Izlake danes

Izlake
Merijo 11 km² in ima okrog 1800 prebivalcev. S svojimi naselji zavzema geografsko središče občine. Krajevni praznik je 18. maj. Na ta dan leta 1944 se je zgodil eden najhujših okupatorjevih zločinov. Nemci so požgali vas Orehovica, v ognju pa je zgorelo petnajst ljudi. Središčno naselje so Izlake,  razpotegnjeno urbanizirano naselje ob magistralni cesti Trojane -Zagorje in pobočjih nad njo. S tisoč prebivalci so Izlake tretje največje naselje v občini.

Druga naselja v krajevni skupnosti so Orehovica, Podlipovica z zaselki Gradište, Podkraj, Prvine in Steblevica, Šemnik z zaselki Krate, Paveljk in Strahovlje, slednje sodijo v kisovško krajevno skupnost, del Zabreznika in Zgornji Prhovec. Kmetijska podoba je ohranjena še v višje ležečih krajih, dolina pa je urbanizirana.
Prevladuje individualna stanovanjska gradnja, edini večstanovanjski bloki pa so bili zgrajeni pred slabima desetletjema. Obrtništvo je bilo razvito že kmalu, številni mlini, kovačije, žage so predvsem izrabljali moč voda. Včasih je tu bila tudi opekana.

Podjetništvo je razvito tudi danes, ob izlivu Orehovice v Medijo pa stoji tovarna Eti, največje podjetje v občini. Na Izlakah je sodoben dom za starejše občane, tu je sedež kmetijske zadruge. Kraj je razvojno usmerjen v turizem, njegova osnova pa so Medijske toplice, eno prvih letovišč in kopališč na Kranjskem.

Današnje Izlake so najprej, skupaj z Lokami in Podkrajem, sestavljale občino Ržišče v kamniškem okraju, Podlipovica pa je sodila v občino Kolovrat. Tako je bilo skoraj sto let, združevanje občin leta 1933 pa je vse območje Izlak združilo v občino Zagorje.

Izlake so samostojna župnija šele nekaj desetletij, prej je bila cerkev sv. Jurija, zgrajena leta 1738 podružnica čemšeniške župnije. V Podlipovici je cerkev sv. Mohorja in Fortunata, v Šemniku pa cerkev sv. Ane.

Prva šola je bila ustanovljena leta 1884 pri cerkvi, kasneje se je preselila v dolino. Danes se imenuje Osnovna šola Ivan Kavčič, ob njej je zgrajen vrtec. Kraj ima svojo pošto, poslovalnico banke, zdravstveno ambulanto, bencinsko črpalko, kino dvorano, več trgovin in gostiln.
Med znamenitostmi izstopa medijska graščina. Grad je v razvalinah, kapela ob njem pa je obnovljena. V njej je pokopan tudi Janez Vajkard Valvasor.

Izlake (abstract)
Izlake lies in the heart of Slovenia among the hills of Zasavje region in the municipality of Zagorje ob Savi. It covers the area of 11 km2 and has about 1800 inhabitants.The town was first mentioned in connection with Medija Castle (Medijski grad), in which a famous Carniolan polymath Janez Vajkard Valvazor spent his youth. Today the Medija manor lies in ruins but the chapel next to it has been restored. Valvazor’s father had the baroque chapel – church and the Valvazor vault built. It was first mentioned in 1637. Many cultural events take place during the Valvazor nights (Valvazorjevi večeri), where every other year a character of Valvazor himself comes to life.Not far from the Medija Castle lies Medijske Toplice with its thermal spring, which serves the needs of the thermal spa in Izlake. Medijske Toplice is one of the first resorts and spas in Carniola. In front of the hotel there stands a three-cornered pyramid, which was erected in 1877 by Alojz Prašnikar, a resident of Izlake and in his time a well-known economist. He dedicated this pyramid to Janez Vajkard Valvazor, who so got his first monument in Carniola. It is the oldest preserved public monument in the municipality. May 18th is the local holiday. On this day in 1944 one of the occupier’s worst crimes took place. The Germans burnt down the village of Orehovica. In memory of sixteen victims there now stands a monument, erected in 1956, a work of a Slovenian architect Tone Bitenc. Twenty stone buttes along the Medija stream are an exceptional example of dolomite stone columns. They were made by an erosion and are 3 to 20 metres high. Because of a legend they are called Okameneli svatje (Petrified wedding guests). Izlake prides upon three churches.The parish church of St. George (Sveti Jurij) was first mentioned in 1523. It stands on the top of a hill and it is a baroque building with some preserved gothic elements.In Podlipovica there is a church of St. Mohor and Fortunat, which was first mentioned in 1458. A baroque altar is still preserved from that time.In Šemnik there is St. Anna’s church (Sveta Ana), which was first mentioned in 1526. The interior is in a baroque style with three stone and two painted altars.Every first Sunday in December an organized march and a mountain run on Kalanček (a hill in Izlake) take place. In August a run along Zagorje valley is organized. Izlake is famous for a painting colony Izlake – Zagorje, which takes place every year.Izlake is a nice place to spend your holidays. The beautiful countryside offers also many opportunities for long walks, cycling and other activities in the nature.