Everything about Carniola totally explained
Carniola (
Slovenian:
Kranjska; ) is a
traditional and historical region of
Slovenia. As part of
Austria-Hungary, the region was a
crown land officially known as the
Duchy of Carniola (
Vojvodina Kranjska, Herzogtum Krain) until
1918. The region is subdivided into
Upper Carniola,
Lower Carniola (with
White Carniola), and
Inner Carniola.
History
Overview
After the fall of the
Roman Empire,
Lombards settled in Carniola, followed by
Slavs around the
6th century AD. Following periods of
Bavarian,
Frankish and local rule, the
Austrian Habsburgs controlled the territory almost continuously from
1335 to 1918, but many
Ottoman raids and rebellions by local residents against Habsburg rule occurred from the
15th to the
17th centuries. From about
900 AD until the
20th century, Carniola's ruling classes spoke
German but most of the people spoke
Slovenian.
The capital of Carniola, originally situated at
Kranj (Krainburg), was briefly moved to
Kamnik (Stein) and finally to the current capital of Slovenia,
Ljubljana (Laibach).
Antiquity and Middle Ages
Before the coming of the Romans (c. 200 BC), the
Taurisci dwelt in the north of Carniola, the
Pannonians in the south-east, the
Iapodes or Carni, a Celtic tribe, in the south-west.
Carniola formed part of the
Roman province of
Pannonia; the northern part was joined to
Noricum, the south-western and south-eastern parts and the city of
Aemona to Venice and
Istria. In the time of Augustus all the region from
Aemona to the
Kolpa river (Culpa) belonged to the province of
Savia.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476), Carniola was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy, and (493) under Theodoric it formed part of the
Ostrogothic kingdom. Between the upper
Sava and the
Soča rivers lived the Carni, and towards the end of the sixth century
Slavs settled the region called by Latin writers
Carnia, or
Carniola meaning 'little Carnia', for example part of greater Carnia. Later on the name was changed to Slavic
Krajina, Kranjska or, in German,
Chrainmark, Krain. The new inhabitants were subjected to the
Avars, but threw off their yoke, and joined the great Slavic state of
Samo.
March of Carniola
Carniola was governed by the Franks about the year 788. When
Charlemagne established the
margraviate of Friuli, he added to it a part of Carniola. After the division of
Friuli, it became an independent
margraviate, having its own Slavic margrave residing at
Kranj, subject to the governor of Bavaria at first, and after 976 to the Dukes of Carinthia. Henry IV gave it to the
Patriarch of Aquileia (1071).
In the Middle Ages the Church held much property in Carniola, thus in Upper and Lower Carniola the
Bishop of Freising became in 974 a feudal lord of the city of
Škofja Loka, the
Bishop of Brixen held
Bled and possessions in the valley of
Bohinj, and the
Bishop of Lavant got
Mokronog.
Among secular potentates the Dukes of
Merano,
Gorizia,
Babenberg, and
Zilli held possessions given to them in fief by the
patriarchs of Aquileia. The dukes governed the province nearly half a century.
Finally Carniola was given in fief with the consent of the patriarch to
Frederick II of Austria, who obtained the title of duke in 1245. Frederick was succeeded by Ulrich III, Duke of Carinthia, who married Agnes of
Andech a relative of the patriarch and endowed the churches and monasteries, established the government mint at the city of
Kostanjevica, and finally (1268) willed to
Ottokar II,
King of Bohemia, all his possessions and the government of Carinthia and Carniola.
Duchy of Carniola
Ottokar was defeated by
Rudolph I of Germany, and at the meeting at
Augsburg in 1282, he gave in fief to his sons Albrecht and Rudolf the province of Carniola, but it was leased to
Meinhard, count of Gorizia-Tirol. Duke
Henry of Carinthia claimed Carniola; and the Dukes of Austria asserted their claim as successors to the Bohemian kingdom. When Henry died 1335 Jan, King of Bohemia, renounced his claims, and Albrecht, Duke of Austria, received Carniola; it was proclaimed a duchy by
Rudolf IV, in 1364. Emperor
Frederick III united Upper, Lower, and Central Carniola as Metlika and Pivka into one duchy. The union of the dismembered parts was completed by 1607.
French Intermezzo
The French revolutionary troops occupied Carniola in 1797, and from 1805 to 1806. Under the Treaty of Vienna, Carniola became part of the
Illyrian provinces of
France (
1809–
1814), with
Ljubljana as its capital, and Carniola formed a part of the new territory from 1809 to 1813.
The defeat of Napoleon restored Carniola to
Austrian Emperor Francis I, with larger boundaries, but at the extinction of the Illyrian Kingdom Carniola was confined to the limits outlined at the
Congress of Vienna, 1815. From 1816 to 1849 Carniola was part of the Austrian
Kingdom of Illyria with capital in Ljubljana.
Austrian restoration
The
Austrian Empire reorganized the territory in
1849 as a duchy and a
Cisleithanian
crownland in
Austria-Hungary known as the
Duchy of Carniola. It was bounded on the north by Carinthia, on the north-east by Styria, on the south-east and south by Croatia, and on the west by Trieste, Goritza, and Istria; with area of 3,857 square miles (9,990 km²) and population of 510,000. The capital,
Ljubljana, was the see of a
prince-bishop, population, 40,000; it was known to the Romans as Aemona, and was destroyed by Obri in the sixth century. Carniola was divided into Upper Carniola (Slovenian name: Gorenjska), Lower Carniola (Slovenian: Dolenjska), and Inner Carniola (Slovenian: Notranjska). Politically the province was divided into eleven districts consisting of 359 municipalities; the provincial capital was the residence of the imperial governor. The districts were: Kamnik, Kranj, Radovljica, the neighbourhood of Ljubljana, Logatec, Postojna, Litija, Krsko, Novo Mesto, Crnomelj, and Gotschee or Kocevje. There were 31 judicial circuits.
The duchy was constituted by rescript of
20 December 1860, and by imperial patent of
26 February 1861, modified by legislation of
21 December 1867, granting power to the home parliament to enact all laws not reserved to the imperial diet, at which it was represented by eleven delegates, of whom two elected by the landowners, three by the cities, towns, commercial and industrial boards, five by the village communes, and one by a fifth curia by secret ballot, every duly registered male twenty-four years of age has the right to vote. The home legislature consisted of a single chamber of thirty-seven members, among whom the prince-bishop sits ex-officio. The emperor convened the legislature, and it's presided over by the governor. The landed interests elected ten members, the cities and towns eight, the commercial and industrial boards two, the village communes sixteen. The business of the chamber was restricted to legislating on agriculture, public and charitable institutions, administration of communes, church and school affairs, the transportation and housing of soldiers in war and during manoeuvres, and other local matters. The land budget of 1901 amounted to 3,573,280 crowns ($714,656).
Modern era
In 1918, the duchy ceased to exist and its territory became part of the newly formed
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and subsequently part of the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later known as the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia). The western part of the duchy, with the towns of
Postojna,
Ilirska Bistrica,
Idrija and
Šturje was annexed to
Italy in
1920, but was subsequently also included into Yugoslavia in 1945. Since 1991, the region is part of an independent
Slovenia.
Ecclesiastical history
In early Christian times the duchy was under the jurisdiction of the
metropolitans of Aquileia (who became Patriarchs), Syrmium, and Salona. In consequence of the immigration of the pagan Slovenes, this arrangement wasn't a lasting one. After they'd embraced Christianity in the seventh and eighth centuries Charlemagne conferred the major part of Carniola on the
Patriarchate of Aquileia, and the remainder on the
Diocese of Trieste. In 1100 that patriarchate was divided into five archdeaconries, of which Krain was one.
The diocese of Ljubljana or Laibach was established by Emperor Frederick III on
6 December 1461. It was directly subject to the pope. This was confirmed by a Bull of Pope Pius II,
10 September 1462. The new diocese consisted of part of Upper Carniola, two parishes in Lower Carniola, and a portion of Lower Styria and Carinthia; the remaining portion of Carniola was attached to
Aquileia, later on to
Gorizia and
Trieste. At the redistribution of dioceses (1787 to 1791) not all the parishes in Carniola were included in the Diocese of Ljubljana, but this was accomplished in 1833, by taking two deaneries from the Diocese of Trieste, one from Gorizia, and one parish from the Diocese of Lavant, so as to include all the territory within the political boundaries of the crownland.
Sources and references
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