Slowenien - Österreich#

Slovenia - Austria: The German hereditary lands of the Habsburgs also comprised the territories of what is now Slovenia; Eastern Slovenia belonged to the Duchy of Styria, Western Slovenia was part of the Margravate of Carniola. Slovenia was of geographical importance to the Habsburg Monarchy: the most frequented road from Vienna to the Adriatic and to Italy as well as the Southern Railway ran through Maribor and Ljubljana to Trieste. While the majority of the urban population was German, the rural population was predominantly Slovenian. As the population of Slovenia felt that their sovereign Prince was not properly protecting them against the Turks, peasant revolts took place at the end of the 15th century and in 1515. In order to promote Reformation in Slovenia Primus Truber translated the Bible into the Slovenian language in the 16th century. In the late 18th century the Slovenian language and culture experienced a revival.

In the mid-19th century there were national ambitions to establish a Slovenian administrative unit, which met with strong opposition around 1900. The planned introduction of Slovenian classes at the Gymnasium secondary school of Cilli (Celje) in 1895 resulted in the downfall of the government of A. Windisch-Graetz. On October 28, 1918 the National Assembly of Slovenia decided to break away from the former federation of states and together with the Croats and Serbs formed the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (SHS-State, from 1931 Kingdom of Yugoslavia). Their claim to Southern Styria and parts of Carinthia resulted in military occupation; as a result of the activities of the Carinthian Resistance Movement Carinthia remained part of Austria under a plebiscite held in 1920. After 1941 Lower Styria and Upper Carniola (except Ljubljana) were administrated by Styria and Carinthia, whereas Lower Carniola and Ljubljana were administered by Italy. The fierceness with which the guerilla war was fought in Slovenia was in part due to resettlement policies pursued by the National Socialists. After 1945, the Soviet Union supported Yugoslavia´s claim for parts of Carinthia until Tito broke with the Soviet Union in 1948. The rights of Austrian Slovenes were embodied in the Austrian State Treaty of 1955. The State of Slovenia, which was founded in 1992, (area 20,254 km2, pop. 1.996 million) still is the from the former Yugoslavia which still shares a border with Austria.

Literature#