Šmarjetna Gora is a solitary low mountain rising above Kranj on the right bank of the Sava River and at the same time the last spur of the Škofja Loka mountain range. The mountain is 646 meters high (or 643 meters according to some sources). An interesting fact is that the peak of Šmarjetna Gora was once 654 meters high, but during the construction of the Bellevue Hotel, the peak was truncated by ten meters to create a spacious terrace. The second attraction of Šmarjetna Gora is that it has two peaks. The lower peak (595 meters) has kept the name ˝Grmada˝ (˝bonfire˝) since the period of Turkish raids. Another name for the lower peak is ˝Gradišče˝, which refers to the interesting hillfort from the 8th-century B.C. that was excavated here. There are narrow terraces on the steep southern slope where prehistoric people grew grapevines. There is again a grapevine on Šmarjetna Gora, but only from quite recently. This grapevine is a graft from the oldest vine in Slovenia, the 400-year-old ˝Stara trta˝ vine in Maribor. Today, the Bellevue Hotel with its large terrace and the 13th-century Church of Sv. Marjeta stand on Šmarjetna Gora. There is a unique view from the terrace over all of Kranj and the surrounding area.
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