Mrtvice (; Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru, vol. 6: Kranjsko. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 42. or GeschwendLaas und Čabar (map, 1:75,000). 1903. Vienna: K.u.k. Militärgeographisches Institut.) is a settlement northwest of the town of Kočevje in southern Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region.Kočevje municipal site
Name The Slovene name Mrtvice is apparently cognate with the adjective mrtev dead, but the connection is unclear. One theory links the name with an old side channel or oxbow lake () of the Rinža River.Ferenc, Mitja, & Gojko Zupan. 2012. Izgubljene kočevske vasi, vol. 2 (K–P). Ljubljana: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani, p. 158. Another theory connects the name with infertile soil. The German name Gschwend is believed to be derived from German schwenden 'to clear forest, especially by burning'.Pintar, Luka. 1912. "O krajnih imenih", part 4. Ljubljanski Zvon 32: 550–554, p. 551.Simonič, Ivan. 1935. "Kočevarji v luči krajevnih in ledinskih imen." Glasnik Muzejskega društva za Slovenijo 16: 61–81 and 106–123, p. 74.Petschauer, Erich. 1980. "Die Gottscheer Siedlungen – Ortsnamenverzeichnis." In Das Jahrhundertbuch der Gottscheer (pp. 181–197). Klagenfurt: Leustik. The name Gschwend was provisionally used during the Second World War as a new name for a planned Gottschee German resettlement in the Rann Triangle.Carstanjen, Helmut. 1943. "Deutsche Ortsnamen in der Untersteiermark." Marburger Zeitung 317/318 (13/14 Nov.), p. 4.
History Mrtvice is a newer settlement, officially created from parts of the Gottschee German villages of Koblarji and Slovenska Vas in January 1953. Prior to this the name was primarily used as a microtoponym.Kranjc, Andrej, & Franc Lovrenšak. 1981. "Poplavni svet na Kočevskem polju." Geografski zbornik 21:117–155, p. 147. Consequently, Mrtvice was not mentioned in the land registry of 1574 or in the census of 1770. Nonetheless, mention was occasionally made of Mrtvice (as Gschwend) as a settlement, such as in a postal notice of 1899, when its postal authority was reassigned from Kočevje to Slovenska Vas."Lokal- und Provinzial-Nachrichten." 1899. Laibacher Zeitung 118(106) (9 May), p. 839. Mrtvice primarily developed as a bedroom community for people working in Kočevje.
Notable people Notable people that were born or lived in Mrtvice include: Josef Krauland (1897–1973), medical advisorPetschauer, Erich. 1980. Das Jahrhundertbuch der Gottscheer. Klagenfurt: Hermann Leustik, p. 165.
References
External links Mrtvice on Geopedia Pre–World War II map of Mrtvice with oeconyms and family names