Kočevska Reka (; Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru, vol. 6: Kranjsko. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 36.Ferenc, Mitja. 2007. Nekdanji nemški jezikovni otok na kočevskem. Kočevje: Pokrajinski muzej, p. 4.) is a settlement in the Municipality of Kočevje in southern Slovenia. It was a village settled by Gottschee Germans. A major fire destroyed most of the village in 1929, but it was restored. During the Second World War its original population was expelled. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Southeast Slovenia Statistical Region.

Name The settlement was originally called Reka (literally, 'river'), after the Reka River south of the settlement. The specifier Kočevska 'Kočevje' was added later in order to distinguish the settlement from the town of Rijeka () on the Kvarner Gulf, with which the population had trade connections.Savnik, Roman, ed. 1971. Krajevni leksikon Slovenije, vol. 2. Ljubljana: Državna založba Slovenije, pp. 227–228.

History The Kočevska Reka volunteer fire department became a founding unit of the Kočevje municipal fire department on 28 August 1955.Gasilska zveza Kočevja: Zgodovina

Church The local parish church, dedicated to John the Baptist, was a 16th-century building that survived the Second World War, but it was demolished in 1954. The current church was built between 1994 and 1999.Slovenian Ministry of Culture Register of National Heritage reference number ešd 18023

Notable people Notable people that were born or lived in Kočevska Reka include: Johann Kosler (1819–1898), politician and agriculture expert Josef Kosler (1822–1917), lawyer and head of efforts to drain the Ljubljana Marsh

Gallery

References

External links

Kočevska Reka on Geopedia Pre–World War II map of Kočevska Reka with oeconyms and family names