Vipava, Slovenia
Encyclopedia
Vipava is a small town in western Slovenia
with 1500 inhabitants. It is the center of a municipality with 5,185 people. Vipava is built near the numerous sources of the Vipava River
, in the upper Vipava Valley
, 102 m above sea level. Historically, it used to be a part of the traditional region of Inner Carniola, but it is now generally regarded as a part of the Slovenian Littoral
.
The region around the town was probably settled by the Illyrians
and Celts in the pre-Roman
era. Some trace the name Vipava to the Celtic root vip (river). In 394, the Battle of the Frigidus
took place in the vicinity of the town. In the late 6th century, Slavic tribes, ancestors of modern Slovenes, settled the area. In the late 8th century, the Vipava Valley
was included in the Frankish Empire
and the Christianization
of Slovenes started.
In the Middle Ages
, the valley was first included in the Duchy of Friuli
. Between 1340 and 1355, Vipava and its surroundings were constantly contended between the Counts of Gorizia, the Patriarches of Aquileia and the Habsburg
Duchy of Carniola
. Modern Vipava was first mentioned in 1367. In the same period, it was finally included in the County of Gorizia
. After a short Venetian
interim, Vipava fell under the Habsburg domain in 1501 and in 1535 it was included in Carniola
. In the mid-16th century, it emerged as an important center of the Protestant Reformation
. It remained part of Carniola until 1918, when it was occupied by the Italian troops and annexed to the Kingdom of Italy.
In the period between 1922 and 1943, it was subjected to a violent policy of Fascist Italianization. Many locals joined the militant antifascist organization TIGR
. During World War II
, the whole area became an important center of partisan resistance. In 1945, it was liberated by the Yugoslav Partisan troops and in 1947 it became part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
and of independent Slovenia in 1991.
Today it is part of the Goriška
region.
production. Tourism is also important, as well as small and medium-sized businesses. Many locals work in the nearby town of Ajdovščina
.
. Over 96% of the people use Slovene as their first language
; among remaining 4% of the people, major part speak Bosnian
as their first language. The native
inhabitants speak a variant of the Inner Carniolan dialect of Slovene.
Around 77% of the people profess the Catholic faith, a little less than 1% are adherents of Sunni Islam
, while others are irreligious. The parish church
in the town is dedicated to Saint Stephen
and belongs to the Diocese of Koper.
, Goče
, Gradišče pri Vipavi
, Lozice, Lože
, Manče
, Podnanos
, Podraga
, Slap
, and Vrhpolje
.
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...
with 1500 inhabitants. It is the center of a municipality with 5,185 people. Vipava is built near the numerous sources of the Vipava River
Vipava River
The Vipava or Vipacco or Wipbach / Wippach is a river that flows through western Slovenia and northeast Italy...
, in the upper Vipava Valley
Vipava Valley
The Vipava Valley is a valley located in the Slovenian Littoral, between the towns of Nova Gorica and Vipava.-Geography:It is a narrow valley, serving as the main passage between Friulian lowland and central Slovenia, and thus also an important corridor connecting Northern Italy to Central Europe...
, 102 m above sea level. Historically, it used to be a part of the traditional region of Inner Carniola, but it is now generally regarded as a part of the Slovenian Littoral
Slovenian Littoral
The Slovenian Littoral is a historical region of Slovenia. Its name recalls the historical Habsburg crown land of the Austrian Littoral, of which the Slovenian Littoral was a part....
.
History
Illyrians
The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
and Celts in the pre-Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
era. Some trace the name Vipava to the Celtic root vip (river). In 394, the Battle of the Frigidus
Battle of the Frigidus
The Battle of the Frigidus, also called the Battle of the Frigid River, was fought between September 5–6 394, between the army of the Eastern Emperor Theodosius I and the army of Western Roman ruler Eugenius....
took place in the vicinity of the town. In the late 6th century, Slavic tribes, ancestors of modern Slovenes, settled the area. In the late 8th century, the Vipava Valley
Vipava Valley
The Vipava Valley is a valley located in the Slovenian Littoral, between the towns of Nova Gorica and Vipava.-Geography:It is a narrow valley, serving as the main passage between Friulian lowland and central Slovenia, and thus also an important corridor connecting Northern Italy to Central Europe...
was included in the Frankish Empire
Frankish Empire
Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire , Frankish Kingdom , Frankish Realm or occasionally Frankland, was the territory inhabited and ruled by the Franks from the 3rd to the 10th century...
and the Christianization
Christianization
The historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...
of Slovenes started.
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 valley was first included in the Duchy of Friuli
Duchy of Friuli
The Duchy of Friuli was one of the great territorial Lombard duchies, the first to be established. It was an important buffer between the Lombard kingdom of Italy and the Slavs...
. Between 1340 and 1355, Vipava and its surroundings were constantly contended between the Counts of Gorizia, the Patriarches of Aquileia and the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
Duchy of Carniola
Duchy of Carniola
The Duchy of Carniola was an administrative unit of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg Monarchy from 1364 to 1918. Its capital was Ljubljana...
. Modern Vipava was first mentioned in 1367. In the same period, it was finally included in the County of Gorizia
County of Gorizia
The County of Görz was a county based around the town of Gorizia in the present-day Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of north-eastern Italy.Count Meinhard, descendant of the Bavarian Meinhardiner noble family with possessions around Lienz in Tyrol, is mentioned as early as 1107...
. After a short Venetian
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
interim, Vipava fell under the Habsburg domain in 1501 and in 1535 it was included in Carniola
Carniola
Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is now Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918. In 1849, the region was subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola...
. In the mid-16th century, it emerged as an important center of the Protestant Reformation
Protestant 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...
. It remained part of Carniola until 1918, when it was occupied by the Italian troops and annexed to the Kingdom of Italy.
In the period between 1922 and 1943, it was subjected to a violent policy of Fascist Italianization. Many locals joined the militant antifascist organization TIGR
TIGR
TIGR, abbreviation for Trst , Istra , Gorica and Reka , with the full name Revolutionary Organization of the Julian March T.I.G.R. was a militant anti-Fascist and insurgent organization active in the 1920s and the 1930s in the eastern Italian border region known as the Julian March.The...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the whole area became an important center of partisan resistance. In 1945, it was liberated by the Yugoslav Partisan troops and in 1947 it became part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
and of independent Slovenia in 1991.
Today it is part of the Goriška
Goriška
Goriška is a traditional region in western Slovenia on the border with Italy. The name means "the Gorizia region" because it is named after Gorizia, Italy. It is part of the wider traditional region of the Slovenian Littoral . Its principal urban center is Nova Gorica...
region.
Economy
Vipava is an important agricultural center of western Slovenia. It is renowned for its wineWine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
production. Tourism is also important, as well as small and medium-sized businesses. Many locals work in the nearby town of Ajdovščina
Ajdovšcina
Ajdovščina is a small town and a municipality with the same name and a population of 7000 , located in the Vipava Valley , Slovenia....
.
Language, culture and religion
The vast majority of the people of Vipava, around 93%, are Slovenes. Others are mostly descendents of immigrants from other regions of former YugoslaviaFormer Yugoslavia
The former Yugoslavia is a term used to describe the present day states which succeeded the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
. Over 96% of the people use Slovene as their first language
First language
A first language is the language a person has learned from birth or within the critical period, or that a person speaks the best and so is often the basis for sociolinguistic identity...
; among remaining 4% of the people, major part speak Bosnian
Bosnian
Bosnian may refer to:*Anything related to Bosnia or its inhabitants*Anything related to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina or its inhabitants* Bosnian language, a South Slavic language spoken mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina...
as their first language. The native
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
inhabitants speak a variant of the Inner Carniolan dialect of Slovene.
Around 77% of the people profess the Catholic faith, a little less than 1% are adherents of Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
, while others are irreligious. The parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
in the town is dedicated to Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen The Protomartyr , the protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches....
and belongs to the Diocese of Koper.
Division
The municipality of Vipava is subdivided into 11 local communities , which comprise one or more villages. They are: Vipava, ErzeljErzelj
Erzelj is a village in the hills to the west of Vipava in the Littoral region of Slovenia. It is first mentioned in written documents dating to 1275.The local church is dedicated to Saint Michael and belongs to the Goče Parish.-External links:**...
, Goče
Goce
Goce is an opera composed by Kiril Makedonski in tribute to Gotse Delchev. The work was commissioned to be the very first opera performed by the Macedonian National Opera Company. It premiered on May 24, 1954 and it is the first opera to be written in the Macedonian language....
, Gradišče pri Vipavi
Gradišce pri Vipavi
Gradišče pri Vipavi is a village close to the source of the Vipava River, just south of the town of Vipava in the Littoral region of Slovenia.The local church in the settlement is dedicated to The Holy Cross and belongs to the Vipava Parish.-External links:...
, Lozice, Lože
Loze
Loze is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France.-References:*...
, Manče
Mance
Mance is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-western France....
, Podnanos
Podnanos
Podnanos is a village in the upper Vipava Valley in the Vipava Municipality in the Littoral region of Slovenia. It lies under Mount Nanos, from which it gets its name....
, Podraga
Podraga
Podraga is a village in the upper Vipava Valley in the Vipava Municipality in the Littoral region of Slovenia.The Parish Church in the settlement is dedicated to Saints Hermagoras and Fortunatus and belongs to the Koper Diocese.-External links:*...
, Slap
Slap, Vipava
Slap is a village in the Vipava Valley to the west of the town of Vipava in the Littoral region of Slovenia.The Parish Church in the settlement is dedicated to Saint Matthew and belongs to the Koper Diocese.-External links:*...
, and Vrhpolje
Vrhpolje, Vipava
Vrhpolje is a settlement in the Vipava Valley to the north of the town of Vipava in the Littoral region of Slovenia.The Parish Church in the settlement is dedicated to Saints Primus and Felician and belongs to the Koper Diocese.-External links:**...
.
Prominent natives and residents
Notable personalities from Vipava include:- Drago Bajc (1904–1928), poet;
- Andreas Baumkirchner (1420–1471), nobleman, leader of an unsuccessful conspiracy against Frederick III, Holy Roman EmperorFrederick III, Holy Roman EmperorFrederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452...
; - Sigismund von HerbersteinSigismund von HerbersteinSiegmund Freiherr von Herberstein, , was an Carniolan diplomat, writer, historian and member of the Holy Roman Empire Imperial Council...
(1486–1566), diplomat and author; - Eva IrglEva IrglEva Irgl is a Slovenian politician and former TV host, currently serving as member of the Slovenian National Assembly.-Life and career:...
(b. 1976), TV host and politician (Slovenian Democratic PartySlovenian Democratic PartyThe Slovenian Democratic Party , known until 2003 as the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia is a Slovenian centre-right liberal conservative and Christian democratic party...
); - Štefan Kociančič (1813–1883), theologian and translator;
- Sebastian KreljSebastian KreljSebastian Krelj, also known as Sebastjan Krelj, Sebastijan Krelj or Boštjan Krelj was a Slovene Protestant reformer, writer, theologian, linguist and preacher and regarded as one of the most educated Slovene Protestants of the 16th century..-Life and work:Krejl was born in Vipava, then part of...
(1538–1567), Slovene Protestant writer and preacher; - Anton Lavrin (1789–1869), AustrianAustrian EmpireThe Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
diplomat and Egyptologist; - Marko NatlačenMarko NatlačenMarko Natlačen was a Slovenian politician and jurist, who also served as a ban of the Dravska banovina but is perhaps best remembered as the author of the xenophobic slogan Srbe na vrbe.-Biography:...
(1886–1942), politician, governor of the Drava BanovinaDrava BanovinaThe Drava Banovina or Drava Banate was a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. This province consisted of most of present-day Slovenia and was named for the Drava River...
(1935–1941); - Janko Premrl (a.k.a. Vojko, 1920–1943), Slovene anti-fascist activist and resistance leader;
- Stanko PremrlStanko PremrlStanko Premrl was a Slovenian Roman Catholic priest, composer and music teacher. He is most famous as the author of the music for the Slovenian national anthem, the Zdravljica.Premrl was born in the village of Št...
(1880–1965), composer, author of the music for the Slovenian National AnthemZdravljicaZdravljica or Zdravica, written in 1844, is a poem by the Slovene Romantic poet France Prešeren, considered the national poet of Slovenes. Since 27 September 1989, its 7th stanza has been the national anthem of Slovenia....
.