White Carniola

Due to its smallness, it is often considered a subunit of the broader Lower Carniola region, although with distinctive cultural, linguistic, and historical features.

The area is confined by the Gorjanci and Kočevski Rog mountain ranges in the north and west and the Kolpa River in the south and east, which also forms part of the border between Slovenia and Croatia.

Belokranjska pogača (White Carniola flatbread) has recently been granted the European Union's Traditional Speciality Guaranteed designation.

[8][9] The English name White Carniola derives from the German designation Weißkrain,[10] which is the result of a hypercorrection based on the adjective belokrajnski (understood as a dialect metathesis of *belokranjski)[4][11] (cf.

[11] In the early 12th century, the area was part of the disputed border region between the March of Carniola, established by the Holy Roman Empire in the northwest, and the Kingdom of Hungary in the east and southeast.

From about 1127 the local counts of Višnja Gora (Weichselberg) backed by the Spanheim margraves and the Salzburg archbishops crossed the Gorjanci Mountains and marched against the Hungarian and Croatian forces, which they pushed beyond the Kolpa River down to Bregana.

After Ulrich's death in 1269, all of his possessions were inherited by his cousin Ottokar II of Bohemia, who was however defeated by Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf of Habsburg and his allies in 1278.

Under his descendant Albert III of Gorizia, these two adjacent areas were united in what became known as the County in the (Windic) March and in Metlika, and became officially a separate estate of the Holy Roman Empire in 1368.

After Albert's death in 1374, the county was acquired by Archduke Rudolf IV of Austria for the House of Habsburg, who confirmed its privileges, thus maintaining it separate from the Duchy of Carniola.

[19][20] The Habsburg commanders brought from Bosnia, later and from parts of Croatia and Dalmatia hundreds or thousands of families and settled them in area which covers White Carniola, across the Žumberak Mountains all the way to Vinica.