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Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca Gefürstete Grafschaft Görz und Gradisca (German) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1754–1919 | |||||||||||
 Flag  Coat of arms | |||||||||||
 Map of theAustrian Littoral, comprising theImperial Free City of Trieste (yellow), theMargraviate of Istria (green), and the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca (orange) | |||||||||||
| Status | State of theHoly Roman Empire(until 1806) Crown land of theAustrian Empire(until 1867) Cisleithanian crown land ofAustria-Hungary | ||||||||||
| Capital | Gorizia | ||||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | ||||||||||
| Government | Principality | ||||||||||
| Emperor of Austria | |||||||||||
• 1848–1916 | Franz Joseph I | ||||||||||
• 1916–1918 | Karl I | ||||||||||
| Landeshauptmann | |||||||||||
• 1870–1877 | Franz Coronini von Cronberg | ||||||||||
• 1877–1883 | Luigi Pajer de Monriva | ||||||||||
• 1883–1899 | Franz Coronini von Cronberg | ||||||||||
• 1899–1913 | Luigi Pajer de Monriva | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Modern history | ||||||||||
• Established | 4 March 1754 | ||||||||||
| 10 September 1919 | |||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||
| 1910[1] | 2,918 km2 (1,127 sq mi) | ||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||
• 1910[1] | 260,721 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
ThePrincely County of Gorizia and Gradisca (German:Gefürstete Grafschaft Görz und Gradisca;Italian:Principesca Contea di Gorizia e Gradisca;Slovene:Poknežena grofija Goriška in Gradiščanska), historically sometimes shortened to and spelled "Goritz", was acrown land of theHabsburg dynasty within theAustrian Littoral on theAdriatic Sea, in what is now a multilingual border area ofItaly andSlovenia. It was named for its two major urban centers,Gorizia andGradisca d'Isonzo.
The province stretched along theSoča/Isonzo River, from its source at Mt.Jalovec in theJulian Alps down to theGulf of Trieste nearMonfalcone. In the northwest, thePredil Pass led to theDuchy of Carinthia, in the northeast Mts.Mangart,Razor andTriglav marked the border with theDuchy of Carniola (Upper Carniola).
In the west, Mts.Kanin andMatajur stood on the border with theFriulian region, which until the 1797Treaty of Campo Formio was part of theRepublic of Venice, from 1815 onwards belonged to the AustrianKingdom of Lombardy–Venetia and finally to the newly establishedKingdom of Italy from 1866. In the south the province bordered on the territory of theImperial Free City of Trieste and theMargraviate of Istria.
The medieval estates of theCounts of Görz had been acquired by theAustrian Habsburgs in 1500, when the lastMeinhardiner countLeonhard died without heirs. In the period shortly after 1500, Gorizia was administered by the stadtholder (captain)Virgil von Graben. Habsburg suzerainty was interrupted briefly by theVenetians in 1508/09, before Görz was finally incorporated into theInner Austrian territories of theHabsburg monarchy. In 1647 EmperorFerdinand III elevated the Görz town ofGradisca to animmediate county for the descendants of privy councillor PrinceHans Ulrich von Eggenberg. After the princelyHouse of Eggenberg had become extinct, Gradisca was re-unified with Gorizia in 1754, creating theCounty of Gorizia and Gradisca (Grafschaft Görz und Gradisca;Contea di Gorizia e Gradisca).
During theNapoleonic Wars, the territory of Gorizia and Gradisca became the battleground on several occasions. By theTreaty of Pressburg (1805),French dominance was established in the region, resulting in Austrian loss of the most western parts of the County. Those territorial issues were resolved by the Treaty of Fontainebleau (October 10, 1807): all Austrian territories on the right (western) bank of theIsonzo river (including the town ofGradisca d'Isonzo and the westernmost suburbs ofGorizia) were assigned to theNapoleonic Kingdom of Italy.[2]
The remaining territory of the county was left underAustrian rule until 1809, when it was incorporated into theIllyrian Provinces under direct domination of the French Empire.
In 1813, Austrian rule was restored. The county was re-established in its former borders, including the formerenclaves ofMonfalcone andGrado, which had been underVenetian control before 1797. However, in 1816 the county was combined with the Duchies ofCarniola andCarinthia, theImperial Free City of Trieste, and theMarch of Istria and its associated islands (Cres,Krk,Lošinj and numerous smaller islands) to form a wider administrative unit named theKingdom of Illyria, with the capital inLaibach. In 1849, the Kingdom of Illyria was dissolved, and theAustrian Littoral was then formed, comprising the County of Gorizia and Gradisca, Trieste and Istria. In 1861, the territory of the county gained autonomy as thePrincely County of Gorizia and Gradisca (Gefürstete Grafschaft Görz und Gradisca;Principesca Contea di Gorizia e Gradisca;Poknežena grofija Goriška in Gradiščanska), aCisleithaniancrown land withinAustria-Hungary. The county had its own provincial parliament and enjoyed a large degree of self-government, although it was formally subjected to an Imperial Governor (Landeshauptmann) with the seat in Trieste, who carried out the government supervision for the whole territory of the Austrian Littoral.
In 1915,Italy enteredWorld War I against Austria-Hungary. The western part of the county was devastated by theBattles of the Isonzo, fought between the two armies. In August 1916, Gorizia was occupied by Italian troops for the first time in its history, but in November 1917 theAustro-Hungarian Army threw the Italian forces back in theBattle of Caporetto. Large numbers of the population were interned in civil camps around Austria-Hungary and Italy, while almost half of the province's territory laid in ruins.
In Spring 1918, two mass political movements emerged in the county, demanding larger autonomy within a federalized Habsburg Monarchy. TheSlovenes demanded the union with otherSouth Slavic peoples into asovereign Yugoslav state,while theFriulians demanded special autonomy for the western part of the region, where they were the majority.[citation needed] The two movements did not clash, since they did not contest the same territories. The only open issue was the town ofGorizia, claimed by both the Slovenes and the Friulians.[citation needed] An underground movement, known asItalia irredenta (Unredeemed Italy), demanded the unification of Gorizia with Italy. With the dissolution ofAustria-Hungary in late October 1918, a short interim period followed, in which no movement was able to establish its authority. In November 1918, the whole territory of the county was occupied by the Italian military which suppressed all political movements challenging her claims on the region.
In November 1918, the county was officially abolished and incorporated in the provisional administrative region ofJulian March. With the treaties ofRapallo andSaint Germain-en-Laye of 1920, the whole territory of the county became an integral part of theKingdom of Italy. The former Habsburg policy favouring local autonomy was replaced by a strictcentralism. TheProvince of Gorizia was established, which had very little self-government compared to the old county. The borders of the new province were also partially changed. The new province included some areas of the former AustrianDuchy of Carniola that were assigned to Italy by the Peace Treaty (the districts ofIdrija,Vipava, andŠturje). On the other hand, most of the territory in theKarst region, which had belonged to the County of Gorizia and Gradisca, was incorporated in theProvince of Trieste, while the district ofCervignano was included in theProvince of Udine.
In 1924, the Province of Gorizia was abolished and its territory incorporated into theProvince of Friuli, whose capital wasUdine, except for the administrative district ofMonfalcone and the town ofGrado that became part of Province of Trieste. In 1927 the Province of Gorizia was recreated with approximately the same territory, except for the district ofCervignano del Friuli which remained under the Province of Udine, and the area of Monfalcone and Grado remained part of the Province of Trieste. With the establishment of theFascist regime, a violentItalianization of the area started. This policy was carried out in three stages: first, all public administration was Italianized, with the Slovene and German losing their previous status ofofficial languages; second, all education (both public and private) was Italianized; third, all visual presence of Slovene and German in public was prohibited. The latter included changing names of villages, prohibition to use a language other than Italian in public, prohibition to give Slavic names to children, forcible changes of Slovenian surnames, etc. This policy was accompanied by political persecutions and intimidations. By 1927, all Slovenian organizations were outlawed, including all media, publishing houses, cultural associations, as well as financial and economic companies owned by Slovenian organizations. Only one publishing house, the CatholicHermagoras Society, was allowed to publish books in Slovene, although only religious literature. Most Slovene intellectuals and small business owners were forced to leave the region, many of them settled in theKingdom of Yugoslavia or emigrated toArgentina.
Between 1927 and 1943, the Province of Gorizia was an administrative territorial entity of the Fascist regime, governed by a Government-appointedprefect and the local Fascist hierarchy. All municipal autonomy was abolished and thepodestà, appointed by the prefect, replaced the elected mayors. All legal political activity outside the regime became impossible and most of thecivil society institutions, at least the Slovenian ones, were dismantled.
In 1927, the firstmilitant anti-fascist organization, known asTIGR, was established. The organization, founded by local Slovenes (mostly young people ofliberal,nationalist andsocial-democratic orientation) carried out several attacks on Italian military and administrative personnel, which further exacerbated the situations in the region. Several Slovenian cultural and political figures were imprisoned, exiled or killed, with the most famous beingLojze Bratuž.
In 1941, with theAxis invasion of Yugoslavia, the situation became even worse. By 1942, theYugoslav resistance penetrated in the region from the borderingProvince of Ljubljana. Several important clashes between the resistance and the Italian military happened. After theItalian armistice in September 1943,Nazi Germany occupied the region, incorporating it into theOperational Zone Adriatic Coast, led by theGauleiterFriedrich Rainer.
Already in September 1943, large portions of the region were taken over by theCommunist-ledLiberation Front of the Slovenian People, which established several important bases in the area, including the famousFranja Partisan Hospital. Fights between the Communist-led resistance and the Nazis were frequent. Soon, German authorities adopted a pragmatic approach regarding the local Slovenian population: public use of Slovenian was allowed again. The anti-Communist collaborationist militia calledSlovene Home Guard was also allowed to establish some units in the area, although they had little success in recruiting the locals. At the same time, politically motivated assassinations were carried out by the Communist cells within the resistance movement. Among the victims, there were severalRoman Catholic priests and anti-fascists opposed to the Communist ideology.
After the end ofWorld War II in 1945, almost the entire region was liberated by theYugoslav People's Army, but was forced to withdraw from its western part. During the forty days of Yugoslav occupation, thousands of Italians were arrested by Communist authorities; most of them were released, but several hundred of them perished in theFoibe massacres.
For two years, Gorizia and Gradisca was a contested region between Italy and theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, divided by the so-calledMorgan Line. The territory west of the line (including the entireSoča valley, the lowerVipava Valley and most of theKarst Plateau) were occupied by British and U.S. forces, while the east remained under Yugoslav military administration. In September 1947, the region was finally divided between the two countries: Yugoslavia got most of the rural territory of the eastern part, while all of the western lowlands and the urban center ofGorizia were left to Italy. A small portion of the Karst region betweenTrieste andDuino was incorporated into the Zone A of the Allied-administeredFree Territory of Trieste (which became part of Italy in 1954).
Gorizia and Gradisca thus ceased to exist as a unified historical region. Its Yugoslav portion became an integral part of theSocialist Republic of Slovenia: most of its territory was included in theGoriška region, except for the Karst Plateau, which was incorporated into theLittoral–Inner Carniola Statistical Region. A new urban center, calledNova Gorica ("New Gorizia") was built between the late 1940s and in the early 1950s. The Italian portion became part of theFriuli-Venezia Giulia autonomous region, mostly included in theProvince of Gorizia.
The county of Gorizia and Gradisca enjoyed a multicultural environment, where Slavic, German and Latin people lived together and the state respected the right of minorities; it was not uncommon for people in this area to speak three or four languages.
The County of Gorizia and Gradisca emerged as a major center ofSlovene culture in the second half of the 19th century. Already in the early 1860s,Slovene replacedGerman as the major language of education and administration in the Slovene-inhabited parts of the county. Differently fromStyria,Carinthia and evenCarniola, there was no assimilation pressure against the Slovene culture in most of Gorizia-Gradisca, so the Slovene culture flourished. Since the 1890s, theState Gymnasium ofGorizia emerged as one of the most prestigious educational centers in theSlovene Lands: several prominent figures in Slovenian arts, sciences and politics in the early 20th century received their education in this institution. In 1913, the Gymnasium was divided into three parts, with German, Italian and Slovenian as the language of teaching. The Slovenian section of the Gymnasium of Gorizia thus became the first public high school with Slovene as the primary language of teaching.
Among the prominent figures ofSlovene culture from the County of Gorizia and Gradisca were: the poetsSimon Gregorčič,Alojz Gradnik, andJoža Lovrenčič, writerJulius Kugy, theologianAnton Mahnič, composerStanko Premrl, historianSimon Rutar, paintersJožef Tominc andSaša Šantel, architectMax Fabiani, philologistKarel Štrekelj, and literary historianAvgust Žigon. Other prominent Slovenes from Gorizia-Gradisca included politiciansKarel Lavrič andAnton Gregorčič, admiralAnton Haus, Roman Catholic bishopFrančišek Borgia Sedej, economistMilko Brezigar and the pioneer pilotEdvard Rusjan. Prominent Slovenes who settled in the province from other regions included politician and authorHenrik Tuma, historianFranc Kos, linguistStanislav Škrabec, and jurist, historian and politicianBogumil Vošnjak.
During the 19th century Gorizia was an important and lively center forFriulian. Throughout the century, many old books were republished, new works were composed, and several political and cultural association promoting Friulian culture were founded in the region. This was also thanks to the fact that even the nobility would normally use the language, while for example inUdine and in other towns of centralFriulian higher classes rather usedVenetian, because Friulian was seen as the language of peasants.
The County of Gorizia and Gradisca was also important for Friulian because it is the only territory in which an official census on speakers of Friulian has been carried out: in 1857, the officialAustrian census showed 48.841 Friulians, 130,748 Slovenians, 15,134 Italians and 2,150 Germans in the county. A second census in 1921, carried out shortly after the annexation toItaly gave similar results.
Throughout the 19th century, most educated Friulians gravitated towards theItalian culture. A distinct Friulian identity existed, but was weak and not well articulated. One of the most prominent Friulian poets from Gorizia-Gradisca in the 19th century,Carlo Favetti, was for example also a ferventItalian irredentist. Others, such as the conservative leader and political authorLuigi Faidutti, favoured an autonomous development of Friulian culture within a multicultural framework of theHabsburg Empire. Between 1890 and 1918, the autonomist movement gained widespread support in the countryside, but remained marginal in the urban areas.[citation needed]
During the 19th century, the town of Gorizia was the only major center of Italian culture in the region. In the 17th century, Italian emerged as a second language of culture in the town, next to German. Throughout the 18th and early 19th century, Italian culture flourished in the whole region. Italian was used as a language of education and culture by many noble families, as well as in Slovene and Germanbourgeois families. Several renowned artists, such as architectNicolò Pacassi, paintersJožef Tominc andFranz Caucig,Garibaldin generalIgnazio Francesco Scodnik, architectMax Fabiani and authorJulius Kugy were educated in a predominantly Italian cultural environment.
The emergence of theSlovene National Awakening in the second half of the 19th century meant a significant setback for the Italian culture in the region. Most families that would previously educate their children in an Italian cultural environment, switched to Slovenian. Another reason for the decrease of Italian cultural influence was the unification ofLombardy-Venetia with theKingdom of Italy in 1866, which radically reduced the influence of Italian culture within theAustrian Empire and cut off the free cultural exchange between Gorizia-Gradisca andNorthern Italy.
By the beginning of the 20th century, Italian lost its previous function as thelingua franca in the region. Gorizia remained the only important center of Italian culture in the county, although the percentage of Italian speakers in the town was in constant decrease and dropped under 50% in 1910.
Nevertheless, important figures emerged from the Italian-speaking milieu of Gorizia, such as the prominent philologistGraziadio Isaia Ascoli and philosopherCarlo Michelstaedter, both of whom were ofJewish descent. ComposerRodolfo Lipizer and paintersItalico Brass andVittorio Bolaffio also came from this community. Other minor Italian cultural centres were the towns ofGrado andMonfalcone, where a dialect ofVenetian was spoken. The poetBiagio Marin was the most important representative of this local Italian culture.
The German-speaking community represented only a very small portion of the population. They were mostly concentrated in the town of Gorizia, where they represented some 10% of the overall population of the city center. Nevertheless, other factors increased the importance of the German culture in the region. Until the end ofWorld War I, German continued to enjoy the prestige acquired in previous centuries, when the great majority of thehigh culture in the region was linked to the German cultural sphere. Most of the local aristocracy was multilingual, but they spoke mostly German among themselves. Several important noble families resided in the county, and they were often important contributors of arts and literature. They included theThurn und Taxis, theLanthieri, theAttems Petzenstein, theWindischgraetz, theCoronini Cronberg and theStrassoldo. Furthermore, German had served as alingua franca for the communication between the single ethnic groups. Until 1913, most of the high education was available only in German.
Among the most prominent members of the German-speaking community of Gorizia and Gradisca were the chemistJohannes Christian Brunnich and explorer and natural scientistKarl von Scherzer.
In the 1850s, Gorizia and Gradisca also emerged as a tourist destination for the Central European elite. Towns such as Gorizia,Grado,Aquileia,Duino,Aurisina, andMost na Soči became important tourist centers in theAustrian Riviera. Many prominent figures, belonging to the German cultural milieu, frequented these places, making an important contribution to the survival of the local German culture. These include the ethnographer and linguistKarl von Czoernig, poetRainer Maria Rilke who wrote his famousDuino Elegies while visiting the region, and the renowned physicistLudwig Boltzmann.
The vast majority of the population of the county was ofRoman Catholic denomination. Gorizia was one of the most important centers of the Catholic Church in Austria, since it was the seats of theArchbishops of Görz, who were one of the three legal descendants of thePatriarchate of Aquileia (along with thePatriarchate of Venice and theArchdiocese of Udine). Gorizia was thus the center of aMetropolitan bishopric that comprised the Dioceses ofLjubljana,Trieste,Poreč-Pula andKrk. Several important religious figures lived and worked in Gorizia, including cardinalJakob Missia, bishopFrančišek Borgia Sedej, theologiansAnton Mahnič andJosip Srebrnič, andFranciscan friar and philologianStanislav Škrabec. There were many important Roman Catholic sacral buildings in the area, among them the sanctuaries ofSveta Gora ("Holy Mountain") andBarbana, and the monastery ofKostanjevica. Most of the county was included into the Archbidiocese of Gorizia, with the exception of the south-western portion of theKarst Plateau (aroundSežana), which was included in the Diocese of Trieste.
According to the census of 1910, there were around 1,400 members of non-Latin Catholic or non-Catholic denominations in the county, which amounted to only around 0,5% of the overall population. Among them, around 750 belonged to variousProtestant denominations (mostlyLutherans), around 340 were ofJewish faith, around 180Greek Orthodox and around 130 wereGreek Catholic.
According to the data of the last official census in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1910, the county had an area of 2918 km2 and 260,721 inhabitants, of which around 20% lived in urban areas (Gorizia, Gradisca,Monfalcone,Cormons,Cervignano,Ronchi,Grado), around 18% in semi-urban settlements (Podgora,Aquileia,Staranzano,Solkan,Šempeter,Duino,Ajdovščina,Bovec,Kobarid,Tolmin,Sežana,Kanal ob Soči) and around 62% in rural areas. Among the urban population, some 21% were ethnic Slovenes, some 8% ethnic Germans, while the rest were mostly ethnic Italians. Among the semi-urban population, some 90% were Slovenes and 10% Italians and Friulians, while in the rural population 30% were Friulians and some 70% Slovenes.
The historical demography of the region was the following one:
| Census[3] | Ethnic structure | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Population of Gorizia-Gradisca | Slovenes | % | Italians and Friulians | % | Germans | % |
| 1818 | 144,008 | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | |||
| 1857 | 196,279 | 130,748 | 66.6% | 62,975 | 32.1% | 2,320 | 1.2% |
| 1890 | 222,000 | 145,000 | 65.3% | 73,000 | 32.9% | 3,000 | 1.4% |
| 1910 | 260,721 | 154,564 | 59.3% | 90,119 | 34.6% | 4,486 | 1.7% |
The county was divided into five administrative or "political" districts (Kreise), which were in turn subdivided into judicial districts. The town of Gorizia had a status of an administrative district.
