum in 973, actum Kreine in 1050–65, in loco Chreina in 1065–77, and Chrainburch in 1291). The Slovene name is derived from Slavic *Korn’ь, borrowed from Romance Carnium in late antiquity. Like the Latin regional name Carnia, it is derived from the northern Italic (Celtic) tribe known as the Carnī (Greek: Κάρνοι). The name of the tribe is probably derived from the Celtic root *karno- 'peak, hill, pile of stones'. The German name of the town was Krainburg. The name of the historical region of Carniola is a Latin diminutive form of Carnia.