PREKMURJE

'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.

Contents

Name

Geography

Population

History

Cuisine

See also

Name

It is named after the Mura River, which separates it from the rest of Slovenia (a literal translation from Slovenian would be ''Over-Mura''). In Hungarian, the region is known as ''Muravidék'', and in German as ''Übermurgebiet''.

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 Slovenians. 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

During the history, the region belonged to many states: the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, the Kingdom of the Lombards, the Kingdom of the Avars, the Frankish Empire, the Balaton Principality (9th century), the Kingdom of Hungary (until 1526), the Habsburg Monarchy (1526-1918), the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1918-1929), Yugoslavia (1929-1991), and since 1991, it is part of an independent Slovenia.
During the Roman rule, the region was part of the province of Pannonia. Although, the earlier Slavic settlements existed in the area, the ancestors of modern Slovenians moved from eastern Alps and settled in Prekmurje after Franks defeated 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. In the 10th century, the area was conquered by the Hungarians and was included into Hungarian state. The region was part of the Vas County of the Kingdom of Hungary between 11th century and 1526.
Since 1526, Prekmurje was part of the Habsburg Monarchy. In 1687, Vas County was restored, and with the small interruption from 1849 to 1867, the region belonged to this county except Lendava district, which was part of Zala county, until 1918. Since 1918, Prekmurje was part of the newly formed Serb-Croat-Slovene Kingdom, which was renamed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Between 1918 and 1922, region belonged to the Maribor county, between 1922 and 1929 to the Maribor oblast, and between 1929 and 1941 to the Drava Banovina. It was occupied by Hungary from 1941 to 1944 in Second World War, and after the war it became part of Slovenia, which was one of the newly formed republics of Yugoslavia.

Cuisine

The speciality of the region is prekmurska gibanica, sometimes humorously translated as ''"Over-Mura Moving Cake"'', which is a facetious translation, the root likely meaning 'turned' or 'wrapped'.

See also

★ Geography of Slovenia

★ Međimurje (''Between-Mura'' region)