The Slovene nameMaribor is an artificial Slovenized creation, coined byStanko Vraz in 1836. Vraz created the name in the spirit ofIllyrianism by analogy with the nameBrandenburg (cf.Lower SorbianBramborska). Locally, the town was known in Slovene asMarprk orMarprog.[4] The nameMaribor was accepted among Slovenes in 1861,[5] whenLovro Toman published a song namedMar i bor, giving the name a Slovene compoundMar ('to care') +i ('and') +bor ('to fight for').[6] In addition to its Slovene and German names, the city is also known asMarburgum in Latin andMarburgo in Italian.[7][8][9]
The oldest known remnants of settlement in the Maribor area date back to the 5th millennium BC, at the time of theChalcolithic. With the construction of Maribor's western bypass, larger settlements were discovered dating from the 44th to 42nd century BC. Another settlement from around the same period was also discovered inSpodnje Hoče, a town right next to Maribor and another below Melje Hill nearMalečnik. Another settlement below Melje Hill was also found dating to the 4th millennium BC.[11]
A more intense period of settlement of the Maribor area occurred in the 3rd millennium BC with the advent of theBronze Age. In the 13th to 12th century BC, in the age of theUrnfield culture, new settlements were found inPekel. Around 1000 BC, new settlers moved to the Maribor area. An urnfield cemetery was found from that period in today'sMladinska ulica and anothernecropolis was also found inPobrežje.[11]
With theIron Age and theHallstatt Culture, new settlements began to appear on hills. One of them wasPoštela in thePohorje Mountains. Poštela was an old town that was abandoned in the 6th century BC and inhabited again in the 2nd century BC.[11]
DuringRoman times, the area where Maribor later developed was part of the province ofNoricum, right on the border withPannonia. During that period, Roman agricultural estates known asvillae rusticae filled the area aroundRadvanje,Betnava,Bohova, and Hoče. The best-known of them was in today'sBorova Vas neighborhood of Maribor.[11] An important trade route was also established in the area, connectingCeleia andFlavia Solva in one direction withPoetovio and central Noricum on the other.[12]
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Maribor area was settled by theSlavs.[13]A Slavic cemetery was found in Radvanje dating to the 10th century AD.[11] The area of what later became Maribor was first part ofSamo's Empire and later the area stood on the border betweenCarantania andLower Pannonia. In 843 the area was absorbed into theFrankish Empire.[14]
In the Frankish Empire, the area again stood on the border, this time between the Frankish Empire and thePrincipality of Hungary. To protect the Frankish Empire from Hungarian raids, a castle was built onPyramid Hill.[15] The castle was mentioned for the first time on 20 October 1164 asCastrum Marchburch. A settlement soon began to grow below the castle. Maribor was first mentioned as a market near the castle in 1204, and it receivedtown privileges in 1254.[14] It is likely that the castle stood before 1164 becauseBernard of Trixien, the count of the region, already used the titleBernhard von Marchpurg 'Bernard of Maribor' in 1124.[16][17]
The town began to grow rapidly after the victory ofRudolf I of theHabsburg dynasty over KingOtakar II ofBohemia in 1278. The town built fortifications, and trade, viticulture, and crafts started to grow. The town had a monopoly over the entire region and also controlled the viticulture trade withCarinthia. The first churches were built, and also around this time the firstJews arrived. The Jews built their own ghetto in the southeastern part of town, where they also built theMaribor Synagogue. Most Slovenians lived in the northwestern part of town on what is now Slovenian Street (Slovenska ulica).
In 1478, a second castle was built on the northeastern side of the town, today known asMaribor Castle. In 1480 and in 1481,Matthias Corvinus besieged the town but failed to conquer it on both occasions.[14] In 1496,Maximilian I issued a decree to expel all Jews from Maribor andStyria.[18] In 1515, theMaribor Town Hall was built and a few years later, in 1532, Maribor again came under siege, this time by theOttoman Empire. In the battle that became known as theSiege of Maribor, a 100,000-strong Ottoman army under the leadership ofSuleiman the Magnificent attacked the town, which was defended only by the local garrison and its citizens. Despite all the odds, Maribor was defended and the legend of the Maribor shoemaker who raised the sluice gates and flooded the Ottoman army is still popular today.[14][19]
In the 17th century, numerous fires razed the town. The biggest ones occurred in 1601, 1645, 1648, and 1700. As a consequence, the town was rebuilt numerous times.[20] In addition to fires, the plague decimated the town's population. The largest plague epidemics occurred in 1646, 1664, and 1680. Due to the plague, the town lost 35 percent of its population. In gratitude for the end of the plague, aplague column was built in 1681, with the original being replaced in 1743.[21][22][23] In 1846, theSouthern Railway was built through the town, which resulted in great economic growth and territorial expansion. In 1859,Anton Martin Slomšek, a bishop of theDiocese of Lavant, transferred the seat of the diocese to Maribor, and he further encouraged the use of Slovene. With the transfer, Maribor also received its first higher school. Four years later, Maribor was connected with Carinthia with the construction of the railway from Maribor toPrevalje.[14] The first daily Slovenian newspaper, calledSlovenski narod, was established in 1868 on today's Slomšek Square (Slomškov trg).[24] On 4 April 1883, the first electric light in Slovene ethnic territory was installed on Castle Square (Grajski trg).[25] The renowned electrical engineerNikola Tesla lived in Maribor from 1878 to 1879, where he received his first job.[26]Maribor National Hall was built in 1899, and it became a political, cultural, and economic centre for all Styrian Slovenes.[14]
Postcard of Maribor National Hall.
In 1900, the city itself had a population that was 82.3%Austrian German (19,298 people) and 17.3%Slovene (4,062 people; based on the language spoken at home);[27]: 4 most of the city's capital and public life was in Austrian German hands. However, the county excluding the city had only 10,199 Austrian Germans and 78,888 Slovene inhabitants, meaning the city was completely surrounded by majority-Slovene ethnic territory.[27]: 210, 300 Some former independent settlements that later became part of the city had more ethnic Slovenes than Austrian Germans (e.g., Krčevina, Radvanje, Tezno), whereas others had more Austrian Germans than ethnic Slovenes (e.g., Pobrežje and Studenci).[27]: 202–206 In 1913, a new bridge was opened over theDrava River, today known as theOld Bridge.[28] InWorld War I, the47th Infantry Regiment of theAustro-Hungarian Army was based in the city and also fought on theIsonzo front.[29] During the First World War many Slovenes inCarinthia andStyria were detained on suspicion of being enemies of the Austrian Empire. This led to distrust between Austrian Germans and Slovenes.[30]
After the collapse of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire in 1918, Maribor was claimed by both theState of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs andGerman Austria. On 1 November 1918, a meeting was held by Colonel Anton Holik in the Melje barracks, where it was decided that the city would be part of German Austria. Ethnic Slovene MajorRudolf Maister, who was present at the meeting, denounced the decision and organised Slovenian military units that were able to seize control of the city.[31] All Austrian officers and soldiers were disarmed and demobilised to the new state of German Austria. The German city council then held a secret meeting, where it was decided to do whatever possible to regain Maribor for German Austria. They organised a military unit called the Green Guard (Schutzwehr), and approximately 400 well-armed soldiers of this unit opposed the pro-Slovenian and pro-Yugoslav Major Maister.[32] Slovenian troops surprised and disarmed the Green Guard early on the morning of 23 November.[33] Thereafter, the city remained in Slovenian hands.
On 27 January 1919, Austrian Germans gathered to await theUnited States peace delegation at the city's marketplace were fired upon by Slovenian troops. Nine citizens were killed and eighteen were seriously wounded;[34]: 142 who had actually ordered the shooting has never been unequivocally established. German sources accused Maister's troops of shooting without cause. In turn Slovene witnesses such as Maks Pohar claimed that the Austrian Germans attacked the Slovenian soldiers guarding the town hall, one even discharging a revolver and hitting one Slovenian soldier in the bayonet.[34]: 141 The German-language media called the incidentMarburg's Bloody Sunday. As Maribor was now firmly in the hands of the Slovenian forces and surrounded completely by Slovenian territory; the city had been recognised as part of theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes without aplebiscite in theTreaty of Saint-Germain of 10 September 1919 between the victors and German Austria. For his actions in Maribor and later in theAustro-Slovene conflict in Carinthia, Rudolf Maister is today considered a Slovenian national hero.[35][36]
After 1918, most of Maribor's Austrian Germans left the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes forAustria. A policy ofcultural assimilation was pursued in Yugoslavia against the Austrian German minority similar to theGermanization policy followed by Austria against its Slovene minority inCarinthia.[37] From 1922 to 1929, Maribor was the seat of theMaribor Oblast, a subdivision within Yugoslavia and was later part of theDrava Banovina.[38] Up untilWorld War II, Maribor was considered the fastest-developing city in the country.[39]
In 1941Lower Styria, the predominantly Slovene part of Styria, was annexed by Nazi Germany. German troops marched into the town at 9 pm on 8 April 1941.[40] On 26 AprilAdolf Hitler, who encouraged his followers to "make this land German again",[41] visited Maribor and a grand reception was organised in the city castle by the local Germans.[42] Immediately after the occupation, Nazi Germany began mass expulsions of Slovenes to theIndependent State of Croatia,Serbia, and later to theconcentration and work camps in Germany. The Nazi goal was to Germanize the population of Lower Styria after the war.[43][44] Slovene patriots were taken hostage and many were later shot in the prisons of Maribor and Graz.[45][46] This led to organised resistance bySlovene partisans. The first act of resistance in Maribor and occupied Slovenia occurred only three days after Hitler's visit, when Slovene communists andSKOJ members burned two German cars.[47][48]
Maribor in ruins, 1945.
Maribor was the site of aGerman prisoner-of-war camp from 1941 to 1945 for many British, Australian, and New Zealand troops who had been captured inCrete in 1941.[49][50] In 1944, the largest mass rescue of POWs of the war in Europe took place when 105 Allied prisoners from the camp were freed by Slovene partisans in theRaid at Ožbalt. The city, a major industrial centre with an extensive armament industry, was systematically bombed by theAllies in the closing years ofWorld War II. A total of 29 bombing raids devastated some 47% of the city area, killing 483 civilians and leaving over 4,200 people homeless.[51] Over 2,600 people died in Maribor during the war.[52] By the end of the war, Maribor was the most war-damaged major town of Yugoslavia.[53] The remaining German-speaking population, except those who had actively supported the resistance during the war, wassummarily expelled at the end of the war in May 1945.[54][55] At the same timeCroatian Home Guard members and their relatives who tried to escape from Yugoslavia were executed by theYugoslav Army. The existence ofnine mass graves in and near Maribor was revealed after Slovenia's independence.[56]
After the Second World War, Maribor became part ofSR Slovenia, withinSFR Yugoslavia. A major process of renewal and reconstruction began in the city.[14] Maribor soon after became the industrial centre of Slovenia and the whole of Yugoslavia, hosting many known companies such as theMaribor Automobile Factory among others.[57][58] The first clash between the Yugoslav People's Army and theSlovenian Territorial Defence in Slovenia'swar of independence happened in nearbyPekre and on the streets of Maribor, resulting in the conflict's first casualty.[59] After Sloveniaseceded from Yugoslavia in 1991, the loss of the Yugoslav market severely strained the city's economy, which was based on heavy industry. The city saw a record unemployment rate of nearly 25%.[60][61]
On theDrava River lies Maribor Island (Mariborski otok). The oldest public bath, still an important and often visited place in Maribor, is located on the island.
There are two hills in Maribor: Calvary Hill and Pyramid Hill, both surrounded by vineyards. The latter dominates the northern border of the city. Ruins of the first Maribor castle from the 11th century and a chapel from the 19th century also stand there. The hill offers an easily accessiblescenic overlook of Maribor and the countryside to the south over the Drava River.
Maribor has ahumid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfb), bordering onoceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb).[65] Average temperatures hover around zero degrees Celsius during the winter. Summers are generally warm. Average temperatures during the city's warmest month (July) exceed 20 degrees Celsius, which is one of the main reasons for the Maribor wine tradition. The city sees on average roughly 900 mm (35.4 in) of precipitation annually and it's one of the sunniest Slovene cities, with an average of 266 sunny days throughout the course of the year. The most recent temperature heatwave record for August is 40.6 °C, measured at the Maribor–Tabor weather station by theSlovenian Environment Agency (ARSO) on 8 August 2013.[66]
At the start of the 21st century, plans were made for a new modern business, residential and entertainment district, called theDrava Gate (Dravska vrata) and nicknamed theMaribor Manhattan. The project includes many new exclusive residential apartments, offices and conference halls, a green and recreational space, and other structures. It also includes a 111 m (364 ft) tall skyscraper that would be the tallest building in Slovenia. Due to lack of finances, the project has been postponed.
In 2008, theStudenci Footbridge (Studenška brv) was renovated according to the design of the Ponting company. The design was awarded that year at the 3rd International Footbridge Conference inPorto.[72]
In 2010, Maribor organised an international architectural competitionECC Maribor 2012 – Drava 2012 to gather proposals for the design and reconstruction of the Drava banks, the construction of a new art gallery, and for a new footbridge. Its jury received about 400 proposals for the three different projects. The footbridge and the river embankments will be built in the near future, but the art gallery was replaced with a cultural centerMAKS, which is currently under construction.
The construction of a new modernFaculty of Medicine started in 2011 near the Drava River. It was designed by architectBoris Podrecca and was completed in 2013.
Jewish people living in Maribor were first mentioned in 1277. It is suggested that at that time there was already a Jewish quarter in the city. The Jewish ghetto was located in the southeastern part of the city and it comprised, at its peak, several main streets in the city centre including part of the main city square. The ghetto had asynagogue, a Jewish cemetery and also aTalmud school. The Jewish community of Maribor was numerically at its apex around 1410. After 1450 the circumstances changed dramatically: increasing competition that coincided with an economic crisis dealt a severe blow to the economic activities that were crucial to their economic success. According to a decree issued byEmperor Maximilian I in 1496, Jews were forced to leave the city of Maribor. Restrictions on settlement and business for Jews remained in place until 1861.[76] From late spring 1941, after Lower Styria was annexed by the Third Reich, the Jews of Maribor were deported to concentration camps.
Headquarters of theUniversity of MariborThe more-than-400-year-old Žametovka grapevine growing outside the Old Vine House in Maribor. Right of it grows a daughter grapevine that has been cut from it.
Every June, the two-weekLent Festival (named after the waterfront district called Lent) is held, with hundreds of musical, theatrical and other events.[80] Every year the festival attracts theatre, opera, ballet performers, classical, modern, and jazz musicians and dancers from all over the world.
Maribor is known for wine and culinary specialities of international and Slovene cuisine (mushroom soup with buckwheat mush, tripe, sour soup, sausages with Sauerkraut, cheese dumplings, apple strudel, special cheese cake calledgibanica). There are also many popular restaurants withSerbian cuisine. The Vinag Wine Cellar (Vinagova vinska klet), with the area of 20.000 m2 (215.28 sq ft) and the length of 2 km (1 mi), keeps 5,5 millions litres of wine. The house of the oldest grapevine in the world (Hiša stare trte) at Lent grows the world's oldest grapevine, which was in 2004 recorded inGuinness World Records. The grapevine ofŽametovka is over 400 years old.[81]
The most listened radio station transmitting from Maribor is the commercial radio stationRadio City.[82] Other radio stations broadcasting from Maribor include Radio NET FM, Radio Maribor, Rock Maribor, Radio Brezje, and Maribor Študent Radio (MARŠ).
The alternative scene of Maribor is situated in the Pekarna Cultural Centre, located in a former military bakery area in theMagdalena District.[83]
Maribor's sports parks include the Pohorje Adrenaline Park (Adrenalinski park Pohorje), the Pohorje Bike Park, and the Betnava Adventure Park (Pustolovski park Betnava) withropes courses,zip-lines, and poles.[clarification needed]
^Berk, Sandi (2001). "O tujejezičnih ustreznicah za slovenska zemljepisna imena".Geografski Vestnik.73 (1): 38.
^Il siglario mondiale di enti e imprese economiche. Milan: Banca commerciale italiana. 1977. pp. 1039, 1202.
^Žgajnar, Matija (27 April 1968). "Vojna in Osvobodilna fronta".Delo: Sobotna priloga. No. 116. p. 13.
^Known as:Democratic Federal Yugoslavia (1944–1945); Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1963); Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1963–1992)
^Vojaškošolski zbornik(PDF). Maribor: Poveljstvo za doktrino, razvoj, izobraževanje in usposabljanje. 2011. p. 19.
^Jozo Tomasevich (31 January 2001).War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration. Vol. 2. Stanford University Press. p. 85.ISBN978-0-8047-3615-2.
^Godina Golija, Maja (2015).Maribor in Mariborčani. Maribor: Raziskovalna postaja ZRC SAZU Maribor in Inštitut za slovensko narodopisje ZRC SAZU. p. 7.ISBN9789612548483. Retrieved14 June 2020.
^"Maribor Climate Normals 1991–2020".World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived fromthe original on 25 August 2023. Retrieved25 August 2023.
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