Brestanica

Brestanica () is an urban settlement in the Municipality of Krško in eastern Slovenia. It lies in the valley at the confluence of the Sava River with a minor tributary called the Brestanica. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. It is now included with the rest of the municipality in the Lower Sava Statistical Region.

==Name== The settlement was originally called Rajhenburg in Slovene, after Reichenburg Castle in the settlement. This name was attested in written sources in 895 as Richenburch. The name of the settlement was changed from Rajhenburg to Brestanica in 1952. The name was changed on the basis of the 1948 Law on Names of Settlements and Designations of Squares, Streets, and Buildings as part of efforts by Slovenia's postwar communist government to remove German elements from toponyms. The name Brestanica was originally a hydronym referring to Brestanica Creek, which runs through the settlement and is a tributary of the Sava River. The creek name was attested in written sources circa 1500 as Brestanza, and in the 16th century as Prestonicz. The hydronym is derived from *Brěstovьnica (based on the common noun *brěstъ 'elm'), literally meaning 'elm creek'.