Rateče / Planica

Rateče is the highest-lying settlement in Upper Sava Valley, located in the extreme northwest corner of Slovenia at the triangle formed with the borders of Italy and Austria.

There are at leas two possible explanations about the origin of the village's name. A herdsman , Ratej, is supposed ti have been one of the first settlers to come to this region of Carinthia. The rateče dialect is still bears a resemblance to the Carinthian dialect spoken on the other side of the Karavanke Mountains. A valley watershed, the “river watershed” (“raztečje” in Slovenian), between the Sava and Drava river basins, is situated in the vicinity. After heavy rains, the water from the intermittent lake Ledine pours over the watershed into tje Blata marsh on the Italian side.

Surrounding the Planica Valley, the birthplace of ski jumps and flights where man, for the first time in history, flew over 100 and 200 meters, the high peaks of the Julian Alps rise in the southern side of the village.

Rateče has a distinctive alpine climate with long cold winters. The average yearly temperature is a mere 5.7 degrees Celsius,, which led the notable Rateče parish priest and writer Jožef Lavtižar to call the place the Carniolan Siberia. Despite the harsh weather, the village in the foothills of the Karavanke Mountains with its sun-exposed location offers plenty of sunny days.

In summer time there is also possible to catch temperature meters at 30 degrees Celsius (and over). Nights are fresh and offer you pleasant night sleep.

The renowned Rateče manuscript, one of the oldest written documents in the Slovenian language, currently kept in Klagenfurt, was found in 1380 near St. Thomas´ church in Rateče. A copy of it can be seen at the museum on the Kajčnkova house in Rateče, which houses an exhibition of Rateče´s ethnological heritage.

Source: TD Rateče - Planica (junij 2016)