Ustje

Ustje (pronounced [ˈuːstjɛ]) is a village in the Vipava Valley south of Ajdovščina in the Littoral region of Slovenia.

Ustje
Ustje
Location in Slovenia
Coordinates: 45°52′12.84″N 13°53′42.3″E
Country Slovenia
Traditional regionLittoral
Statistical regionGorizia
MunicipalityAjdovščina
Area
 • Total2.77 km2 (1.07 sq mi)
Elevation
101.9 m (334.3 ft)
Population
 (2002)
 • Total385
[1]

Name

The name Ustje is derived from the common noun ustje 'river mouth', referring to the location where Jovšček Creek joins the Vipava River.[2] Some sources also claim that the name may originate from Saint Justus, to whom the parish church in the settlement was dedicated in 1766;[3] however, this is linguistically unlikely.[2]

History

The oldest monument in the village is the 17th-century church, built on a small hill dedicated to John the Evangelist.[4] Ruins of walls indicate that the site must have been used as a fortification during Ottoman raids.

Ustje after August 8, 1942

On August 8, 1942, Italian soldiers of the Julia division killed eight people and burned down the village. After the war, the village was rebuilt and August 8 is observed as a memorial day. The events from 1942 are described in Danilo Lokar's book Sodni dan na vasi (Doomsday in the Village).

Mass grave

Ustje is the site of a mass grave associated with the Second World War. The Ajdov Field Mass Grave (Slovene: Grobišče Ajdovsko polje) is located in a meadow and a field 110 m south of a waste treatment facility, between a field road and Hubelj Creek. In March 2002, investigators disinterred 67 skeletons from the site, identified as the remains of 15 German and 52 Italian soldiers.[5]

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References
  1. Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia Archived November 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Snoj, Marko (2009). Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen. Ljubljana: Modrijan. p. 447.
  3. Ajdovščina municipal site
  4. Koper Diocese list of churches Archived March 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Ferenc, Mitja (December 2009). "Grobišče Ajdovsko polje". Geopedia (in Slovenian). Ljubljana: Služba za vojna grobišča, Ministrstvo za delo, družino in socialne zadeve. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
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