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TheSlovene March orSlovene krajina (Slovene:Slovenska krajina,Hungarian:Vendvidék, Szlovenszka krajina, Szlovén krajina) was the traditional denomination of theSlovene-speaking areas of theVas andZala County in theKingdom of Hungary from the late 18th century until theTreaty of Trianon in 1919. It comprised approximately two-thirds of modernPrekmurje,Slovenia, and the modern area between the current Slovenian-Hungarian border and the town ofSzentgotthárd, whereHungarian Slovenes still live. In Hungarian, the latter area is still known as Vendvidék, which is the Hungarian denomination for the Slovene March, while in Slovene it is referred asPorabje (literally, 'the area along theRába river').
It should not be confused with the medievalSlovene (or Windic) March of the Holy Roman Empire which was located in the present-day south-east Slovenia, roughly in the areas of the regions ofLower Carniola,White Carniola andLower Sava Valley.
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March, or "territory" (cognate to "mark"), is a word indicating a border county of a kingdom.
Since the 10th century, theSlovene-inhabited area between theMura andRába rivers was part of theKingdom of Hungary. Most of this area was included inVas County, while a smaller portion to the southeast (the areas betweenLendava andBeltinci) belonged toZala County. In the 12th century, thebishop of Győr founded a Slovene deanery district in his bishopric, under the nameTótság.
The name came from the Hungarian termTót, which meant 'Slav'. In thelocal Slovene dialect, the ecclesiastical administrative unit became known as theSzlovenszka okroglina 'Slovene District'. In 1778, this area was transferred to the newly createdBishopric of Szombathely, and the first bishop,János Szily, created a district calledVendvidék 'Wendic March', from the Hungarian termVend for the local Slovenes.Roman Catholic priests of the region called itSlovenska krajina, from the name of the local Slavic people, which in theirlocal dialect, as in allSlovene dialects, isSlovenci orSlovénge.
In the late 19th century, the Hungarian authorities followed an assimilatory policy towards the minorities, pushing the Catholic majority of Slovenes, and their leadersJózsef Borovnyák andFerenc Ivanóczy, to aspire for autonomy of the Slovene March. In 1918, with the breakdown of theAustro-Hungarian Empire, the Slovene politicians inPrekmurje were confronted with the choice between continuing to be part of the newly establishedHungarian Democratic Republic, seek for an autonomous entity, establish an independent state (Republic of the Slovene March), or join the newState of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (Yugoslavia). The Hungarian republican leadersMihály Károlyi andOszkár Jászi were inclined to give a wide autonomy to the Slovene March. The Slovene governorJózsef Klekl worked out a detailed program of autonomy together with Jászi. The proposal included an autonomous Slovene assembly inMurska Sobota, a regional defence unit, the establishment of a Slovene high school inSzentgotthárd, and the introduction of a trilingual administration in the territories of Szentgotthárd, Murska Sobota,Lendava andŐriszentpéter, with an equality betweenPrekmurje Slovene,Hungarian andGerman. The name of the proposed entity would be Slovene March(Slovenska krajina). On 19 January 1918, a convention was assembled inBeltinci, which proposed that the Slovene March became an autonomous territory in Slovenia and inYugoslavia. Some Slovene politicians, such asMihael Kuhar,Joško Godina,Ivan Jerič and the great Slovene politicianAnton Korošec also felt that the idea of an independent Slovene March was possible. But Klekl disagreed and pushed for the inclusion of the Slovene March intoSlovenia, which was then part of theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
Initially, the area was assigned to Hungary, but with the outbreak of theHungarian Revolution of 1919, the situation changed dramatically. After a short interim of theHungarian Soviet Republic, theRepublic of Prekmurje was proclaimed in late May 1919 by the activistVilmos Tkálecz. After less than two weeks, the tiny Republic was invaded by the Army of theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes that occupied the entirePrekmurje. With theTreaty of Trianon of June 1920, almost the totality of the area was assigned to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
After 1919, the name Slovene March fell into disuse. In theKingdom of Yugoslavia, it was gradually replaced by the namePrekmurje, although most of the local elites preferred the old name Slovene March. The name however made little sense in the changed circumstances, since the region was not any more a Slovene-speaking peripheral area of Hungary, but was considered part ofSlovenia. During the 1920s, the name Slovene March was thus replaced by 'March of the Mura' (Slovene:Murska krajina; Prekmurje dialect:Mörska krajina[citation needed]), which was used together with the denomination Prekmurje (literally 'the region over the Mura' or 'Trans-Mura'). After World War Two, this latter name prevailed, and all the others fell in disuse.
