Slovene Istria | |
|---|---|
 Rural landscape in Slovene Istria | |
 Map of Slovenia highlighting the region location | |
| Seat | Koper |
| Population (2002)[1] | |
• Total | 93,089 |
| Demonym | Istrian |
| Time zone | UTC+01 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02 (CEST) |
Slovene Istria is a region in southwestSlovenia. It comprises the northern part of theIstrian peninsula and is part of the wider geographical-historical region known as theSlovene Littoral. Its largest urban center isKoper. Other large settlements areIzola,Piran, andPortorož. The entire region has around 120 settlements. In its coastal area, bothSlovene andItalian are official languages.
The Istrian peninsula was known toRomans as theterra magica. Its name is derived from theHistri, anIllyrian tribe whom the geographerStrabo stated lived in the region. Romans described them aspirates who were hard to conquer due to the difficulty of navigating their territory. After two military campaigns, Roman legions finally subdued them in 177 BC. Many remains of ancient harbours and settlements still remain today, mostly inAnkaran,Hrvatini,Izola,Koper, andPiran.
With thefall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, Istria was conquered by theGoths and theByzantines. At the end of the 6th century,Slavs arrived and built their first permanent settlement around AD 700. During Byzantine rule, the area was briefly ruled by the Avars. Istria was annexed by theLombards in 751 and by theAvars in 774. It came underFrankish rule during the reign ofCharlemagne, when his sonCarloman conquered the peninsula in 789, and it was incorporated into the CarolingianMarch of Friuli.
In 952 KingOtto I of Germany ceded Istria together with the vastMarch of Verona and Aquileia to theDukes of Bavaria. From 976 onward Verona was ruled by theDukes of Carinthia, until in 1040 KingHenry III established the separateMarch of Istria, which thereafter was successively controlled by various noble dynasties such as the BavarianHouse of Andechs (temporarily ruling as theDukes of Merania). In 1208/09 it fell to thePatriarchs of Aquileia, while large parts of the estates were held by the comitalHouse of Gorizia.
Starting in 1267, theRepublic of Venice gradually annexed the Istrian coast, also aided by the strong presence of the nativeRomance-speaking communities; the regionregained itsoverseas ties which were loosened by thebarbarian invasions. The coastal area somewhat reflowered, but the Venetian government's enmity towardAustria and theOttoman Empire limited relations with the hinterland. AfterNapoleon's triumphin Padania, theTreaty of Campo Formio in 1797 gave most of the Venetian Republic and all of the peninsula to the Habsburgs.
Between 1805 and 1813, it was under French rule, first as part of the NapoleonicKingdom of Italy, then as a province within theIllyrian Provinces. In 1813, it became part of theAustrian Empire, which unified the whole peninsula under a single administration with the capital inPazin. In 1860, Istria became an autonomous province within theAustrian Littoral, with its ownProvincial diet (Assembly). What is today Slovenian Istria was divided among the administrative district ofKoper andVolosko: the former extended to the present-day municipalities of Koper, Izola and Piran, while the latter extended to the present-day municipality ofHrpelje-Kozina.
AfterWorld War I, according to the peaceTreaty of Rapallo, in 1920 Istria became part ofItaly.Fascism and, later,Nazi occupation spoiled ethnic relations. AfterWorld War II, Istria was assigned toYugoslavia. As a consequence, between 1945 and 1954, an estimated 350,000 ethnicItalians left the Slovenian Istria in the so-calledIstrian–Dalmatian exodus, together with several thousandSlovenes. Between 1947 and 1954, Slovenian Istria was divided between theFederal People's Republic of Yugoslavia and theFree Territory of Trieste. After the abolition of the Free Territory in 1954, the region became part of thePeople's Republic of Slovenia within Yugoslavia.
Between the 1950s and 1970s, the region experienced profound changes. A significant portion of the rural population moved to the coastal towns, which remained semi-deserted after theIstrian–Dalmatian exodus. The local Italian population shrank in number. Many villages were depopulated, while the towns grew in number. Koper developed into an important portal town, and one of the major centres of Slovenian economy.
The 43 kilometers longcoastline of Slovenian Istria has numerous peninsulas and bays such asPiran peninsula and Gulf of Piran,Gulf of Koper andAnkaran peninsula on which is at the same time one of only two nature reserves on Slovenian coast, the other one being theStrunjan reserve.[2] In the Strunjan reserve lies the only coastalcliff in Slovenia which is at the same time the only cliff inTrieste Bay. The inner part of the region is more hilly, with various types of landscape, including the most knownkarst landscape in theKarst region.
The most important water-flows in Slovenian Istria are theDragonja andRižana rivers.
.jpg)
.jpg)
_from_Crveni_Vrh%2c_Op%25C4%2587ina_Umag%2c_Croatia_-_panoramio_(10).jpg)
Slovenian Istria is the second most prosperous region in Slovenia afterCentral Slovenia. The two most important economic branches are transport and tourism, followed by services and industry.
ThePort of Koper is the only international port in Slovenia and one of the largest in theAdriatic Sea.
Tourism is one of the main industries on the Slovenian coast, especially inPortorož,Piran,Izola andSečovlje, where the most important historical monument is theVenetian Gothic Mediterranean town of Piran. The neighboring town of Portorož is a popular modern tourist resort, offering entertainment in gambling tourism. The former fishermen town of Izola has also been transformed into a popular tourist destination; many tourists also appreciate the old Medieval center of the port of Koper, which is however less popular among tourists than the other two Slovenian coastal towns. Near the village of Sečovlje there is theSečovlje Salina Nature Park, which is a cultural heritage site and a tourist attraction. Among other less important are theStrunjan nature reserve, various small camps in the nature, village ofAnkaran andDebeli Rtič.
Slovenian Istria is especially renowned for itswines andolive oil. The most common wine varieties arerefosco (red) andmalvasia (white). Other products includecherries,figs, and vegetables, such asradicchio,tomatoes andasparagus.
In theSlovenian Riviera and some villages in the interior, both Slovene and Italian are official languages.[3] In the rest of Slovenian Istria, comprising most of its rural area, only Slovene is recognized as official language.
According to the 2002 census, Slovene is spoken as the first language by 70.2% of the inhabitants of Slovenian Istria, Italian by 3.3%, and various forms ofSerbo-Croatian, dominated by Croatian, by 16% of the population. The highest percentage of Italian speakers is in the municipality ofPiran (7%), while the highest percentage of Croatian speakers is inIzola (31%). General population polls have shown that the majority of the population in Slovenian Istria is conversational in several languages:Slovene,Italian,Croatian andEnglish, all of which have at least some degree of presence in press, administration, business and popular culture.
Both Slovene and Italian are official in the municipalities of Piran, Izola and Koper. However, Italian is co-official only in the strip of land on the coast, traditionally inhabited byIstrian Italians. In the villages in the interior, only Slovene is official.[citation needed]
According to law, all official signs are to be written in both languages, as should all public notifications. Italian is to be used in all public offices in the bilingual area. For most jobs in the public administration and other public offices, the knowledge of both Slovene and Italian is required. Beside Slovene language schools, there are also elementary, high and grammar schools with Italian as the language of instruction. Pupils may choose between an education in Slovene or Italian; in either case, the other official language is being taught during the whole period of education, in order to provide that all residents speak both languages. At the state-ownedUniversity of Primorska, however, which is also established in the bilingual area, Slovene is the only language of instruction (although the official name of the university additionally includes the Italian version).
Italian may be used in the municipal assemblies of Koper, Izola and Piran, although in practice almost all discussions are carried out in Slovene.
In the rural areas of Slovenian Istria, theIstrian dialect of Slovene is still spoken. It is divided into two sub-dialects: theRižana subdialect, spoken in the northern areas, and theŠavrin Hills subdialect, spoken in the southern areas. In the municipality ofHrpelje-Kozina, theInner Carniolan dialect is spoken. In a few villages on the border withCroatia, theČičarija dialect is spoken, which is considered a transitional dialect between Slovene andČakavian Croatian.
In the urban areas, a hybrid regional version of Slovene is spoken, which is phonetically very different from the rural dialects. It developed after World War Two, when new settlers from all Slovenia (many of whom fromSlovenian Styria) moved into the towns, left by theIstrian Italians. Although it has borrowed many words from the Istrian dialect, it is markedly distinguishable from it.
Traditionally, the Istrian Italians living in Slovenian Istria have spoken theVenetian language. After the end of theWorld War II and the abolition and division of theFree Territory of Trieste the Venetian language lost as many as 90 percent of its speakers due to the mass emigration of the urban Italian population in Istria.
Due the dialect in being increasingly replaced nowadays bystandard Italian[citation needed] it was entered into the officialRegister of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Slovenia.[4]
45°33′9.09″N13°54′11.51″E / 45.5525250°N 13.9031972°E /45.5525250; 13.9031972