Maribor

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This article is about the city in Slovenia. For other uses of the term Marburg, see Marburg (disambiguation). For the Prince-Bishopric and Diocese of Maribor, see Lavant.

Template:Urban municipality of Slovenia

Maribor (German: Marburg an der Drau) is a city in Slovenia, the seat of the Maribor urban municipality. With a population of 115,693 as of 2002, it is the second-largest city in the country. Maribor lies on the river Drava at the meeting point of the Pohorje mountain, the Drava valley, the Drava plain and the Kozjak and Slovenske gorice hill ranges. It is the largest city and the center of the Slovenian region of Lower Styria. The city's coat of arms features a white pigeon flying downwards above a white castle with two towers and a portcullis on a red shield. Maribor also has the second biggest international airport in Slovenia.

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History

In 1164 a castle known as the Marchburch (Middle High German for "March Castle") was documented in the March of Styria. Maribor was first mentioned as a market near the castle in 1204, and received town privileges in 1254. It began to grow rapidly after the victory of Rudolf I of Habsburg over Otakar II of Bohemia in 1278. Maribor withstood sieges by the Ottoman Empire in 1532 and 1683, and the city remained under the control of the Habsburg Monarchy for centuries.

Maribor, previously in the Catholic Diocese of Graz-Seckau, became part of the Diocese of Lavant on 1 June 1859 and the seat of its Prince-Bishop. The name of the diocese was changed to the Diocese of Maribor on March 5 1962. It was elevated to an archdiocese by Pope Benedict XVI. on April 7, 2006.

Before World War I, the city had a population of 80% Germans and 20% Slovenians, and most of the city's capital and public life was in German hands. According to the last Austro-Hungarian census in 1910, Maribor and the suburbs Studenci (Brunndorf), Pobrežje (Pobersch), Tezno (Thesen), Rothwein, Kartschowin, and Leitersberg were composed of 31,995 Germans and 6,151 Slovenians. The wider surrounding area was populated almost exclusively by Slovenians, although many Germans lived in smaller towns like Ptuj.

During World War I, many Slovenians in Carinthia and Styria were detained for allegedly being enemies of the state, which led to further conflicts between German Austrians and Slovenians. After the collapse of Austria-Hungary, Maribor was claimed by both the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and the First Austrian Republic. On 27 January 1919 Germans awaiting the American peace delegation at the city's marketplace were attacked by troops of Rudolf Maister, resulting in 13 killed and more than 60 wounded (the Marburger Bloody Sunday). Afterward, Maister's troops took control of the city, which became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (the later Kingdom of Yugoslavia) without a referendum.

After the war many Germans emigrated to Austria, especially officials. German schools, clubs, and organisations were closed in the new state of Yugoslavia, although Germans made up more than 25% of the city's population in the 1930s. A policy of cultural assimilation was pursued in Yugoslavia against the German minority in response to the Germanization policy of Austria against its Slovenian minority.

In 1941 Lower Styria, the Yugoslav part of Styria, was annexed by Nazi Germany. In late April Adolf Hitler, who encouraged his followers to "make this land German again", visited Maribor where a grand reception was organized by local Germans in the city castle. The city, a major industrial center with extensive armaments industry, was systematically bombed by the Allies during the World War II. The remaining German population was expelled after the end of the war in 1945.

After the liberation, the city capitalized on its proximity to Austria as well as its skilled workforce, and developed into a major transit, industrial and cultural center of Eastern Slovenia. After Slovenia seceded from Yugoslavia in 1991, the loss of the Yugoslav market severely strained the city's economy which was based on heavy industry, resulting in record levels of unemployment of almost 25%. The situation has slightly improved since the mid-1990s with the development of small and medium sized businesses and industry.

Important people who lived in Maribor include Prince-Bishop Anton Martin Slomšek, Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, and the writer Drago Jančar. Image:Maribor Lent.jpg

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Contemporary Maribor

Popular tourist sites in Maribor include a 12th century Gothic cathedral and the town hall constructed in the Renaissance fashion. The castle dates from the 15th century.

The city hosts the University of Maribor dating from 1961. It is also home to the oldest vine tree in the world called Stara trta that is more than 400 years old.

Every January, the skiing centre of Mariborsko Pohorje, situated on the outskirts of the city on the slopes of mount Pohorje, hosts women's slalom and giant slalom races for Alpine Skiing World Cup known as Zlata lisica (The Golden Fox).

Every June, the two-week Festival Lent (named for the waterfront district called Lent) is held, with hundreds of musical, theatrical and other events.

Maribor was also named as an Alpine city in 2000.

The city has a small international airport with scheduled flights to some European destinations.

Maribor also is home to Slovenia's most famous soccer player Zlatko Zahovic

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