Ptuj

Ptuj (German: Pettau; Latin: Poetovio) is a city and one of 11 urban municipalities in Slovenia. It is situated in Lower Styria (northeastern Slovenia), and has about 20,000 inhabitants.

It is a colorful and well-organized city with a diverse nightlife. There are many parks and public spaces inside and outside of the city.

History

Ptuj is one of the oldest cities in Slovenia. It dates back to the Stone Age and was settled by Celts by the Late Iron Age.^[1] By the 1st century BC, the settlement was controlled by Ancient Rome. In 69 AD, Vespasian was elected Roman Emperor by his legions in Ptuj, and the first written mention of the town of Ptuj is from the same year. The city of Poetovio was the base-camp of Legio XIII Gemina in Pannonia. The name originated in the times of Emperor Trajan, who granted the settlement city status and named it Colonia Ulpia Traiana Poetovio in 103. The city had 40,000 inhabitaunts until it was plundered by the Huns in 450.^[1]

In 570 the city was occupied by Eurasian Avars and Slavic tribes.^[1] Ptuj became part of the Frankish Empire.^[1] after the fall of Avar state at the end of 8th century. Between 840 and 874 it belonged to the Slavic princes Pribina and Koceľ. Between 874 and 890 Ptuj gradually came under the influence of the Archbishopric of Salzburg;^[1] town privileges passed in 1376 began an economic upswing for the settlement. Ptuj was incorporated into the Duchy of Styria in 1555.^[1]

Ptuj was a battleground during the Ottoman wars in Europe and suffered from fires in 1684, 1705, 1710, and 1744.^[1] Ptuj's population and importance began to decline in the 19th century, however, after the completion of the Vienna-Trieste route of the Austrian Southern Railway, as the line went through Maribor (Marburg) instead.

After the collapse of Austria-Hungary resulting from World War I, Ptuj was included in the brief Republic of German Austria. It was then made part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) without plebiscite. According to the 1910 Austro-Hungarian census, 86% of the population of Ptuj's Old Town was German-speaking. During the interwar period, this population decreased through the Slavicisation policies of the Yugoslav government. Already before 1919, the population of the surrounding villages predominantly spoke Slovenian.

Ptuj was occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II. From 1941-1944 the city's Slovenian population was dispossessed and deported. Their homes were taken over by Germans from South Tyrol and Kočevje (Gottschee), who had themselves been evicted according to an agreement between Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini. These German immigrants, along with the native German Pettauer, were expelled to Austria after the war's end; many continued on to North America.

Since 1945 Ptuj has been populated almost completely by Slovenians.

Notable residents

• Victorinus of Pettau, bishop of the city and Catholic saint

Sister cities

Ptuj is twinned with:

• Image:Flag of Croatia.svg - Varaždin, Croatia
• - Burghausen, Germany
• Image:Flag of Slovakia (bordered).svg - Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} PtujTourism.si. "The History of Ptuj". Accessed November 8 2006.

This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia article as of November 7 2006.

Wikipedia information about Ptuj This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ptuj". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.