Begunje pri Cerknici

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Begunje pri Cerknici (Slovene pronunciation: [ˈbeːɡunjɛ pɾi ˈtseːɾknitsi]; German: Wigaun) is a settlement north of Cerknica in the Inner Carniola region of Slovenia.

Name: Begunje pri Cerknici was attested in written sources in 1260 as Vegvn (and in 1320 as Vegaun, in 1321 as Vegowen, in 1399 as Vygawn, and in 1498 as Vigawn). In the past the German name of the settlement was Wigaun. The name of the settlement is derived from the personal name *Běgunъ, probably as a clipped version of *Běgun'e (selo) 'Běgunъ's village' (i.e., a neuter singular form) that later shifted to a feminine plural form. In the local dialect the settlement is known as [bai̯ɡne].

History: The settlement was recorded as a property of the Carthusian monastery in Bistra in 1262. Water mains were installed in the village in 1892. A schoolhouse was built in 1906. A fire station was built in 1924, and a community center in 1929. During the Second World War, the schoolhouse was burned down twice, and rebuilt each time. A wood-processing factory was established in 1945, which developed from a communally owned sawmill built just before the war. A distillation plant for essential oils was established in 1955...