Discover

'Žumberak' (in Croatian) or 'Gorjanci' (in Slovenian) is a range of mountains or hills between Croatia and Slovenia. The highest peak is Sveta Gera (Trdinov vrh on the Slovene side), 1178 m (3865 ft). On the Slovene side near the peak there is a 90 meter high telecommunication tower.
In 1999 a nature park (''Park prirode'') Žumberak - Samoborsko gorje was founded on the Croatian side.

Contents

Population

Towns

Politics

See also

Population

The isolated region on Croatian side has always had a low population. The population of about 3,000 people consists mainly of the elderly. The region is also the intersection of all three Croatian dialects. The reason for this is the immigration of Uskoks in the 17th century from Senj, which brought a large population of Štokavian speakers to the region. Žumberak was then part of Austrian Military Frontier, created by the Habsburgs to serve as a defensive buffer between their empire and the Ottoman Empire. Žumberak itself was an enclave within Banija and did not directly border the Ottoman Empire. Most of the Štokavian population were orthodox who, under pressure of the Austrian authorities, became Greek Catholics. Today there are very few Greek Catholics left in the area, most having further converted to Catholicism. One remaining Greek Catholic village is Drage, on the Slovenian side of the border near the town of Suhor.

Towns

The towns surrounding the mountain are Novo mesto, Metlika, Brežice, Črnomelj in Slovenia and Samobor, Jastrebarsko and Ozalj in Croatia.

Politics

A military complex near the top of Sveta Gera, created by the Yugoslav People's Army, was a subject of a dispute between the two new countries in the 1990s, but an escalation was prevented due to amicable diplomacy. A full border delineation between Slovenia and Croatia is still pending.

See also

★ Mountains of Slovenia