Solkan

Infobox Settlement
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subdivision_name1 = Goriška, Slovenian Littoral
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subdivision_name2 = Nova Gorica
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Solkan ( _it. Salcano) is a suburb of the town of Nova Gorica in the Goriška region of western Slovenia, close to the border with Italy. Although it is nowadays completely integrated into Nova Gorica, with which it formes a single urban area, it has maintained the status of a separate urban settlement, due to its history and strong local identity of its inhabitants. It has a population of 3272. [ [http://www.stat.si/eng/index.asp Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia] ]

History

Solkan was first mentioned in the year 1001, in the same document as the neighbouring town of Gorizia (now in Italy), which was then still a village. During the rule of the Counts of Gorizia in the Middle Ages, Gorizia developed into an important urban settlement, while Solkan maintained its predominantly rural character. Contrary to Gorizia, in which the Friulian and later Venetian language prevailed over Slovene by the end of the 16th century, Solkan has remained an essentially Slovene-speaking village.

In the 18th century, the incorporation of Solkan into the urban area of Gorizia slowly begun, as many local noble families built their residences in it. In the second half of the 19th century, it developed into an important center of furnishing industry. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Solkan Bridge over the Soča river was built, establishing an important railway juncture. The expansion of nearby Gorizia was transforming Solkan into a suburb.

During World War One, the village was almost completely destroyed in the Battles of the Isonzo. After the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918, it became part of the Kingdom of Italy, together with all the County of Gorizia and Gradisca. Its predominantly Slovene population suffered under the policies of Fascist Italianization between the 1920s and 1940s. In 1925, it was abolished as a separate municipality and merged with Gorizia. Nevertheless, Solkan remained a separate settlement due to the hindered urban expansion of Gorizia after the annexation to Italy. During World War Two, it became one of the major centers of Partisan resistance in the Julian March.

In 1947, Solkan was annexed to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, while Gorizia remained in Italy, thus cutting off the secular connection of the two settlements. The same year, the construction of a new town of Nova Gorica begun in the area previously occupied by vineyards and fields mostly belonging to the rural area of Solkan. In 1952, the Urban Municipality of Nova Gorica was created and Solkan was incorporated into it. Since then, it has gradually merged with the modern town of Nova Gorica, although it has maintained its separate legal status and a pronounced local identity.

Language, ethnicity and culture

Solkan has been a largely Slovene settlement since the 7th century. It has however also had different ethnic and linguistic minorities. Since the Middle Ages, there many Friulians living in Solkan, but they have been now mostly assimilated. Italians lived here mostly between the late 19th and early 20th century, but after 1947 they mostly moved to Italy or assimilated to the Slovene majority. Immigrants from other regions of former Yugoslavia started settling in Solkan from early 1970s. Today, Slovenes represent around 90% of the population, the remaining 10% are mostly Serbs, Croats and Bosnians, together with smaller numbers of Italians and Albanians.

According to the census of 1991, 91% of the population spoke Slovene as their first language. Serbo-Croatian came second with little less than 8%. The autochthonous inhabitants of Solkan speak a variant of the Karstic dialect of the Slovene language. The Solkan variant of the dialect served as the basis for the development of the urban dialect of Nova Gorica, which emerged with the second generation of settlers of the town. The Solkan dialect has became famous throughout Slovenia since the early 1990s, because the Singer-songwriter Iztok Mlakar uses it in the lyrics of his songs.

The culture of Solkan has been strongly influenced by the contacts with neighbouring Italian region of Friuli. The influence can be felt in the local cuisine, language, custums and traditions.

Notable people

Solkan is famous for the disproportionate number of notable people who were born or lived in the village. They iclude:

* Jure Franko, skiier;
* Ivo Hvalica, politician (Slovenian Democratic Party);
* Klement Jug, philosopher and mountaneer;
* Boris Kalin, sculptor;
* Zdenko Kalin, sculptor;
* Milan Klemenčič, Slovene puppeteer;
* Andrej Komel Sočebran, officer of the Austro-Hungarian Army and author of the military terminology in the Slovene language,
* Branko Marušič, historian;
* Fedja Marušič, kayak champion;
* Franc Marušič, physician;
* Franc Lanko Marušič, linguist;
* Ivan Janez Marušič, landscape architect;
* Tomaž Marušič, politician (Slovenian People's Party), Minister of Justice (1997-2000);
* Anton Mihelič, neurophysiologist, dean of the Charles University in Prague;
* Dušan Pirjevec Ahac, literary historian and philosopher;
* Marko Anton Plenčič, pioneer of modern microbiology;
* Josip Srebrnič, theologian, bishop of Krk;
* Jože Srebrnič, politician, Communist leader, member of the Italian Parliament;
* Boštjan Vuga, architect;
* Lucijan Vuga, mechanic engeneer and innovator, author;
* Danilo Zavrtanik, scientist and president of the University of Nova Gorica.

ee also

*Slovene Littoral
*Austrian Littoral
*Julian March

References

External links

* [http://www.geopedia.si/#L410_F10101590_T105_b4_x398934.953_y42390.5895_s15 Search map and data for Solkan at Geopedia.si]
* [http://www.maplandia.com/ Search satellite map at Maplandia.com]