Sevnica

Sevnica is a municipality in Southeastern Slovenia

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For centuries, the town of Sevnica was situated on the border of two historical regions of the Habsburg Empire: Carniola and Styria. It was first mentioned in written documents dating to 1275 by its German name Liehtenwalde. At that time, it was one of the most important settlements in the Windic March (or Slovene March). In 1322 it acquired the status of a market town, with extended market rights in 1513. Between the 14th and 17th centuries, it suffered greatly from frequent Ottoman raids and never fully recovered its previous wealth. In the 16th century it was an important center of Protestant reformation in the Slovene Lands; the Slovene Lutheran author Jurij Dalmatin also preached in the town.

During World War II, when the area was annexed to the Third Reich, the majority of its Slovene inhabitants were expelled and replaced by ethnic Germans resettled from Gottschee County. Many locals died in Nazi concentration camps. After the war, the town started developing as an industrial center in the newly named Lower Sava Valley.

In 2016, the town was brought to worldwide media attention after the victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election as it is the hometown of his wife and First Lady, Melania Trump, with the locals celebrating the victory also.

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Sevnica is the site of four known mass graves associated with the Second World War.

There is a wooden statue of Melania Trump, that raised certain media attention when unveiled in the year 2019.