from being part of the ruling ethnicity of Austria-Hungary (and the ruling group in the estates of the province of Carniola itself) to an ethnic minority in a large Slavic state. With the onset of the Second World War and the Invasion of Yugoslavia their situation was worsened further. Landmarks The parish church in the city is dedicated to Saint Bartholomew () and belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Novo Mesto. It is a Neo-Romanesque building erected between 1887 and 1903 on the site of an earlier church. Notable people Notable people that were born or lived in Kočevje include: (1931–2011), sculptor, graphic artist and teacher (worked in Kočevje) Matej Bor (1913–1993), poet and author (1923–1999), academy-trained painter, art teacher, art theorist Ivan Jurkovič (born 1952), apostolic nuncio to Russia Zofka Kveder (1878–1926), writer (1860–1923), longtime mayor (1858–1924), composer Roman Erich Petsche (1907–1993), teacher, painter, and Righteous Among the Nations (1908–1942), secondary-school professor, social revolutionary, communist resistance fighter (1898–?), geologist, taught at the secondary school before the Second World War Bibliography References External links Kočevje on Geopedia Website of the Municipality of Kočevje Pre–World War II list of Kočevje residences, occupations, and family names (1–39) Pre–World War II list of Kočevje residences, occupations, and family names (40–140) Pre–World War II list of Kočevje residences, occupations, and family names (144–326) Pre–World War II list of Kočevje residences, occupations, and family names (332–344, unnumbered) Populated places in the Municipality of Kočevje Cities and towns in Lower Carniola