St Ives Twinning Association

Introduction

Although St Ives has no formal twinning links with Medvode, a close relationship has developed between the two towns since 1998.

Medvode is a town about the size of St Ives, about 6 miles north of the Slovenian capital Ljubljana. Slovenia used to be part of the old Yugoslavia until it announced its independence on 25th June 1991. It became part of the European Union in 1994.

Medvode and its location

The Medvode Community is situated NW of the Slovene capital, the city of Ljubljana and SE from the centre of Gorenjska region, the town of Kranj. The meeting point of the two rivers Sava and Sora is at the very centre of the Medvode Municipality. An English translation of Medvode would be "Between Waters" and it has been known (in Austrian) as Tchwischenwaessern. Thus the word "Medvode" itself is plural. Medvode was traditionally a leisure resort, people from "Laibach" (Ljubljana) would come here to enjoy the river and relax. The Community measures 77.5 square kilometres, say 9 kilometres or 6 miles square. There are 31 villages included, and the population comprises around 13730 people (according to the Republic of Slovenia Ministry for internal affairs, May 17th 2000). Medvode lies almost in the centre of the city/town triangle of Ljubljana/Kranj/ŠkofjaLoka. Industrial and transport is developing apace. There is a good connection with the international airport of Brnik, Ljubljana (15km NE from Medvode). Between Medvode and Brnik there is the Ljubljana-Munich highway, the main Ljubljana-Kranj road and the Ljubljana-Munich railway (both road and railway go through the town). Medvode community streches from the hilly Polhograjsko hribovje, which is colder and fresher than in the great Ljubljana valley. Approximately half of the Medvode territory is covered with woods which has a purifying effect on the air, especially in the higher parts of the community.

Medvode and its history

Medvode community was first founded in 1849. In 1963 the community was added to the Ljubljana-siska city district and lost its local independence. After 32 years the Municipality of Medvode was again established (1st January 1995). In 1869 there were the same number of villages as there are today, but the population has grown to be three times as much (4592 to 13570). Medvode; development and passage through time. History tells of Medvode in 989, when it was known by the German word "Zwieschenwaessern". The remains of an old castle are still visible, Starigrad in Smlednik. It is said that there were Roman remains still visible in the early medieval ages. Another castle from the feudal era is Jetrbenk. However, these two are not the most famous, that title being claimed by Grad Goricane, built in 1631-1634 by the bishop of Ljubljana Oton Puchein in its famous baroque style, and now used as a museum.

Medvode started to become industrialised during and between the world wars, and particularily after the second world war, there was a lot of immigration from the surrounding areas. The chemicals and paper industry are well established. Recently, tourism and specialized farming have expanded: Smlednik, Zbilje and Polhograjski dolomiti. You could say that Medvode still have a lot in reserve to develop to the level of a small city. Medvode today offers: a small hospital with a drug store, four primary schools with two smaller divisions, a kindergarden spread across five sites, the school of music, six amateur and two professional fire departments, the association of farmers, two post offices, a bank, market centre, municipality centre with a town hall and library, bus stop (Ljubljana city bus no.15, regional and international bus stop,...), railway station, three oil pumps along with an oil store,... and many more