Serbs in Slovenia - Historic Serb Communities in White Carniola

Historic Serb Communities in White Carniola

Apart from the immigrant community that makes up the vast majority of Serbs in Slovenia, there are a few villages in the southern region of White Carniola inhabited by descendants of Serbs that fled from the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, beginning in 1528 and permanent by 1593. These immigrant communities formed settlements, in which the descendants of Serbs live to these days: Bojanci, Marindol, Paunoviči, Adlešiči, Žuniči, and others. In Bojanci, the Serbs trace their origin to the families of Vrlinići (Sv. Đurđe), Radojčići (Sv. Nikola) and Kordići (Sv. Lazar). The majority of them have kept the Serbian Orthodox faith and their distinctive culture, although they have been almost completely assimilated to their Slovene-speaking environment. Some of them have converted to the Eastern Catholic faith in the 17th and 18th century.