Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Between the 10th and 13th centuries most of Slovenia's castles were built and many
important Christian monasteries - such as Stična and Kostanjevica - were established.
Towns also began to develop as administrative, trade and social centres from the 11th cen-
tury.
Early Habsburg Rule
In the early Middle Ages, the Habsburgs were just one of many German aristocratic famil-
ies struggling for hegemony on Slovenian soil. But as dynasties intermarried or died out,
the Habsburgs consolidated their power. Between the late 13th century and the early 16th
century, almost all the lands inhabited by Slovenes passed into Habsburg hands.
By this time Slovenian territory totalled about 24,000 sq km, about 15% larger than its
present size. Not only did more towns and boroughs receive charters and rights, but the
country began to develop economically with the opening of ironworks (eg at Kropa) and
mines (eg at Idrija). This economic progress reduced the differences among the repressed
peasants, and they united against their feudal lords.
Raids, Revolts & Reformation
Attacks by the Ottoman Turks on southeastern Europe in the early 15th century helped to
radicalise landless peasants and labourers, who were required to raise their own defences
and continue to pay tribute and work for their feudal lords. As a result, dozens of peasant
uprisings and revolts erupted on Slovenian territory, reaching their peak between the late
15th and 16th centuries. Together with the Protestant Reformation, they are considered a
watershed of the Slovenian national awakening.
In most of the uprisings, peasant 'unions'
demanded a reduction in feudal payments and
the democratic election of parish priests.
Castles were occupied and pulled down and
lords executed but none of the revolts suc-
ceeded as such.
The Protestant Reformation in Slovenia was
closely associated with the nobility from 1540 onward and was generally ignored by the
rural population except for those who lived or worked on lands owned by the church. But
the effects of this great reform movement cannot be underestimated. It gave Slovenia its
first books in the vernacular, thereby lifting the status of the language and thus affirming
Slovenian culture.
The early Magyars were such fierce fighters that a
common Christian prayer during the Dark Ages
was 'Save us, O Lord, from the arrows of the Hun-
garians.'
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search