Gottschee, Slovenia

Gottschee is the historic name used by Gottscheer people for the region of today’s Slovenia known in Slovenian as Kočevje. Tracing their presence there to the 13th century, the Gottscheers speak a distinctive Germanic language called Gottscheerisch. Most speakers left the region in the final years of the Second World War, emigrating to Germany, Austria, or the US, especially Ridgewood in Queens. Relatively few still speak the language today, but New York is still home to a major Gottscheer community with a wide range of institutions centered on Gottscheer Hall.