Vipava, Slovenia

Municipality_of_Slovenia|nativename=Vipava
coat=
location=
area=107.4 km²
population=5,185
males=2,539
females=2,646
avg_age=39.94 years
residental_density=32.21 m²/person
households=1,630
families=1,372
workers=2,298
unemployed=176
salary_date=August 2003
avg_salary_bruto=220,466 SIT
avg_salary_neto=144,529 SIT
students=244

Vipava ( _it. Vipacco, _de. Wippach) is a small town in western Slovenia with 1,500 inhabitants. It is the center of a municipality with 5.185 people. Vipava is built near the numerous sources of the Vipava River, in the upper Vipava Valley, 102 m above sea level. Historically, it used to be a part of the traditional region of Inner Carniola, but it is now generally regarded as a part of the Slovenian Littoral.

History

The region around the town was probably settled by the Illyrians and Celts in the pre-Roman era. Some trace the name Vipava to the Celtic root "vip" (river). In 394, the Battle of the Frigidus took place in the vicinity of the town. In the late 6th century, Slavic tribes, ancestors of modern Slovenes, settled the area. In the late 8th century, the Vipava Valley was included into the Frankish Empire and the Christianization of Slovenes started.

In the Middle Ages, the Valley was first included into the Duchy of Friuli. Between 1340 and 1355, Vipava and its surroundings were constantly contnended between the Counts of Gorizia, the Patriarches of Aquileia and the Habsburg Duchy of Carniola. Modern Vipava was first mentioned in 1367. In the same period, it was finally included into the County of Gorizia. After a short Venetian interim, Vipava fell under the Habsburg domain in 1501 and in 1535 it was included into Carniola. In the mid 16th century, it emerged as an important center of Protestant Reformation. It remained part of Carniola until 1918, when it was occupied by the Italian troops and annexed to the Kingdom of Italy.

In the period between 1922 and 1943, it was subjected to a violent policy of Fascist Italianization. Many locals joined the militant antifascist organization TIGR. During World War Two, the whole area became an important center of partisan resistance. In 1945, it was liberated by the Yugoslav Partisan troops and in 1947 it became part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and of independent Slovenia in 1991.

Nowadays, it is part of the Goriška region.

Economy

Vipava is an important agricultural center of western Slovenia. It is renowned for its wine production. Turism is also important, as well as small and middle-size businesses. Many locals work in the neighbouring town of Ajdovščina.

Language, culture and religion

The vas majority of the people of Vipava, around 93%, are Slovenes. Others are mostly descendents of immigrants from other regions of former Yugoslavia. Around 95% of the people use Slovene as their first language; the remaining 5% is mostly divided between different variants of Serbo-Croatian. The autochthonous inhabitants speak a variant of the Inner Carniolan dialect of Slovene.

Around 77% of the people profess the Catholic faith, little less than 1% are adherents of Sunni Islam, while others are irreligious. Vipava's Roman Catholics belong to the Diocese of Koper.

Division

The municipality of Vipava is subdivided into 11 local communities ( _sl. krajevne skupnosti), which comprise one or more villages. They are: Vipava, Erzelj, Goče, Gradišče pri Vipavi, Lozice, Lože, Manče, Podnanos, Podraga, Slap, Vrhpolje.

Famous natives and residents

Notable personalities from Vipava include:

*Drago Bajc (1904-1928), poet;
*Andreas Baumkirchner (1420-1471), nobleman, leader of an unsuccessful conspiracy against Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor;
*Sigismund von Herberstein (1486-1566), diplomat and author;
*Eva Irgl (b. 1976), TV host and politician (Slovenian Democratic Party);
*Štefan Kociančič (1813-1883), theologian and translator;
*Sebastian Krelj (1538-1567), Slovene Protestant writer and preacher;
*Anton Lavrin (1789-1869), Austrian diplomat and Egyptologist;
*Marko Natlačen (1886-1942), politician, governor of the Drava Banovina (1935-1941);
*Janko Premrl Vojko (1920-1943), Slovene anti-fascist activist and resistance leader;
*Stanko Premrl (1880-1965), composer, author of the music for the Slovenian National Anthem.