Kranj

Kranj (pronounced [ˈkɾàːn] ^ⓘ, German: Krainburg) is the fourth-largest city in Slovenia and the largest urban center of the traditional region of Upper Carniola (northwestern Slovenia) and the Slovene Alps. It is located approximately 20 kilometres (12 miles) northwest of the national capital Ljubljana, acting as the seat of the City Municipality of Kranj.

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 to its nominal client, Ljubljana.

In Kranj, the Kokra cuts deeply into the conglomerate, forming a canyon 40 meters (130 ft) deep. Kosorep, on the northern outskirts of Kranj, is a picturesque site along the river. Parts of the canyon can be reached by a walking trail. Below Kranj, at Drulovka, the Sava forms a 40-meter (130 ft) deep canyon with conglomerate on both sides. Due to the dam for the Mavčiče Hydroelectric Plant, the river's flow there is very slow.

Kranj has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb).

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 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.

Archaeological finds show that Kranj was settled in prehistoric times. Discoveries include a bronze ax found in Drulovka, Hallstatt-era graves in the northern part of the town above the bank of the Kokra River, testifying to Illyrian settlement, and a burial site in the southern part of the town above the left bank of the Sava River, indicating a Celtic settlement. The Romans founded the settlement of Carnium at the confluence of the Sava and Kokra. In the 6th century, a major Germanic settlement stood at the same site, and an Ostrogothic cemetery was discovered nearby. The Gothic settlement was continued by the Lombards and existed until c. AD 580, when it was destroyed by invading Slavs.

Traces of the old Slavic settlement (a Slavic burial site) date from the 9th and 10th centuries. As the seat of the margraves of Carniola in the 11th century, it was the most important settlement in the territory. The town itself is believed to have developed in the early 13th century; citizens of the town of Kranj appear in a document from 1221, and Kranj was officially referred to as a town in 1256. It was the seat of a court whose jurisdiction extended between that of Radovljica and Kamnik. In 1414 a decision was issued relieving the citizens of the town from paying tolls. In 1422 an ordinance required houses to be built of stone to prevent fires. A parish school was established in Kranj in 1423, and the same year the right was granted to Kranj to elect its own judge. Kranj was laid waste in 1471 in an Ottoman attack. Emperor Frederick III granted Kranj the right to collect tolls in documents from 1488 and 1493, and a 1493 document also granted the town the right to hold fairs twice a year. The town hospice records date back to the 15th century.

Crafts developed in Kranj during the Middle Ages. Mills first developed along the Sava and Kokra rivers, and this was followed by butchers, fur merchants, hide and wood processors, and then weavers of canvas and woolen cloth. Habsburg efforts to maintain Vienna's monopoly on trade with Italy resulted in trade routes bypassing Kranj.