JUGOVZHODNA - Geography and history
South-east European influence
Jugovzhodna region is situated in the south-eastern part of Slovenia in a transitional area between forested Dinaric Mountains and gently undulating hills on the extreme south-western margin of the Pannonian Plain. Despite relatively low altitudes, the plain is not extensive, mostly along the middle reach of the Krka river where the regional centre Novo mesto is situated. The landscape in this part is characterised by low, rolling hills with numerous clustered villages and churches on hilltops.
At the south western part of the region, densely forested Dinaric karst is one of the last Central European refuges of brown bear, lynx and wolf. This karst area with no springs nor surface water consists mostly of forested mountain ranges, with the majority of its population living in the fertile ?poljes? (broad depressions in the karst area with flat and fertile bottom surrounded by forested mountains) between them.
In the 14th century, local feudal lords colonised the karst area around the town of Kocevje with farmers from southern and central Germany. They cleared vast forests and preserved their language and culture through the centuries, until they "voluntarily" migrated to the Brezice area in what today is the Spodnjeposavska region, which had at the time been annexed by the German Reich, during the 1941-1942 period. After the end of World War II, their abandoned villages and fields were gradually overgrown by woodland.
The extreme south-eastern part of the region, between the forested Gorjanci range and the Kolpa river on the Croatian border, is called Bela krajina. This is an atypical part of Slovenia featuring landscape and cultural characteristics of nearby south-eastern Europe. During the expansion of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th and 16th centuries, many refugees, the so-called Uskoks, found refuge in this area, and in some villages they have preserved their Serbian language and orthodox religion until today.
From 1335 until the end of World War I, the whole Jugovzhodna region was part of the duchy of Carniola, a part of the Habsburg monarchy. Today the region is divided among 16 municipalities, of which Kocevje with 555 km2 is the largest municipality by area in Slovenia, outranking even Ljubljana in terms of area.
The Ljubljana-Zagreb highway (due to be upgraded entirely to a motorway after 2004) runs through central Jugovzhodna, making these two places easily accessible. The railway connecting Ljubljana to Croatia runs through Novo mesto. Because of its peripheral position in south-east Jugovzhodna, Bela krajina will also remain at a distance from the Slovenian motorway system in the future.
Agricultural region with successful industry
As early as the second half of the 19th century when industrialization began, this part of Slovenia was considered undeveloped. In the socialist period after World War II some (especially marginal) parts of the region were exempt from development schemes for political reasons. This caused intensive depopulation, accompanied by farmland reverting to forest, especially in the karst area of Suha krajina on either side of the upper Krka valley.
However, this lack of economic development 'saved? Jugovzhodna from the presence of heavy industry, a sector which has been facing severe problems in all other regions since Slovenia's independence. Consequently, the region's automobile, pharmaceutical and other light industry has been very successful by Slovenian standards, especially in Novo mesto, which is developing into a regional centre of growing importance, with ambitions to become a supra-regional centre.
The advantage which central parts of the region have is their favourable location along the Ljubljana?Zagreb motorway (currently under construction), giving good access from all directions and relatively good traffic links within the region. Bela krajina, however, which is separated from the rest of the region by the Gorjanci mountain range, remains peripheral in spite of rail and road links.
Bela krajina is also economically weak, divided between two local centres of equal importance and lacking natural resources of any worth. An additional problem is also the fact that it borders an economically underdeveloped region of neighbouring Croatia from where no developmental impetus can be expected.
The entire region faces a considerable problem in the agricultural sector, mainly due to farms with widely scattered plots, and in some parts also due to the karst terrain which prevents the introduction of modern farming methods. On the other hand, problems relating to a previously severe shortage of drinking water have been overcome almost everywhere in the region.
Undulating karst landscape with few natural resources
The Jugovzhodna region covers 2 675 km2 (13.2% of the national territory, the largest region in Slovenia) and is, in spite of its relatively low altitude, the second most sparsely populated Slovenian region (51.7 inhabitants per km2). In the west it extends into the Dinaric Mountains, containing the vast, completely uninhabited Kocevski Rog (1 099 m), Poljanska gora (864 m), Goteni?ka gora, Stojna mountain ranges, and the sparsely populated Suha krajina karst plateau, dotted with only a few small villages. Other parts of the region are characterised by an undulating, partially karst landscape with a colourful mosaic of fields, meadows and vineyards around clustered villages, mostly inhabited by no more than 100 people.
The south eastern part of Jugovzhodna is comprised of Bela krajina, a large, low-lying karst plateau with altitudes between 160-200 m, which is quite sparsely populated due to its poor soils.
The climate is moderately continental with average monthly temperatures between 0.4(C (January) and 20.5(C (July). The average annual temperature is 10.5(C and annual precipitation is around 1 160 mm (between 1 400 and 830 mm).
Extensive plains are found in the Novo mesto Basin along the Krka river. Novo mesto (population 22 400), the regional centre, is situated here. Other local centres are Trebnje on the Temenica river (3 100); ?u?emberk in the upper Krka valley (1 100); Crnomelj (5 900) and Metlika (3 200) in Bela krajina.
Jugovzhodna's fertile soil and forest, which covers more than 70% of the region, are both of economic importance to the region. Quartz sand extraction on several sites is also worth mentioning, while the Kani?arica brown coal mine was shut down.
Near Novo mesto, natural thermal water abounds in two locations, and has led to the development of health resorts. Otherwise, surface water and springs are relatively sparse due to the permeable bedrock. Thanks to their clean water, the region's largest rivers, the Krka and Kolpa, are popular for leisure pursuits and fishing. In the northern part of its course the Temenica river disappears twice and reappears again on its way towards the Krka valley.
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