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Ptuj

Coordinates:46°25′10″N15°52′10″E/ 46.41944°N 15.86944°E/46.41944; 15.86944
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Ptuj
Town
Ptuj heritage area over theDrava River
Ptuj Town Hall
St. George's Church
Kurentovanje carnival
Minorite Monastery
Southern suburbs of Ptuj fromPtuj Castle
Flag of Ptuj
Flag
Coat of arms of Ptuj
Coat of arms
Ptuj is located in Slovenia
Ptuj
Ptuj
Location of the city of Ptuj in Slovenia
Coordinates:46°25′10″N15°52′10″E/ 46.41944°N 15.86944°E/46.41944; 15.86944
CountrySlovenia
Traditional regionStyria
Statistical regionDrava
MunicipalityPtuj
First mentionAD 69
Town privileges1376
Founded byVespasian
Government
• MayorNuška Gajšek (SD)
Area
• Total25.6 km2(9.9 sq mi)
Elevation
232 m (761 ft)
Population
(2023)
• Total17,984
• Density700/km2(1,800/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01(CET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+02(CEST)
Vehicle registrationMB
Websitewww.ptuj.siEdit this at Wikidata

Ptuj(Slovene:[ˈptuːi̯]ⓘ;German:Pettau,pronounced[ˈpɛtaʊ̯]ⓘ;Latin:Poetovium/Poetovio) is the eighth-largesttownofSlovenia,located in the traditional region ofStyria(northeasternSlovenia). It is the seat of theMunicipality of Ptuj.Being the oldest recorded city in Slovenia, it has been inhabited since the late Stone Age and developed from a Roman military fort, located at a strategically important crossing of theDravaRiver along a prehistoric trade route between theBaltic Seaand theAdriatic.[1]

History

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Historical affiliations

Roman Empire(69–476AD)
Ostrogothic Kingdom(476–552)
Lombards(552–568)
Pannonian Avars(568–623, 658–700)
Samo's Empire(623–658)
Early Slavs(700–795)
Francia(795–840)
Balaton Principality(840–874)
Archbishop of Salzburg(977–1555)
Habsburg Monarchy(1555–1804)
Austrian Empire(1804–1867)
Austria-Hungary(1867–1918)
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs(1918)
Kingdom of Yugoslavia(1918–1941)
Nazi Germany(1941–1944)
SFR Yugoslavia[2](1944–1991)
Slovenia1991–Present

Early history

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Ptuj is the oldest recorded town in Slovenia. There is evidence that the area was settled in theStone Age.In the LateIron Ageit was settled byCelts.[3]

First mentions

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By the 1st century BC, the settlement was controlled byAncient Romeas part of thePannonianprovince. In 69 AD,Vespasianwas electedRoman Emperorby the Danubian legions in Ptuj, and the first written mention of the city of Ptuj is from the same year.Poetoviumwas the base-camp ofLegio XIIIGeminawhere it had its legionary fortress orcastrum.The name originated in the times of EmperorTrajan,who granted the settlement city status and named itColonia Ulpia Traiana Poetovioin 103. The patristic writer Victorinus was Bishop of Poetovio before his martyrdom in 303 or 304. The CaesarConstantius Galluswas divested of his imperial robe and arrested in Poetovio before his subsequent execution in Pola (354) (Amm.Marc. Hist. XIV) Thebattle of Poetovioin 388 sawTheodosius I's victory over the usurper, Maximus.

The city had 40,000 inhabitants until it was plundered by theHunsin 450.[3]

Middle Ages

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In 570 the city was occupied byEurasian AvarsandSlavic tribes.[3]Ptuj became part of theFrankish Empire[3]after the fall of the Avar state at the end of 8th century. Between 840 and 874 it belonged to the SlavicBalaton PrincipalityofPribinaandKocelj.Between 874 and 890 Ptuj gradually came under the influence of theArchbishopric of Salzburgwhich had both spiritual and temporal rule over the town;[3]city rightspassed in 1376 began an economic upswing for the settlement.

Habsburg Monarchy and Austria-Hungary

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After the re-establishment of the Habsburg rule in 1490, followingMatthias Corvinus's conquests, the Archbishop of Salzburg was stripped of the remaining temporal authority over the town and the surrounding areas; Ptuj (known in German as Pettau) was officially incorporated into theDuchy of Styriain 1555.[3]

Pettau was a battleground during theOttoman wars in Europeand suffered from fires in 1684, 1705, 1710, and 1744.[3]Its population and importance began to decline in the 19th century, however, after the completion of theVienna-Triesteroute of theAustrian Southern Railway,as the line went throughMarburg (Maribor)instead.

According to the 1910 Austro-Hungarian census, 86% of the population of Pettau's Old Town wasGerman-speaking, while the population of the surrounding villages predominantly spokeSlovenian.[4]After the collapse ofAustria-Hungaryat the end ofWorld War I,Pettau was included in the short-livedRepublic of German Austria.

Establishment of Yugoslavia

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After the military intervention of the Slovenian generalRudolf Maister,the entire territory ofLower Styriawas included into theState of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs(Yugoslavia). During theinterwar period,the number and the percentage of those identifying asGermansin the city, which was renamed Ptuj, decreased rapidly, although a relatively strongethnic Germanminority remained.

World War II

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After theinvasion of Yugoslaviain April 1941, Ptuj was occupied byNazi Germany.From 1941 to 1944 the town's Slovenian population was dispossessed and deported. Their homes were taken over by German speakers fromSouth TyrolandGottschee County,who had themselves been evicted according to an agreement betweenAdolf HitlerandBenito Mussolini.These German immigrants, along with the native GermanPettauer,wereexpelledtoAustriain 1945; many later settled inNorth America.

Since 1945, Ptuj has been populated almost completely bySlovenes.

Culture

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Kurentiin Ptuj

The Kurent or Korant Carnival

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Ptuj is the center place of a ten-day-longcarnivalin the spring, an ancientSlavic paganrite of spring and fertility, calledKurentovanjeor Korantovanje. Kurent is believed to be the name of an ancient god ofhedonism- the Slavic counterpart of the Greek godPriapos,although there are no written records.

Kurent or Korant is a figure dressed in sheep skin who goes about the town wearing a mask, a long red tongue, cowbells, and multi-colored ribbons on its head. The Kurent(s) from Ptuj and the adjoining villages also wear feathers, while those from theHalozeandLancova Vaswear horns. Organized in groups, Kurents go through town, from house to house, making noise with their bells and wooden sticks, to symbolically scare off evil spirits and the winter.

Landmarks

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Ptuj Town Hall
Town Tower and Theatre

Theparish churchin the settlement is dedicated toSaint Georgeand belongs to theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Maribor.It is a three-navedGothicbuilding from the 13th and early 14th century, but the structure incorporates parts of a much earlier structure, dating to the mid-9th century.[5]

Town quarters

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  • Center
  • Breg–Turnišče
  • Ljudski Vrt
  • Jezero
  • Panorama
  • Rogoznica
  • Grajena
  • Spuhlja

Notable people

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Sister cities

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See also:List of twin towns and sister cities in Slovenia

Ptuj istwinnedwith:

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References

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  1. ^Sasel, J."The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, POETOVIO (Ptuj) Yugoslavia".The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites.Retrieved25 June2017.
  2. ^Known as:Democratic Federal Yugoslavia(1944–1945); Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1963); Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1963–1992)
  3. ^abcdefgPtujTourism.si."The History of Ptuj".Accessed November 8, 2006.
  4. ^Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru, vol. 4: Štajersko.Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna. 1904. p. 4.
  5. ^Slovenian Ministry of Culture register of national heritagereference number ešd 582
  6. ^"Skrabar, Viktor (1877–1938)".Slovenska biografija.Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti.RetrievedSeptember 23,2023.
  7. ^"130 let Pokrajinskega muzeja Ptuj – Ormož: Povod za nastanek je bil ohranitev arheološke zbirke".RTV SLO.September 23, 2023.RetrievedSeptember 23,2023.
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