Šmihel, Nova Gorica

Šmihel Sveti Mihael (until 1955)
Šmihel Location in Slovenia
Coordinates: 45°57′4.17″N 13°43′31.43″E / 45.9511583°N 13.7253972°ECoordinates: 45°57′4.17″N 13°43′31.43″E / 45.9511583°N 13.7253972°E
Country	Slovenia
Traditional region	Slovenian Littoral
Statistical region	Gorizia
Municipality	Nova Gorica
Area
• Total	5.22 km^2 (2.02 sq mi)
Elevation	184.6 m (605.6 ft)
Population (2002)
• Total	266
[1]

Šmihel (pronounced [ˈʃmiːxɛu̯]; Italian: San Michele) is a dispersed settlement in the Municipality of Nova Gorica in western Slovenia.^[2] It is located in the lower Vipava Valley.

Name

The name of the settlement was changed from Sveti Mihael (literally, 'Archangel Michael') to Šmihel in 1955. The name was changed on the basis of the 1948 Law on Names of Settlements and Designations of Squares, Streets, and Buildings as part of efforts by Slovenia's postwar communist government to remove religious elements from toponyms.^[3][4][5]

Church

The small church, from which the settlement gets its name, is dedicated to Saint Michael and the belongs to the Parish of Šempas.^[6]

References

1. Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia
2. Nova Gorica municipal site
3. Spremembe naselij 1948–95. 1996. Database. Ljubljana: Geografski inštitut ZRC SAZU, DZS.
4. Premk, F. 2004. Slovenska versko-krščanska terminologija v zemljepisnih imenih in spremembe za čas 1921–1967/68. Besedoslovne lastnosti slovenskega jezika: slovenska zemljepisna imena. Ljubljana: Slavistično društvo Slovenije, pp. 113–132.
5. Urbanc, Mimi, & Matej Gabrovec. 2005. Krajevna imena: poligon za dokazovanje moči in odraz lokalne identitete. Geografski vestnik 77(2): 25–43.
6. Roman Catholic Diocese of Koper List of Churches May 2008

External links

• Šmihel on Geopedia