Konfin Shaft 1 Mass Grave
Name
The name Glažuta is relatively common in Slovenia and is ultimately derived from Middle High German glashütte 'glassworks'. The standard German name Karlshütte(n) literally means 'Karl's (glass)works' and is a reference to Prince Karl of Auersperg. The Gottschee German name Gloschhittn is cognate with standard German Glashütte(n) 'glassworks'.
History
Glažuta was founded in 1835 or 1840 as a glassworks established by the Ranzinger brothers for Prince Karl of Auersperg. It had two kilns with eight chambers, initially producing sheet glass and later only bent glass, mostly for export. Glažuta had the first steam boiler in Carniola, which was used to power a grinder. Most of the workers at the facility were German; judging by the surnames, there may have also been some Czech workers, but very few ethnic Slovenes. The glassworks ceased operations in 1855 or 1856, and a steam-powered sawmill was established at the site in 1870 or 1871. This was the first steam-powered sawmill in Gottschee. The settlement had five houses before the Second World War. The sawmill was destroyed during the war.
During the Second World War, 10 prisoners killed a Partisan guard near Glažuta and escaped. The Partisan Šercer Brigade murdered 48 prisoners of war from the prison in Kočevje in revenge on 2 November 1943, burying the victims in the Travna Gora 1–4 mass graves (Slovene: Grobišče Travna gora 1–4) in Ravni Dol.