Republic of Prekmurje
Encyclopedia
The Republic of Prekmurje or Mura Republica ( Prekmurian: Reszpublika Szlovenszka okroglina, or Mörszka Reszpublika) was an unrecognized state in Prekmurje
, an area traditionally known in Hungarian as Vendvidék (the Wendic March). On June 6, 1919, Prekmurje was incorporated in the newly established Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later renamed to Yugoslavia
in 1929.
The state was bordered by Austria
to the north, Hungary
to the east, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes to the west and south.
in north-east Italy
to Lake Balaton
in Hungary
. The Magyars settled the eastern part of this area in the early 10th century, and Pekmurje (along with Croatia
and Slovakia
) eventually became part of the Kingdom of Hungary
. The Slovenes living east of the Mura River were therefore isolated from those west of the river (i.e., under Austrian administration) and thus developed a separate identity as Prekmurje Slovenians. The Prekmurian dialect especially became distinctive. In the 16th and 18th centuries, numerous Slovene families from the Mura and Raba territory settled in Somogy County.
The (mutinous) Croatian Army annexed Prekmurje in 1918, but the 83rd Hungarian Infantry Regiment recaptured it. Soon, the Truce of Belgrade in 1918 gave Mura and Raba Country to Hungary, but the Serbs had second thoughts and sought to extend their area of control northwards to create a Yugoslav-Czechoslovak border.
On March 21, 1919, the Hungarian communists
and Social Democrats
created the Hungarian Soviet Republic
, which was anti-religious, internationalist, and pro-Soviet
. The communists wanted to expropriate the ecclesiastical assets, starting with all the lordships. The Lutherans and the Catholics resisted this. In order to be rid of the communists, the Catholic Party decided to create an autonomous republic. The Hungarian and Slovenian socialists wanted to establish a Soviet system in Prekmurje, but support was scant and a few people gave aid to the Soviet Republic. In Međimurje the Serbian
and Croatian
military aligned themselves against Prekmurje.
In Lendava
, the anti-communist military campaign started off well, but soon unraveled. In Murska Sobota
the socialist Vilmos Tkálecz
, a former schoolmaster and soldier in the first World War, was involved in illegal trade, which the communist statutes forbade. Tkálecz was not a leftist, Yugoslav, or pro-Hungarian. On May 29, Tkálecz and some followers declared independence from Hungary
. Tkálecz invoked the Fourteen Points
of Woodrow Wilson
which granted autonomy rights for national minorities. The new state recognized Austria in order to receive some weapons, together with those from Hungarian military units. However, Tkálecz frustrated the Catholics; the people of Prekmurje did not support the republic.
The Prekmurje Republic wished to expand its boundaries and received minute pieces of land: In Murska Sobota, the republic received the territory of the districts of Murska Sobota, Lendava
, Szentgotthárd, and some villages in the Őrség area, and they already possessed the northern, central, and southwestern Mura march districts. The principal settlements of the republic were Murska Sobota, Szentgotthárd, Lendava, Beltinci
, and Dobrovnik
.
On August 1, 1919, the Hungarian Soviet Republic was overthrown by Romanian
forces, and soon the Serbian Army marched into Prekmurje.
In 1920, Tkálecz lived in Hungary in the village Nagykarácsony
in (Fejér County) as a schoolmaster. The 1920 Treaty of Trianon
established the present Hungarian borders.
, and Fikšinci
), and a Croatian minority at 3,000. Other ethnic groups included Jews
and Roma. The religious composition was over half Lutheran
, one-third Catholic, and some Calvinist
and Jewish
minorities. In a few villages, Roma speak both Prekmurje Slovenian or Hungarian as their native languages.
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...
, an area traditionally known in Hungarian as Vendvidék (the Wendic March). On June 6, 1919, Prekmurje was incorporated in the newly established Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later renamed to Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
in 1929.
The state was bordered by Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
to the north, 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...
to the east, and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes to the west and south.
Origins
Slovenian ethnic territory was once more extensive than today, spreading from FriuliFriuli
Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...
in north-east Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
to Lake Balaton
Lake Balaton
Lake Balaton is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of its foremost tourist destinations. As Hungary is landlocked , Lake Balaton is often affectionately called the "Hungarian Sea"...
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 Magyars settled the eastern part of this area in the early 10th century, and Pekmurje (along with Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
) eventually became part of the Kingdom of Hungary
History of Hungary
Hungary is a country in central Europe. Its history under this name dates to the early Middle Ages, when the Pannonian Basin was colonized by the Magyars, a semi-nomadic people from what is now central-northern Russia...
. The Slovenes living east of the Mura River were therefore isolated from those west of the river (i.e., under Austrian administration) and thus developed a separate identity as Prekmurje Slovenians. The Prekmurian dialect especially became distinctive. In the 16th and 18th centuries, numerous Slovene families from the Mura and Raba territory settled in Somogy County.
History
During World War I in Prekmurje, the leaders of the Slovene minority were mostly Catholic priests and Lutheran ministers. After the collapse of Austria-Hungary, together with secular leaders (but with diverging political views), the Catholic Prekmurian clerics sided with the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. However, the Lutheran Slovenes still supported Hungarian rule. The Catholic party wished to proclaim an independent state, whereas the Lutheran Slovenes and Hungarians of Prekmurje supported remaining part of Hungary.The (mutinous) Croatian Army annexed Prekmurje in 1918, but the 83rd Hungarian Infantry Regiment recaptured it. Soon, the Truce of Belgrade in 1918 gave Mura and Raba Country to Hungary, but the Serbs had second thoughts and sought to extend their area of control northwards to create a Yugoslav-Czechoslovak border.
On March 21, 1919, the Hungarian communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and Social Democrats
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
created the Hungarian Soviet Republic
Hungarian Soviet Republic
The Hungarian Soviet Republic or Soviet Republic of Hungary was a short-lived Communist state established in Hungary in the aftermath of World War I....
, which was anti-religious, internationalist, and pro-Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The communists wanted to expropriate the ecclesiastical assets, starting with all the lordships. The Lutherans and the Catholics resisted this. In order to be rid of the communists, the Catholic Party decided to create an autonomous republic. The Hungarian and Slovenian socialists wanted to establish a Soviet system in Prekmurje, but support was scant and a few people gave aid to the Soviet Republic. In Međimurje the Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
and Croatian
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
military aligned themselves against Prekmurje.
In Lendava
Lendava
Lendava is a town and a municipality in Slovenia in the region of Prekmurje. It is close to the border crossing with Hungary at Dolga vas-Rédics, and Hungarian is one of the official languages of the municipality, along with Slovene...
, the anti-communist military campaign started off well, but soon unraveled. 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:...
the socialist 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....
, a former schoolmaster and soldier in the first World War, was involved in illegal trade, which the communist statutes forbade. Tkálecz was not a leftist, Yugoslav, or pro-Hungarian. On May 29, Tkálecz and some followers declared independence from 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...
. Tkálecz invoked the Fourteen Points
Fourteen Points
The Fourteen Points was a speech given by United States President Woodrow Wilson to a joint session of Congress on January 8, 1918. The address was intended to assure the country that the Great War was being fought for a moral cause and for postwar peace in Europe...
of Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
which granted autonomy rights for national minorities. The new state recognized Austria in order to receive some weapons, together with those from Hungarian military units. However, Tkálecz frustrated the Catholics; the people of Prekmurje did not support the republic.
The Prekmurje Republic wished to expand its boundaries and received minute pieces of land: In Murska Sobota, the republic received the territory of the districts of Murska Sobota, Lendava
Lendava
Lendava is a town and a municipality in Slovenia in the region of Prekmurje. It is close to the border crossing with Hungary at Dolga vas-Rédics, and Hungarian is one of the official languages of the municipality, along with Slovene...
, Szentgotthárd, and some villages in the Őrség area, and they already possessed the northern, central, and southwestern Mura march districts. The principal settlements of the republic were Murska Sobota, Szentgotthárd, Lendava, Beltinci
Beltinci
Beltinci is a settlement and a municipality in the Prekmurje region of northeastern Slovenia. The municipality has 8,256 inhabitants...
, and Dobrovnik
Dobrovnik
Dobrovnik is a village and a municipality in Slovenia. It is located in the Prekmurje region. It has a significant Hungarian ethnic community that outnumbers the Slovenes. In fact, Dobrovnik is one of the two municipalities in Slovenia where ethnic Slovenes form a minority of the population, the...
.
Aftermath
On June 6, 1919, the Hungarian Red Army marched into Prekmurje and dismantled the Republic. Tkálecz fled to Austria. A communist militia made up of 50 peasants killed the anti-communists. In addition, a five million crown indemnity was laid upon the people and a harsh Red Terror ensued.On August 1, 1919, the Hungarian Soviet Republic was overthrown by Romanian
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
forces, and soon the Serbian Army marched into Prekmurje.
In 1920, Tkálecz lived in Hungary in the village Nagykarácsony
Nagykarácsony
Nagykarácsony is a village in Fejér county, Hungary.- External links :*...
in (Fejér County) as a schoolmaster. The 1920 Treaty of Trianon
Treaty 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...
established the present Hungarian borders.
Population
The population of the Prekmurian Republic was approximately 100,000, of which 20,000 to 22,000 were Hungarians; other large minorities included a German minority at 8,000 (especially in the villages of Alsószölnök, GerlinciGerlinci
Gerlinci is a village in the Cankova Municipality in the Prekmurje region of northeastern Slovenia.There is a small chapel in the settlement. It was built in 1861 and is dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua. It belongs to the Pertoča Parish....
, and Fikšinci
Fikšinci
Fikšinci is a village in the Rogašovci Municipality in the Prekmurje region of northeastern Slovenia.The local church in the centre of the village is dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows. It is a simple single nave building with a polygonal apse and a belfry, built in 1850.-External links:*...
), and a Croatian minority at 3,000. Other ethnic groups included Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
and Roma. The religious composition was over half Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
, one-third Catholic, and some Calvinist
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
and Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
minorities. In a few villages, Roma speak both Prekmurje Slovenian or Hungarian as their native languages.
See also
- Banat RepublicBanat RepublicThe Banat Republic was a short-lived state proclaimed in Timişoara on November 1, 1918, the day after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Recognized only by Hungary, the republic was invaded by the army of neighboring Serbia on November 15...
- Former countries in Europe after 1815Former countries in Europe after 1815This article gives a detailed listing of all the countries, , that have existed in Europe since the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to the present day...
- Hungarian SlovenesHungarian SlovenesHungarian 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...
- List of historical unrecognized countries
- PrekmurjePrekmurjePrekmurje 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...
- Serbian-Hungarian Baranya-Baja Republic
- Slovene March (Kingdom of Hungary)Slovene March (Kingdom of Hungary)The Slovene March or Slovene krajina was the traditional denomination of the Slovene-speaking areas of the Vas and Zala County in the Kingdom of Hungary from the late 18th century until the Treaty of Trianon in 1919...
- Vilmos TkáleczVilmos TkáleczVilmos 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....