Podreča was attested in written sources in 1334 as Patriarchsdorf, and in 1437 as de Patriarchali villa. The name is derived from *Podreča (vas) (literally, 'patriarch's village'); the first element is a possessive adjective from the noun podreka 'patriarch'. In the Middle Ages the village was a property of the Patriarchate of Aquileia, and so the name refers to historical ownership.[4] A small rise near the settlement known as Abbot's Hill (Slovene: Opatji hrib) is also reminiscent of this ecclesiastical heritage.[5]
History
In 1929 a monument was set up behind the church, marking the former site of the house where the Slovene poet and writer Simon Jenko (1835–1869) was born. There were formerly a sawmill and grain mill in the village, but these sites were flooded when the Sava River was dammed for the Medvode hydroelectric plant in 1953, raising the water level by 5 meters (16 ft).[5]
