Komen (, or ''Comeno'') is a settlement in

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 ...

. It is the seat of the

Municipality of Komen The Municipality of Komen (; ) is a municipality in the Slovene Littoral, Littoral region of Slovenia, near the Italy, Italian border. The seat of the municipality is the town of Komen. The municipality was established on 6 November 1994, when th ...

. It is located on the

Karst Plateau The Karst Plateau or the Karst region (, ), also locally called Karst, is a karst plateau region extending across the border of southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies between the Vipava Valley, the low hills surrounding the val ...

in the

Slovenian Littoral The Slovene Littoral, or simply Littoral (, ; ; ), is one of the traditional regions of Slovenia. The littoral in its name – for a coastal-adjacent area – recalls the former Austrian Littoral (''Avstrijsko Primorje''), the Habsburg poss ...

Name

Komen was attested in written sources in 1247 as ''Cominum'' (and as ''Cumin'' in 1255, ''de Cumino'' in 1269, and ''Comein'' in 1526). The name is probably derived from the Slavic common noun ''*komъ'' 'hill, mountain, elevation'. Derivation from the noun ''komin'' 'stove, chimney' is unlikely for accentual reasons. The Italian name, which is derived from the Slovene name, is given as ''Comen'' in older sources and ''Comeno'' in newer sources.

History

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, it was first part of the

Duchy of Friuli The Duchy of Friuli () was a Lombard duchy in present-day Friuli, the first to be established after the conquest of the Italian peninsula in 568. It was one of the largest domains in '' Langobardia Major'' and an important buffer between the L ...

and in the 13th century it was included in the

County of Gorizia The County of Gorizia (, , , ), from 1365 Princely County of Gorizia, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. Originally mediate ''Vogts'' of the Patriarchs of Aquileia, the Counts of Gorizia (''Meinhardiner'') ruled over several fiefs in the are ...

. Komen was first mentioned in a document from 1247. In 1500, the whole region fell under

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

dominion and it was included in the

County of Gorizia and Gradisca The Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca (; ; ), historically sometimes shortened to and spelled "Goritz", was a crown land of the Habsburg dynasty within the Austrian Littoral on the Adriatic Sea, in what is now a multilingual border area of ...

until 1918. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the western parts of the municipality were devastated by the

Battles of the Isonzo The Battles of the Isonzo (also known as the Isonzo Front by historians, or the Soča Front - ) were a series of twelve battles between the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I mostly on the territory of present-d ...

. After the end of the war in November 1918, the area was occupied by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

troops and annexed to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

with the

Treaty of Rapallo Following World War I there were two Treaties of Rapallo, both named after Rapallo, a resort on the Ligurian coast of Italy: * Treaty of Rapallo, 1920, an agreement between Italy and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (the later Yugoslav ...

in 1920. On February 15, 1944, the village of Komen was burned down by the

Nazi German Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

troops as retaliation for Partisan resistance activity in the area; the surviving inhabitants were forcibly resettled to

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, from where they only returned after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1947, it became part of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and in 1991 of independent Slovenia.

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Komen include: *

Franco Giraldi Franco Giraldi (11 July 1931 – 2 December 2020) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Komen from an Italian father and a Slovene mother, Giraldi spent his childhood and adolescence between the Carso, Triest ...

, screenwriter (1931–2020) * Adela Žgur, academic (1909–1992)

References

External links

*
Komen on Geopedia
{{Authority control Populated places in the Municipality of Komen