Cerknica

Cerknica is a town in the Karst region of southwestern Slovenia, in the traditional area of Inner Carniola, and is the seat of the Municipality of Cerknica. It had 4,131 residents at the 2024 census. Its name comes from a Slavic root meaning church village, and the town's religious history includes three churches, among them a late Gothic parish church dedicated to the Nativity of Mary, built between 1480 and 1520. A church is believed to have stood in Cerknica as early as the ninth century, but it was burned down in an Ottoman attack in 1472. Cerknica has held a twin town relationship with Kispest, Hungary, since 2024.