OLD HOUSE NAMES

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Old house names are part of the identity of the Slovenian countryside. In the past, every house had an old house name by which people could identify each other. It is a unique phenomenon of intangible cultural heritage, which is present only in rare areas in Europe. The project establishes intergenerational contacts between the youth and older locals, the harbingers of the heritage, who pass on the cultural legacy to the younger ones. By making the population aware of the importance of intangible cultural heritage, the project thus ensures the preservation and even revival of the use of old house names.

The Development Agency of Zgornje Gorenjska has been carrying out the collection of old house names within the framework of several separate projects since 2009. Most of the projects are co-financed by the European Union, the LEADER program, and they are also partly financed by the municipalities involved in the project.

In the area of ​​the Škofja Loka hills (Škofjeloško hribovje), activities are carried out in cooperation between the Sora Development Agency and the Upper Gorenjska Development Agency.

In September 2020, at the initiative of the Development Agency for Upper Gorenjska, the use of house names was entered into the National Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage, managed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.

ACTIVITIES

The activities are divided into two phases:

1st Phase
Collection and verification of house names:

informing the public about the project, calling for household names;
a set of household name stories in collaboration with primary schools;
obtaining house names from other sources (parish registers, historical cadastres, existing literature, collectors);
meetings with locals;
identification of building owners and verification of house names with owners;
verification of names by a linguistic expert;
raising public awareness of the importance of preserving household names.

2nd phase
Recording house names:

obtaining consents from the owners to install house name boards;
installation of tables with house names on homesteads;
discovering the stories associated with household names;
preparation and publication of publications with a list of household names and selected stories;
operation of the online lexicon of Slovenian pet names www.hisnaimena.si