Maribor

This article is about the city in Slovenia. For the association football team see NK Maribor.

Maribor
—  City  —
Maribor from Pohorje
Flag Coat of arms
Maribor Location of the City of Maribor in Slovenia
Coordinates: 46°33′N 15°39′E / 46.55°N 15.65°E / 46.55; 15.65Coordinates: 46°33′N 15°39′E / 46.55°N 15.65°E / 46.55; 15.65
Country	Slovenia
Municipality	Maribor
Government
– Mayor	Franc Kangler (SLS)
Area
– Total	41 km2 (15.8 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2011)[1]
– Total	157,947
– Density	3,852.4/km2 (9,977.6/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+01)
– Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+02)
Post code	2000
Area code(s)	02
Website	maribor.si

Maribor ( pronunciation (help·info) German: Marburg, Italian: Marburgo) is the second largest city in Slovenia with 157,947 inhabitants as of 2011^[update].^[2] Maribor is also the largest and the capital city of Slovenian region Lower Styria and the seat of the Municipality of Maribor.

In 2012 Maribor will be the European Capital of Culture and in 2013 it will host the XXVI 2013 Winter Universiade. In November 2010, The European Youth Forum announced that Maribor will also be the 2013 European Youth Capital.

History

Medieval Maribor

In 1164 a castle known as the Marchburch (Middle High German for "March Castle") was documented in Styria. It was first built on Piramida Hill, just above the city. 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 Matthias Corvinus in 1480 and 1481 and by the Ottoman Empire in 1532 and 1683, and the city remained under the control of the Habsburg Monarchy until 1918.

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 (after a river in Carinthia) was later changed to the Diocese of Maribor on 5 March 1962. It was elevated to an archdiocese by Pope Benedict XVI on 7 April 2006.

Jewish community

Memorial of Holocaust victims of Maribor, the synagogue in the back

See also: History of the Jews in Slovenia and Maribor Synagogue

The Jews of Maribor were first mentioned in 1277 but it is suggested that there was already a Jewish quarter of the city, however, the first reliable source for Jews living in the city appears in 1317. The Jewish ghetto was located in the south-eastern part of the city and it comprised, at its peak, several main streets in the city centre as well as part of the main city square. The ghetto boasted a synagogue, a Jewish cemetery and also a Talmudic school. The Talmudist, and Halakhist Israel Isserlein was the chief Rabbi of Carinthia, Styria and Carniola, and thus spent most of his life as a resident of the city. The Jewish community of Maribor was numerically most significant around 1410. After 1450, the circumstances changed dramatically: increasing competition that coincided with an economic crisis dealt a severe blow to economic activities that were crucial to their economic success. According to the decree issued by Emperor Maximilian I in 1496, Jews were forced to leave. Restrictions on settlement and business for Jews remained until 1861.^[3]

In April 1941, Nazi Germany invaded Yugoslavia and Lower Styria was annexed to the Third Reich. The Jews of Maribor were deported to concentration camps from the late spring of 1941.

Maribor synagogue is one of the oldest preserved synagogues in Europe, and one of only two left in Slovenia.^[4]

Early 20th century

Before the First World War, the city had a population that was 80% Austrian Germans and 20% Slovenes; most of the city's capital and public life was in Austrian German hands. Thus, it was mainly known by its Austrian name Marburg an der Drau. According to the last Austro-Hungarian census in 1910, the city of Maribor and the suburbs Studenci (Brunndorf), Pobrežje (Pobersch), Tezno (Thesen), Radvanje (Rothwein), Krčevina (Kartschowin), and Košaki (Leitersberg) consisted of 31,995 Austrian Germans (including German-speaking Jews) and just 6,151 ethnic Slovenes. The surrounding area however was populated almost entirely by Slovenes, although many Austrian Germans lived in smaller towns like Ptuj.

During World War I, many Slovenes in Carinthia and Styria were detained on suspicion of being enemies of the Austrian Empire, which led to distrust between Austrian Germans and Slovenes. After the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918, Maribor was claimed by both the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and by German Austria. On 1 November 1918, a meeting was held by Colonel Anton Holik in Melje's barracks, where it was decided the German speaking city should be part of German Austria. Ethnic Slovene Major Rudolf Maister, who was present at the meeting, denounced the decision. That same day he was awarded the rank of general^[5] by the National Council for (Slovenian) Styria and organized Slovenian military units which successfully seized control of the city. All Austrian officers and soldiers were disarmed and demobilized and to new German Austria. The city council then held a secret meeting, where it was decided to do whatever possible to regain Maribor for German Austria. They organized a military unit, called the Green Guard (Schutzwehr), and approximately 400 well-armed soldiers of this unit opposed the pro-Slovenian and pro-Yugoslav Major Maister. Slovenian troops surprised and disarmed the GreenGuard early in the morning of 23 November. Thereafter, there was no threat to the authority of Rudolf Maister in the city.

On 27 January 1919, Austrian Germans gathered to await the United States peace delegation at the city's marketplace were fired on by Slovenian troops, who apparently feared the crowd of thousands of ethnic German citizens. Nine citizens were killed and more than eighteen were seriously wounded;^{[citation needed]} who ordered the shooting has never been conclusively established. German sources accused Maister's troops of shooting without cause; Slovene witnesses, such as Dr. Maks Pohar, claimed that the Austrian Germans attacked the Slovenian soldiers guarding the Maribor city hall. Regardless of the reason, the Austrian German victims had all been unarmed.^{[citation needed]} German language media named the incident Marburg's Bloody Sunday.

As Maribor was now firmly in the hands of the Slovenian forces and encircled completely by Slovenian territory, the city was recognized as part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes without a plebiscite in the Treaty of Saint-Germain of September 1919 between the victors and German Austria.

After 1918, most of Maribor's Austrian Germans left the Kingdom of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs for Austria, including the German-speaking officials who did not originate from the region. Austrian German schools, clubs, and organisations were ordered closed by the new state of Yugoslavia, even though ethnic Germans still made up more than 25% of the city's total population as late as the 1930s. A policy of cultural assimilation was pursued in Yugoslavia against the Austrian German minority similar to the Germanization policy followed by Austria against its Slovene minority in Carinthia. However, in the late 1930s the policy was abandoned and the Austrian German minority's position improved significantly in an attempt to gain better diplomatic relations with Nazi Germany.

World War II

Adolf Hitler in Maribor, Yugoslavia in 1941.

In 1941, Lower Styria, the Yugoslav part of Styria, was annexed by Nazi Germany. German troops marched into the town at about 9 pm on April 8, 1941.

April 1941, German troops march into Maribor

On April 26, Adolf Hitler, who encouraged his followers to "make this land German again",^[6] visited Maribor and a grand reception was organized by local Germans in the city castle. Immediately after the occupation, Nazi Germany began mass expulsions of Slovenes to the Independent State of Croatia, Serbia, and later to the concentration and work camps in Germany. The Nazi goal was to re-Germanize the population of Lower Styria after the war.^{[citation needed]} Many Slovene patriots were taken hostage and some were believed to have been later shot in the prisons of Maribor and Graz.^{[citation needed]} This led to organized partisans resistance.^{[citation needed]}. Maribor 'hosted' a German PoW camp from 1941 -1945 for many British, Australian and New Zealand troops who had been captured in Crete in 1941. The city, a major industrial center with extensive armaments industry, was systematically bombed by the Allies in the closing years of World War II. The remaining German-speaking population, except those who had actively collaborated with the resistance during the war, was summarily expelled following the end of the war in 1945.

After the liberation, Maribor capitalized on its proximity to Austria as well as its skilled workforce, and developed into a major transit and cultural center of Northern Slovenia, enabled by Tito's decision not to build an Iron Curtain at the borders towards Austria and Italy and to provide passports to the citizens.

When 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 improved since the mid-1990s with the development of small- and medium-sized businesses and industry, allowing Maribor to overcome the industrial crisis. Slovenia entered the European Union in 2004, introduced the Euro currency in 2007 and joined the Schengen treaty; accordingly all border controls between Slovenia and Austria ceased on 25 December 2007.

Contemporary

Popular tourist sites in Maribor include the 12th century Maribor Cathedral in the Gothic style and the Maribor Town Hall constructed in the Renaissance style. The Maribor castle dates from the 15th century.

Piramida Hill with chapel from 19th century dominates on the northern border limit of the city. Here you can recognize ruins of first Maribor's castle from 12th century. It also offers easy-to-reach view on Maribor and further to the south, along with Drava river.

The city hosts the University of Maribor, established in 1975,^[7] and many other schools. It is also home to the oldest grapevine in the world, called Stara trta,^[8] which is more than 400 years old.

Maribor is hometown of NK Maribor,^[9] a Slovenian football team. They participated in the UEFA Champions League in 1999/2000 season, and UEFA Europa League in 2011/12 season.

Every January, the skiing centre of Mariborsko Pohorje,^[10] situated on the outskirts of the city on the slopes of the Pohorje mountain range, hosts women's slalom and giant slalom races for the Alpine Skiing World Cup known as Zlata lisica (The Golden Fox). Every June, the two-week Festival Lent^[11] (named after the waterfront district called Lent) is held, with hundreds of musical, theatrical and other events.

Maribor was named as an Alpine city in 2000 and chosen as European Capital of Culture 2012 alongside with Guimarães, Portugal. Maribor will be the host city of the 2013 Winter Universiade. In 2011 it was also announced that Maribor will be European Youth Capital in 2013.

Architecture

In 2008 was completed the new footbridge called "Studenška brv". It was designed by Slovenian well known structural engineering company Ponting. This bridge also received in 2008 the prestige Footbridge Award, awarded on 3rd International Conference Footbridge in Porto.

Some years ago it was also huge discusion to build the new modern business, residential and entertainment district in Maribor called "Dravska vrata" with nickname Maribor Manhattan. This megalomanic project would include many new exclusive residential apartments, offices and conference halls, green and recreational "oasis" and other objects. In project was also included 111m tall skyscraper, which would be, if build, the tallest building in Slovenia. Currently the project is on hold, because of the recent financial crisis.

In 2010 City of Maribor also organized an international architectural competition ECC Maribor 2012 - Drava 2012 for designing and reconstruction of river Drava banks, for new Art Gallery and for new footbridge. They received about 400 solutions for three competition zones. The footbridge and river embankments will be build in near future, but the Art Gallery was exchanged with cultural multicenter MAKS, which is currently under construction. MAKS Centre will be build on the site of the existing industrial building - designed by arhitectural firm Sadar+Vuga.

In 2011 also began the construction of new modern Faculty of Medicine near to river Drava. The faculty was designed by arhitect Boris Podrecca and it is expected to be completed in 2013.

Not long ago it was also an architectural competition for renovation of Maribor City Library Rotovž with Rotovž Square and for the Main Square in Maribor. In addition, also the renovation of Maribor Island - Mariborski otok waiting for the beginning.

Main bridges (from west to east):

• Corinthian Bridge (Koroški most)
• Footbridge Studenci (Studenška brv)
• Old Bridge (Stari most, Maribor)
• Tito's bridge (Titov most)
• Rail bridge (Železniški most)
• Double-storey bridge (Dvoetažni most)

In Maribor are also many remains of medieval walls, including towers (Judgement Tower, Water Tower, Maribor and Jewish Tower).

Tourist attractions

Maribor has many touristic places and attractions, such as many interesting events:

• Lent Festival - major festival event held for approximately two weeks at the end of June. Every year the festival attracts theatre, opera, ballet performers, classical, modern, and jazz musicians and dancers from all over the world as well as visitors. There are also mimes, magicians, and acrobats performing during the festival.
• House of the oldest grapevine in the world (Hiša stare trte) - in Maribor is also the world's oldest living grapevine, which was in 2004 signed in book of Guinness World Records. The grapevine is about 440 years old.
• Women's slalom and giant slalom races for the Alpine Skiing World Cup known as "Zlata lisica" (The Golden Fox). This event is hold on mountain range Pohorje which is also the most visited place - both recreational and touristic in winter and also summer.
• Maribor Island (Mariborski otok) - the oldest public baths, but still important and well visited place in Maribor. The city also offers many indoor swimming pools (Pristan, Fontana).
• Maribor Castle, Maribor Town Hall Rotovž, Betnava Castle, Plague Memorial, Maribor, ruins of old castle Upper Maribor on Piramida Hill.
• Medieval Maribor's defence walls with defence towers all along the old-city limits.
• Wine and culinary specialities - international and Slovene cousine (mushroom soup with buckwheat mush, tripe, sour soup, sausages with sauerkraut, cheese dumplings, apple strudel, special cheese cake called gibanica). Also many popular restaurant with Serbian cuisine.
• Vinag Wine Cellar (Vinagova vinska klet) - with 20.000 m2 surface and 2 km (1 mi) length has 5,5 millions litres of excellent wine.
• Maribor City Park (with City Aquarium and Terrarium, wide promenade, which lead to the Three Ponds (Trije ribniki), in park is over 100 local and foreign species of deciduous and coniferous trees).
• Adrenaline park Pohorje (Adrenalinski park Pohorje) with High Ropes Course, one track line PohorJET, summer sledding and Bike park Pohorje.
• Maribor Synagogue (Sinagoga Maribor) - built in 14th century, it is the second oldest in Europe. Today, it serves as a centre for cultural activities and it offers visitors various events including exhibitions, concerts, literary evenings and round tables. The Synagogue is located in the square Jewish square (Židovski trg) in the former Jewish quarter.
• Kalvarija and Piramida (well visited city hills Pyramid, Maribor) surrounded by vineyards, and ruins of old castle Upper Maribor.
• Birthplace of Austrian admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff in "Slovenska ulica" (at today's "Admiral" caffe)
• Maribor, jointly with Guimarães, is going to be European Capital of Culture in 2012.
• 2013 Winter Universiade.
• 2013 European Youth Capital.

• 

  Franciscan Church

• 

  Plague Memorial, Maribor

Demography

Population development^[12]

1991	1996	2002	2004
119,828	116,147	110,668	112,558

City districts

The city districts (Slovene: mestne četrti)

City districts and other parts of the municipality of Maribor

The city of Maribor has 12 districts as listed below, but the whole Municipality of Maribor also includes Kamnica, Pekre, Limbuš, Razvanje, Malečnik-Ruperče and Brestrenica-Gaj. The river Drava divides the districts Center, Koroška Vrata, Melje and Ivan Cankar from the other districts of the city. They are all connected with 4 traffic bridges, 1 train bridge and 1 pedestrian bridge.

No.	District
1.	Center
2.	Koroška vrata
3.	Melje
4.	Ivan Cankar
5.	Magdalena
6.	Tabor
7.	Studenci
8.	Pobrežje
9.	Nova Vas
10.	Tezno
11.	Brezje - Dogoše - Zrkovci
12.	Radvanje

Famous natives and residents

List of notable individuals who were born or lived in Maribor:

• Bernhard von Spanheim, duke of Carinthia, founder of the city
• Leon Štukelj, Olympic champion
• Zlatko Zahovič, football player
• Tomaž Barada, taekwondoist
• Sani Bečirovič, basketball player
• Danilo Türk, president of Slovenia
• Saša Vujačić, NBA basketball player
• Fredi Bobic, German-Slovene football player
• Andrej Brvar, poet
• Aleš Čeh, football player
• Lev Detela, writer, poet, and translator
• Mladen Dolar, philosopher
• Vekoslav Grmič, Roman Catholic bishop and theologian
• Herta Haas, second wife of Joseph Broz Tito
• Polona Hercog, tennis player
• Israel Isserlin, Medieval rabbi
• Archduke Johann of Austria, Habsburg nobleman and philanthropist
• Drago Jančar, author
• Janko Kastelic, conductor and music director
• Matjaž Kek, football player and coach
• Ottokar Kernstock, Austrian poet
• Aleksander Knavs, football player
• Edvard Kocbek, poet, essayist, and politician
• Katja Koren, alpine skier
• Anton Korošec, politician
• Bratko Kreft, author
• Rene Krhin, football player
• Marko Letonja, conductor
• Rudolf Maister, military leader
• Janez Menart, poet and translator
• Guiseppe Morpurgo, Founder of Generali
• Mima Jaušovec, female former tennis player
• Tomaž Pandur, stage director
• Tone Partljič, playwright, screenwriter, politician
• Žarko Petan, writer, essayist, theatre and film director
• Janko Pleterski, historian
• Tomaž Gnyra, carpenter
• Miran Potrč, politician
• Zoran Predin, singer
• Ladislaus von Rabcewicz, Austrian civil engineer
• Stanko Majcen, playwright
• Zorko Simčič, writer and essayist
• Anton Martin Slomšek, Roman Catholic bishop, author, poet, and advocate of Slovene culture.
• Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, Austrian admiral
• Anton Trstenjak, theologian, psychologist, essayist
• Prežihov Voranc, writer and political activist
• Krištof Wildenrainer, mayor, who defended Maribor from Osmans in 1532
• Karmina Šilec, conductor
• Jan Muršak, second ever Slovenian NHL hockey player
• Luka Krajnc, football player
• Maja Keuc, singer

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Slovenia

Twin towns — sister cities

Maribor is twinned with:

Graz, Austria[13] Greenwich, England, United Kingdom Kraljevo, Serbia Marburg, Germany

Osijek, Croatia Pétange, Luxembourg Pueblo, Colorado, United States Saint Petersburg, Russia

Szombathely, Hungary Tours, France Udine, Italy

References

Notes

1. ^ Statistical Information. Published by Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia
2. ^ :: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia - How frequent are the same names of settlements and streets? ::
3. ^ Jewish community of Slovenia^{[dead link]}
4. ^ Maribor Synagogue^{[dead link]}
5. ^ Maister's rank of General was recognized by the Ministry of Defence of the National Government of SHS on 14 December 1918; published in Official Journal No. 1.
6. ^ Jozo Tomasevich (31 January 2001). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945: Occupation and Collaboration. War and revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945. 2. Stanford University Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-8047-3615-2. 
7. ^ University of Maribor site.
8. ^ Old vine in Maribor
9. ^ Official website of NK Maribor
10. ^ Official website of Mariborsko Pohorje
11. ^ Festival Lent website^{[dead link]}
12. ^ Tabela: Podatki s področja demografije (projekt Urban Audit) za občini Ljubljana in Maribor
13. ^ "Twin Towns - Graz Online - English Version". www.graz.at. http://www.graz.at/cms/beitrag/10045157/606819/. Retrieved 2010-01-05. 

External links

• Interactive map of Maribor at Najdi.si
• Official website (Slovene)
• Tourism homepage
• Slovenia Explorer - Maribor
• Family travel guide to Maribor
• Maribor art gallery
• Maribor travel guide from Wikitravel
• Maribor at kraji.eu