Štrigova (; outdated German name: ) is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

and municipality in

Međimurje County Međimurje County (; ; ) is a triangle-shaped Counties of Croatia, county in the northernmost part of Croatia, roughly corresponding to the historical and geographical region of Međimurje (region), Međimurje. It is the smallest Croatian count ...

, in northern

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

History

Gabriel Bucelin Stridon Kapelle und Quelle des hl Hieronymus 1644

Oldest archaeological finds in Štrigova municipality are from

Roman period The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

Burial mounds A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. ...

and fragments of pottery were found in the hamlet of Trnovčak. Fragments of the

Roman roads Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

were found at the same locality. The settlement Štrigova is first time mentioned in 1271 as ''Castr. Strigo'' (English: ''Fort Strigo''). During that time fort was in possession of Arnold of Stridó. In year 1290 Andrew the Venetian, later king of Hungary and Croatia, was captured in fort Štrigova by Arnold of Stridó, and was sent to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in captivity. In year 1334 Štrigova was recorded as Catholic parish named ''Sancte Marie Magdalene de Strigo'' in Census of parishes of Zagreb Diocese. From the late Middle Ages until the beginning of the 20th century, Štrigova has the rights of a

Market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

. During the 15th century feudal proprietor of Međimurje Frederick II, Count of Celje built the wooden chapel of saint Jerome in Štrigova. In year 1447

Papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

''Gloriosus Deus in sanctis suis'' (English: ''God is glorius in his Saints'') was promulgated by Pope

Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V (; ; 15 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene IV made him a cardinal in 1446 afte ...

for Saint Jerome church in Štrigova. In that document Štrigova is mentioned as birthplace of

Saint Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian priest, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known for his translation of the Bible ...

. But claims about birthplace of Saint Jerome are disputed by some scholars. In year 1931 Štrigova municipality was separated from Čakovec District and the rest of Međimurje and placed under authority of Ljutomer District in Drava Banovina. In April 1941 Međimurje was occupied by Hungarian Army, but Štrigova were occupied by

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

. In June 1941, at the Hungarian request, Štrigova is again reincorporated in Međimurje. In April 1945 former municipality Štrigova provisionally became a part of Yugoslav Federal republic of Slovenia. In 1946 Štrigova municipality was divided between People's Republics

and Slovenia. Villages Banfi, Grabrovnik, Jalšovec, Leskovec, Prekopa, Robadje, Stanetinec, Sveti Urban and Štrigova became part of Croatia, and Gibina, Globoka, Kopriva, Razkrižje, Šafarsko, Šprinc, and Veščica became part of Slovenia. In year 1947 in forest near Štrigova Yugoslavian secret police (

OZNA The Department for Protection of the People, commonly known under its Serbo-Croatian acronym as OZNA, was the secret police of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Communist Yugoslavia that existed between 1944 and 1946. Founding The OZNA w ...

) murdered dozens of members of anticommunist guerrilla called

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

(Croatian: ''Križari''). In year 1992 Štrigova regained the status of municipality.

Geography

Štrigova is located in part of Međimurje called Gornje Međimurje at border with

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. Village of Štrigova, municipality centre, is about 19 kilometres northwest from

Čakovec Čakovec (; ; ; ) is a city in Northern Croatia, located around north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital, and close to the borders with Slovenia and Hungary. Čakovec is both the county seat and the largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmo ...

, and some 110 kilometres north of

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

. The municipality covers an area of 39.21 km². Landscape of Štrigova consist of low hills called Međimurske gorice, covered with

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s, orchards and woodlands. Međimurske gorice are extension of Slovenske gorice. At 341 metres, Mađerkin breg is the highest hill in municipality, and also a popular viewpoint. River Mura touches the border of municipality at its northernmost part. Štrigova is located on road that connects county seat Čakovec with town of Ljutomer in Slovenia. There are two border crossing with Slovenia in municipality, called Banfi and Bukovje.

Demographics

In the 2011 census, the municipality had a population of 2,766 in 10 villages. Štrigova is experiencing

population decline Population decline, also known as depopulation, is a reduction in a human population size. Throughout history, Earth's total world population, human population has estimates of historical world population, continued to grow but projections sugg ...

since the 1950s. The majority of inhabitants are

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

making up 94% of population and most significant minority are

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( ), 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, and History of Slove ...

(4%).

Settlements

Economy

The

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

of the municipality is largely focused on its

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. Many hills in the municipality were planted with vineyards and the production of

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

is a major business in the municipality. There are many

wine cellar A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control s ...

s throughout the municipality, most of which are privately owned, but there is also a large communally-owned wine cellar in Štrigova.

Cattle breeding Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock ...

and

dairy product Dairy products or milk products are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, goat, nanny goat, and Sheep, ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food around the world such as y ...

s are also an important part of the economy of the municipality, although to a lesser extent in comparison with the production of wine, as well as rural tourism.

Culture

The Church of St. Jerome was rebuilt in 1749 by famous artist Ivan Ranger following the demolition of the original 15th-century-built

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

by an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

in 1738. There are also two historical

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

s located in the municipality. The castle in Banfi (Bánfihegy) was built by

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Bánffy in 1373, and Tkalec Castle on Kalec hill is believed to be built by local Paulines in the 18th century.

Gallery

Štrigova (Croatia) - centar.jpg, Centre of the village Štrigova (Croatia) - panorama.jpg, Panoramic view Gabriel Thaller; Sveti Jeronim i pavlini (18.st.).jpg, ''Saint Jerome and the Paulines'' painted by Gabriel Thaller in the St. Jerome Church in Štrigova (18th century) Štrigova municipality location.GIF, Location within Međimurje County Water tower in the village of Sveti Urban.jpg, Sveti Urban water tower Železna Gora (Međimurje) - panorama.jpg, Železna Gora Sveti Urban (Međimurje) - znak dobrodošlice.jpg, Sveti Urban File:Chapel in the village Prekopa.jpg, Prekopa File:Grabrovnik - stara hiža.jpg, Old cottage in Grabrovnik Železna Gora (Međimurje) - središte.JPG, Železna Gora - village centre Sveti Urban (Međimurje) - vinogradi.jpg, Sveti Urban

References

External links

Website of the municipality's tourist board
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strigova Populated places in Međimurje County Municipalities of Croatia