Velenje, Slovenia
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Velenje Titovo Velenje (1981–1990) |
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| City | |
Velenje panorama
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 Velenje
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| Coordinates: 46°21′45″N 15°06′52″E / 46.36250°N 15.11444°ECoordinates: 46°21′45″N 15°06′52″E / 46.36250°N 15.11444°E | |
| Country |
 Slovenia
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| Traditional region | Styria |
| Statistical region | Savinja |
| Municipality | Velenje |
| Settled | 1889 |
| Town privileges | 1959 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Bojan Kontič (SD) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 12.6 km2 (4.9 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 400 m (1,300 ft) |
| Population (2013) | |
| • Total | 25.333 |
| • Rank | 5th, Slovenia |
| • Density | 2,012/km2 (5,210/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+01:00) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+02:00) |
| Postal code | 3320 |
| Area code(s) | 03 (+386 3 from abroad) |
| Google Maps | Velenje, Slovenia |
| Website | www |
Velenje (pronounced [ʋɛˈlɛːnjɛ]; German: Wöllan) is Slovenia's fifth-largest city, and the seat of the Municipality of Velenje. The city is located in northeastern Slovenia, among the rolling green hills of the Šalek Valley, with the Kamnik–Savinja Alps to the west and the Pohorje Mountains to the east.
Velenje was first attested in written sources in 1264 as Weln (and as Welan in 1270, and Belen and Welen in 1296). The name derives from *Velen′e selo 'Velenъ's village'. A less likely hypothesis derives the name from the Slovene common noun velen(je) 'pasture for livestock'. The name of the town was changed to Titovo Velenje (literally, 'Tito's Velenje') in 1981 in honor of the Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito. The name Velenje was restored in 1990, just before the declaration of Slovenian independence in 1991. In the past, the German name of the settlement was Wöllan.
The Koželj Mass Grave (Slovene: Grobišče Koželj) from the period immediately after World War II, is located in the Goll Woods (Gollova hosta) below Big Koželj Hill (Veliki Koželj) beside a tributary of Trubušnica Creek. It contains the remains of a truckload of Slovene civilian prisoners, including many Velenje natives, that were transported from the prisons in Celje and shot on 15 June 1945. The site is marked by an official inventory sign and a small concrete plaque.
The 1889 Old Velenje (Slovene: Staro Velenje), the old part of today's city, was a small market town with 364 citizens, located downtown at the foot of Velenje Castle. The lignite mining industry in the area contributed to the expansion of the town before World War II.
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Wikipedia