Borders of the Historical Habsburgian Lands in the Republic of Slovenia

Prekmurje (; dialectically: ''Prèkmürsko'' or ''Prèkmüre''; hu, Muravidék) is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region of

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

, settled by

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, Slovenian culture, culture, History ...

and a Hungarian minority, lying between the Mur River in

and the

Rába Valley The Rába (german: Raab; hu, Rába; sl, Raba ) is a river in southeastern Austria and western Hungary and a right tributary of the Danube. Geography Its source is in Austria, some kilometres east of Bruck an der Mur below Heubodenhöhe Hill. ...

(the

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

of the Rába; sl, Porabje) in the westernmost part of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

. It maintains certain specific linguistic, cultural and religious features that differentiate it from other Slovenian traditional regions. It covers an area of and has a population of 78,000 people.

Name

It is named after the Mur River, which separates it from the rest of Slovenia (a literal translation from Slovene would be ''Over-Mur'' or ''Transmurania''). In Hungarian, the region is known as ''Muravidék'', and in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

as ''Übermurgebiet''. The name Prekmurje was introduced in the twentieth century, although it is derived from an older term. Before 1919, the Slovenian-inhabited lands of Vas County in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coronation of the Hungarian monarch, c ...

and

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

were known as the Slovene March or " Vendic March" (in Slovenian: ''Slovenska krajina'', in Hungarian: ''Vendvidék''). The part of modern Prekmurje that belonged to

Zala County Zala ( hu, Zala megye, ; ; ) is an administrative county ( comitatus or ''megye'') in south-western Hungary. It is named after the Zala River. It shares borders with Croatia ( Koprivnica–Križevci and Međimurje Counties) and Slovenia ( Lend ...

(the area between Lendava,

Kobilje Kobilje (; hu, Kebeleszentmárton) is a village in the Prekmurje region of Slovenia, on the border with Hungary. Kolilje is both the seat of the Municipality of Kobilje and the only settlement in the municipality. Kobilje Creek, a left tribu ...

and

Beltinci Beltinci (; Prekmurje Slovene: ''Böltinci'', hu, Belatinc or ''Belatincz'', ger, (Alt)Fellsdorf) is a town in the Prekmurje region of northeastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Beltinci. Črnec Creek, a tributary of the Leda ...

) was not considered to be a part of the Slovenian March. Until the early 19th century, this region of the Zala County belonged

ecclesiastical {{Short pages monitor