Everything about Transmuraland totally explained
Prekmurje is the easternmost region of
Slovenia. It borders
Hungary to the north-east,
Austria to the north-west,
Croatia to the south and the Slovenian region of
Styria to the south-west.
Name
It is named after the
Mura River, which separates it from the rest of Slovenia (a literal translation from
Slovene would be
Over-Mura or
Transmurania). In
Hungarian, the region is known as
Muravidék, and in
German as
Übermurgebiet. The name Prekmurje has been introduced relatively recently. Before 1919, the Slovenian-inhabited lands of the
Vas County in the
Kingdom of Hungary were known under the name "Slovenian March" or "
Vendic March" (in Slovenian:
Slovenska krajina, in Hungarian:
Vendvidék). The part of modern Prekmurje that belonged to the
Zala County (the area between
Lendava,
Kobilje and
Beltinci) wasn't considered to be part of the Slovenian March. However, until the early 19th century, this region of the Zala county belonged
ecclesiastically to the
Archdiocese of Zagreb and in the legal documents of the Archdiocese it was called as "Transmurania" or "Prekmurje", that's the "territory on the other side of the Mura river". After 1919, this name was rediscovered and introduced again, now for administrative purposes, by the new
Yugoslav administration. It however didn't gain much popularity among the locals: the name "Slovenian March" was still used by the local inhabitants till mid 1920s, but was later replaced by the term "March of the Mura" (Slovenian:
Murska krajina), which became the most used name for the region till
World War II. The current Hungarian name for Prekmurje,
Muravidék, still dates from that period and is a translation of the Slovenian
Murska krajina. It was only after the war that the name Prekmurje became predominant and quickly replaced all previous denominations.
Geography
The region is flat in the south near the Mura River and its smaller tributary the
Ledava, and hilly in the north (
Goričko). The capital city of the region is
Murska Sobota. Other towns include Lendava,
Dobrovnik,
Turnišče, Beltinci,
Črenšovci.
Population
The majority of the inhabitants of the region are ethnic
Slovenes. There is also a sizable
Hungarian minority in the region, as well as a large number of
Roma.
In 1921, the total population of the area numbered 92,295 people, including 74,199 speakers of Slovene language, 14,065 speakers of
Hungarian language, and 2,540 speakers of German language.
History
The region has had a pretty turbulent history: it has been inhabited since the
Stone Age, it was later included the
Roman Empire and subsequently in the Kingdom of the
Ostrogoths, the Kingdom of the
Lombards, the Kingdom of the
Avars, the
Frankish Empire, the
Balaton Principality (9th century),
Arnulf's
Kingdom of Carantania (10th century). In the late 10th century it was invaded by the Magyars and it remnained part of the Kingdom of Hungary until 1919, when it was annexed to the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
During the Roman rule, the region was part of the province of
Pannonia. Although, some earlier
Slavic settlements had probably existed in the area, the ancestors of modern Slovenes moved from eastern
Alps and settled in Prekmurje after
Franks defeated the
Avars during the reign of
Charlemagne. In the 9th century, this area was part of the Slavic state known as the Balaton Principality. The center of this state was in the city of
Blatnograd near the
Balaton lake. The principality was later dissolved and integrated in the Kingdom of Carantania established by the German Emperor
Arnulf of Carinthia. This political entity in which all the ancestors of modern Slovenes were united under one ruler was soon destroyed by the
Magyar invaders who conquered the
Pannonian plain and was incorporated it into the
Kingdom of Hungary. The area inhabited by Slovenes shrank to the present extent by the end of the 12th century and has remained stable since. The region was part of the
Vas County between 11th century and 1526.
In 1526, like the rest of western Hungary, Prekmurje came under
Habsburg rule, although some villages had to pay the tribute to the
Ottoman administration during short periods between 1566-1688. In 1687, the Vas County was restored: with the small interruption from 1849 to 1867, the region belonged to this county except for Lendava district, which was part of
Zala county until 1918.
In 1919, Prekmurje was incorporated in the newly established
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, renamed to
Yugoslavia in 1929. Between 1918 and 1922, the region belonged to the
Maribor county, between 1922 and 1929 to the Maribor oblast, and between 1929 and 1941 to the
Drava Banovina. During World War II it was occupied and annexed by
Horthy's Hungary from 1941 to 1944 and by
Nazi Germany between 1944 and 1945. It was liberated by
Soviet troops in May 1945. After the war it became part of the
Socialist Republic of Slovenia, which was one of the newly formed republics of
Yugoslavia.
Cuisine
The region is known for its distinctive cuisine. Among traditional dishes, the best known are a pork, turnip and millet casserole called
bujta repa and a layered pastry called
prekmurska gibanica.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Transmuraland'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://prekmurje.totallyexplained.com">Prekmurje Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
