ABOUT METLIKA

The oldest part of Metlika is located at the foot of the Veselica Hill, on the natural promontory between the valleys of the Obrh and Suhor streams and the dry valley of Bojica. The area was inhabited as early as in prehistoric times. Emergence of the town can be dated back to the Middle Ages. In 1365, Metlika, which was then called Novi trg, already had city walls. Only a few buildings from this period are found in the town, and during the 650 years of Metlika’s history, they were changed significantly. These changes result from frequent invasions of Turks taking place since 1407 onward. At the beginning, these invasions were carried out by detachments of the Bosnian Duke Hrvoje Vukčić and probably also involved Turkish detachments. They resulted from imperial battles between the Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg and the Bosnian King Tvrtko II. Afterwards, during the next fifty years, there were no invasions. However, they re-appeared after 1463, when the Turks subjected Bosnia. The last Turkish attack on Metlika was recorded in 1578. The town was often destroyed by fire, the worst fires occurred between 1705 and 1790. In the 19th century, Metlika was on its feet again. Before that, the medieval city walls had gradually disappeared, and during the 19th century, new parts emerged around the old town. Their names have been kept up to the present times. Namely, the settlements Požeg and Hrib emerged above the Obrh spring; Šranga, Drage and Strnišče appeared along and Cancenberk above the road Cesta bratstva in enotnosti; Majer emerged near the Health Centre and Majlont in the vicinity of the slaughterhouse, and Vejar along the road to Rosalnice. Due to a diverse terrain, the town lies between the altitudes of 145 m in Majlont and 205 m in Hrib and 233 m in Veselica, respectively. Newer parts of the town that emerged in the 20th century extend from Majer towards the railway station, and farther to the border crossing with Croatia on the Kolpa River. In the town’s outskirts, in the north of the Metlika historic centre, neighbourhoods emerged along the road to Svržaki and Grabrovec. During the last decade, a new settlement, Strmec, has appeared in the north of Pild.