Prekmurians
Encyclopedia
The Prekmurje Slovenes are Slovenes from Prekmurje
in Slovenia
and Vendvidék and Somogy in Hungary
. The Prekmurje Slovenes speak the Prekmurje dialect
and have a common culture. The Hungarian Slovenes
(Porabski Slovenci) and Somogy Slovenes also speak the Prekmurje dialect.
(Slovene Spodnja Panonija, Prekmurje dialect Spoudnja Panonija), who in the 9th century were vassals of the Frankish Empire. The Magyars conquered Lower Pannonia in 900, and many of the Slovenes were assimilated. However, the Prekmurje Slovenes in the vicinity of the Mura River maintained their identity.
, and Ljutomer
. In the Middle Ages
the Bishopric of Győr
applied the name "Tótság" to the Slovene parishes in Vas County and this name was later also applied to the Slovene areas in Zala county. At that time the Slovene territory extended to Burgenland
and Őrség. In the 12th to 13th centuries a Slovene community lived near Szentgotthárd Abbey
.
spread among the Hungarian Slovenes. The Protestant Slovenes were the first to publish in their mother tongue. In the 18th century they already had their own identity (Vogrszki szlovenszki), as István Küzmics
expressed it in the Predgovor (Foreword) of Nouvi Zákon
. The Catholic translator and writer Miklós Küzmics
also demonstrated that the Slavic people of Carniola, Styria, Tótság and Somogy are Slovenes too, but Hungarian Slovenes with their own language: Who will disallow those Slovenes who live between the Mura and the Raba the right to translate these holy books into the language, in which they understand God talking to them through prophets and apostles' letters? God tells them too to read these books in order to get prepared for salvation in the faith of Jesus Christ. But they cannot receive this from Trubar's, Dalmatin's, Francel's, or other translations (versio). The language of our Hungarian Slovenes is different from other languages and unique in its own characteristics. Already in the aforementioned translations there are differences. Therefore, a man had to come who would translate the Bible and bring praise for God and salvation for his nation. God encouraged István Küzmics for this work, a priest from Surd, who translated – with the help of the Holy Spirit and with great diligence – the whole New Testament from Greek into the language you are reading and hearing. With the help (and expenses) of many religious souls, the Holy Bible was printed and given to you for the same reason Küzmics prepared Vöre Krsztsánszke krátki návuk, which was printed in 1754.
In the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries some of the Mura Slovenes moved to Somogy county.
was to raise the national identity-consciousness of the Prekmurje Slovenes, but by means of the Non-Slovene theory (the Wendish question
). The theory, which was supported by Hungarians, was that the Wends (Prekmurje Slovenes) are a "Slavic-Magyar people", and in the long run the support for the Prekmurje dialect and culture is unnecessary as these "Slavic-Magyars" would become entirely Magyarized.
of 1920, two-thirds of the Slovene population of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
. Catholic
Slovene politicians from Prekmurje, such as József Klekl
, welcomed the Treaty. Later Klekl became disappointed with the lack of democracy in the new state, the constraints on the use of the Slovene language, and the failure to implement land reform
. As a result, he became an advocate for the Slovene language and Slovene national identity. An opposite position was taken by another Prekmurje politician, Miško Kranjec
, who later became a member of Slovene Communist Party.
After 1945 the Yugoslav government tried to suppress József Klekl's ideas. In Hungary too not only the Prekmurje Slovene identity was suppressed, but Slovene national identity in general.
the "Wendish-Celtic" and "Wendish-Magyar" theories were elaborated by Sándor Mikola. These were based on a falsification of the history of Prekmurje. Slovene sources have said that Mikola claimed that the Prekmurje Slovenes (Wends) are a separate nation, but in fact Mikola denied that there is such a thing as a Prekmurje Slovene identity. In his opinion the Prekmurje Slovenes are a Hungarian group and they "will become Hungarians."
for this idea and he later proposed that the Slovene March become an independent state, confederated with Yugoslavia. Later Klekl regretted, that the idea of the Slovene krajina was not pursued. On 29 May 1919 Vilmos Tkálecz
declared the Mura Republic (Murska republika, Respublika Mürska)in Murska Sobota
, but this had little impact as well.
and others championed the concept of a Prekmurje Slovene identity (panonskoslovenska identiteta). Another advocate of a Prekmurje Slovene identity, Evald Flisar, has written: The homeland regards Prekmurje not as a part of Slovenia but something peculiar within its borders… It is unthinkable for two Prekmurians to speak with each other in anything but Prekmurian. I used to meet the former President of the Republic Milan Kučan at public events quite often. We always spoke Prekmurian, it would have felt odd to use literary Slovenian, since he is from Prekmurje too. Others joked about us, asking why are we so secretive. When I met a compatriot in Australia, Africa or America, we immediately started to talk in our own language. This is our language.
Prekmurje
Prekmurje is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region settled by Slovenes and lying between the Mur River in Slovenia and the Rába Valley in the most western part of Hungary...
in Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
and Vendvidék and Somogy in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. The Prekmurje Slovenes speak the Prekmurje dialect
Prekmurje dialect
Prekmurian, also known as the Pannonian-Slovene, East-Slovene, or Wendish , is the easternmost separate dialect of Slovene, spoken in the Prekmurje region of Slovenia and by the Hungarian Slovenes in Vas county in western Hungary...
and have a common culture. The Hungarian Slovenes
Hungarian Slovenes
Hungarian Slovenes are an autochthonous ethnic and linguistic Slovene minority living in Hungary. The largest groups are the Rába Slovenes in the Rába Valley in western Hungary between the town of Szentgotthárd and the borders with Slovenia and Austria. They speak the Prekmurje dialect of Slovene...
(Porabski Slovenci) and Somogy Slovenes also speak the Prekmurje dialect.
Origins
Prekmurje Slovenes are descendants of the Slovenes of Lower PannoniaLower Pannonia
The Lower Pannonia or Pannonia Inferior was an ancient Roman province. It was formed in the year 103 AD. The Lower Pannonia included parts of present-day Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Cities:...
(Slovene Spodnja Panonija, Prekmurje dialect Spoudnja Panonija), who in the 9th century were vassals of the Frankish Empire. The Magyars conquered Lower Pannonia in 900, and many of the Slovenes were assimilated. However, the Prekmurje Slovenes in the vicinity of the Mura River maintained their identity.
Middle Ages
The language spoken by the Prekmurje Slovenes, in the absence of contacts with other Slovenes, began to diverge from the standard Slovene (Carniolan) dialect. Nevertheless, contacts were maintained with other Slovene areas such as Lower Styria, MariborMaribor
Maribor is the second largest city in Slovenia with 157,947 inhabitants . Maribor is also the largest and the capital city of Slovenian region Lower Styria and the seat of the Municipality of Maribor....
, and Ljutomer
Ljutomer
Ljutomer is a municipality in northeastern Slovenia, some 40 km east of Maribor. Traditionally it was part of the region of Styria. It is now included in the Pomurska statistical region....
. In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
the Bishopric of Győr
Gyor
-Climate:-Main sights:The ancient core of the city is Káptalan Hill at the confluence of three rivers: the Danube, Rába and Rábca. Püspökvár, the residence of Győr’s bishops can be easily recognised by its incomplete tower. Győr’s oldest buildings are the 13th-century dwelling tower and the...
applied the name "Tótság" to the Slovene parishes in Vas County and this name was later also applied to the Slovene areas in Zala county. At that time the Slovene territory extended to Burgenland
Burgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
and Őrség. In the 12th to 13th centuries a Slovene community lived near Szentgotthárd Abbey
Szentgotthárd Abbey
Szentgotthárd Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in Szentgotthárd in Vas County in the south-west of Hungary, about 3 km from the present border with Austria and 18 km from that with Slovenia.- History :...
.
From the Protestant Reformation to the 19th century
In the 16th century ProtestantismProtestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
spread among the Hungarian Slovenes. The Protestant Slovenes were the first to publish in their mother tongue. In the 18th century they already had their own identity (Vogrszki szlovenszki), as István Küzmics
István Küzmics
István Küzmics also known in Slovenian as Štefan or Števan Küzmič was the most important Lutheran writer of the Slovenes in Hungary....
expressed it in the Predgovor (Foreword) of Nouvi Zákon
Nouvi Zákon
The Nouvi Zákon is the most famous work of the Hungarian Slovene writer István Küzmics. The Nouvi Zákon is the translation of the Holy Gospel into the Prekmurje dialect...
. The Catholic translator and writer Miklós Küzmics
Miklós Küzmics
-Biography:Küzmics was born in Dolnji Slaveči and died in Kančevci. His parents was János Küsmics and Erzsébet Lev. He was trained as a school supervisor for the Slovene Catholic schools in Prekmurje...
also demonstrated that the Slavic people of Carniola, Styria, Tótság and Somogy are Slovenes too, but Hungarian Slovenes with their own language: Who will disallow those Slovenes who live between the Mura and the Raba the right to translate these holy books into the language, in which they understand God talking to them through prophets and apostles' letters? God tells them too to read these books in order to get prepared for salvation in the faith of Jesus Christ. But they cannot receive this from Trubar's, Dalmatin's, Francel's, or other translations (versio). The language of our Hungarian Slovenes is different from other languages and unique in its own characteristics. Already in the aforementioned translations there are differences. Therefore, a man had to come who would translate the Bible and bring praise for God and salvation for his nation. God encouraged István Küzmics for this work, a priest from Surd, who translated – with the help of the Holy Spirit and with great diligence – the whole New Testament from Greek into the language you are reading and hearing. With the help (and expenses) of many religious souls, the Holy Bible was printed and given to you for the same reason Küzmics prepared Vöre Krsztsánszke krátki návuk, which was printed in 1754.
In the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries some of the Mura Slovenes moved to Somogy county.
19th century and Magyarization
In the 19th century part of the policy of MagyarizationMagyarization
Magyarization is a kind of assimilation or acculturation, a process by which non-Magyar elements came to adopt Magyar culture and language due to social pressure .Defiance or appeals to the Nationalities Law, met...
was to raise the national identity-consciousness of the Prekmurje Slovenes, but by means of the Non-Slovene theory (the Wendish question
Wendish question
The Wendish question in Hungarian politics concerns the origin and nomenclature of the Hungarian Slovenes.The traditional Hungarian term for the Slovenes living in Hungary was "Wend" . Many Slovenes in Hungary accepted this nomenclature, although in their dialect, they always referred to...
). The theory, which was supported by Hungarians, was that the Wends (Prekmurje Slovenes) are a "Slavic-Magyar people", and in the long run the support for the Prekmurje dialect and culture is unnecessary as these "Slavic-Magyars" would become entirely Magyarized.
1918-1991
By the Treaty of TrianonTreaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon was the peace agreement signed in 1920, at the end of World War I, between the Allies of World War I and Hungary . The treaty greatly redefined and reduced Hungary's borders. From its borders before World War I, it lost 72% of its territory, which was reduced from to...
of 1920, two-thirds of the Slovene population of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
. Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Slovene politicians from Prekmurje, such as József Klekl
József Klekl (politician)
József Klekl Slovene Roman Catholic priest and politician in Hungary, writer, governor of the Slovene People's Party , later congressman in Belgrade...
, welcomed the Treaty. Later Klekl became disappointed with the lack of democracy in the new state, the constraints on the use of the Slovene language, and the failure to implement land reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
. As a result, he became an advocate for the Slovene language and Slovene national identity. An opposite position was taken by another Prekmurje politician, Miško Kranjec
Miško Kranjec
Miško Kranjec was a Slovene writer.Kranjec was born in the village of Velika Polana in what was then the Kingdom of Hungary in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as the son of the village tailor Mihalj Kranjec...
, who later became a member of Slovene Communist Party.
After 1945 the Yugoslav government tried to suppress József Klekl's ideas. In Hungary too not only the Prekmurje Slovene identity was suppressed, but Slovene national identity in general.
The theories of Sándor Mikola
After World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the "Wendish-Celtic" and "Wendish-Magyar" theories were elaborated by Sándor Mikola. These were based on a falsification of the history of Prekmurje. Slovene sources have said that Mikola claimed that the Prekmurje Slovenes (Wends) are a separate nation, but in fact Mikola denied that there is such a thing as a Prekmurje Slovene identity. In his opinion the Prekmurje Slovenes are a Hungarian group and they "will become Hungarians."
The Mura Republic and Slovenska krajina
In 1918 Klekl sought to establish an autonomous territory, the "Slovenska krajina" (or Slovene March) within Hungary. However, there was little support in LjubljanaLjubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
for this idea and he later proposed that the Slovene March become an independent state, confederated with Yugoslavia. Later Klekl regretted, that the idea of the Slovene krajina was not pursued. On 29 May 1919 Vilmos Tkálecz
Vilmos Tkálecz
Vilmos Tkálecz was a Hungarian-Slovenian schoolmaster and politician, serving as governor of the Prekmurian Republic in 1919.Tkálecz was born on January 8, 1894 in Turnišče, Prekmurje, in the Kingdom of Hungary. István Tkálecz, his father was innkeeper, mother is German descent Mária Hochhoffer....
declared the Mura Republic (Murska republika, Respublika Mürska)in Murska Sobota
Murska Sobota
Murska Sobota is a city in northeastern Slovenia. It is located in the eponymous municipality near the Mura River in the region of Prekmurje and is the regional capital.-Name:...
, but this had little impact as well.
Since 1991
After 1991 the writer Feri LainščekFeri Lainšcek
Feri Lainšček is a Slovenian writer, poet, and screenwriter.-Early life:He was born as Franc Lainšček in a Slovene Lutheran family in the village of Dolenci, near Šalovci, in north-eastern Slovenia, then part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He studied journalism at the University...
and others championed the concept of a Prekmurje Slovene identity (panonskoslovenska identiteta). Another advocate of a Prekmurje Slovene identity, Evald Flisar, has written: The homeland regards Prekmurje not as a part of Slovenia but something peculiar within its borders… It is unthinkable for two Prekmurians to speak with each other in anything but Prekmurian. I used to meet the former President of the Republic Milan Kučan at public events quite often. We always spoke Prekmurian, it would have felt odd to use literary Slovenian, since he is from Prekmurje too. Others joked about us, asking why are we so secretive. When I met a compatriot in Australia, Africa or America, we immediately started to talk in our own language. This is our language.
Literature
- Jože Alojz and Janez Sraka: Prekmurci in Prekmurje, Chicago 1984.
- Franci Just: Med verzuško in pesmijo, Poezija Prekmurja v prvi polovici 20. stoletja, Franc-Franc, Murska SobotaMurska SobotaMurska Sobota is a city in northeastern Slovenia. It is located in the eponymous municipality near the Mura River in the region of Prekmurje and is the regional capital.-Name:...
2000. ISBN 961-219-025-9 - Peter Štumpf: Jožef Klekl st., LjubljanaLjubljanaLjubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
2002. ISBN 961-211-373-4 - Franci Just: Besede iz Porabja, besede za Porabje, Franc-Franc Murska SobotaMurska SobotaMurska Sobota is a city in northeastern Slovenia. It is located in the eponymous municipality near the Mura River in the region of Prekmurje and is the regional capital.-Name:...
2003. ISBN 961-219-070-4 - Franci Just: Med verzuško in pesmijo, Poezija Prekmurja v prvi polovici 20. stoletja, Franc-Franc, Murska Sobota 2000. ISBN 961-219-025-9
- Klekl József plébános emlékiratai (Szombathelyi levtár)/Memoirs of József Klekl (Archives of Szombathely)
- Predgovor. Nouvi Zákon Stevan Küzmics, Pokrajinski Muzej Murska Sobota 2008. ISBN 978-961-6579-04-9 (English translation: Peter Lamovec)