Miren (; ) is an urbanized settlement in the

Municipality of Miren-Kostanjevica The Municipality of Miren-Kostanjevica (; , ) is a municipality in western Slovenia, on the border with Italy. Miren-Kostanjevica is part of the Goriška region of the Slovene Littoral, and its main settlements are Miren (the seat of the munic ...

in the

Littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...

region of

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 ...

right next to the border with

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 ...

. The hill known as Miren Castle () rises above the settlement to the south.

Name

The settlement was attested in written sources in 1494 as ''Merinach an der Wippach'', and in 1523 as ''Japinitz oder Merina''. The name is believed to have arisen through ellipsis of a noun phrase (e.g., *''miren grad'' 'walled castle'), leaving the adjective *''miren'' 'walled' (< *''myrьnъ''). If so, the name refers to the walls of Miren Castle above the settlement. A less likely theory derives the name from *''Marijin'' 'Mary's', referring to the pilgrimage church above the settlement.

History

After the fall of the Roman Empire and the interlude of the Ostrogothic Kingdom, the Lombards and the Slavs settled in the area in the 6th century. The village became 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 ...

. It later passed to the Franks, the Bavarians and in 1500 became part of 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 ...

under the Habsburgs. Miren suffered heavy damage during the First World War, after which it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy. According to the 1921 census, only around 3% of the population was Italian. In 1927, it became a municipality, absorbing the hamlets of Rupa, Peč, Gabrije and Savogna d'Isonzo. In 1947, Miren became part of Yugoslavia, though its four hamlets remained part of Italy. Since 1991, it has been part of Slovenia. Between 1947 and 1975, the Italy-Yugoslavia border ran through Miren cemetery, cutting graves in half. The border was corrected through minor land swaps with the

Treaty of Osimo The Treaty of Osimo was signed on 10 November 1975 by Italy and Yugoslavia in Osimo, Italy, to definitively divide the Free Territory of Trieste between the two states: the port city of Trieste with a narrow coastal strip to the north-west (Zon ...

, placing the entire cemetery within Yugoslav (now Slovenian) territory.

Church

The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

in the settlement is dedicated to

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

and belongs to the Diocese of Koper. It was built between 1827 and 1828.Roman Catholic Diocese of Koper List of Churches May 2008

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Miren include: * Leopold Kemperle (1886–1950), journalist * Oskar Kogoj (born 1942), industrial designer * (1908–1943), poet, pastoral worker *

Krištof Spollad Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει ...

(1777–1858), priest *

Marko Vuk Marko may refer to: * Marko (given name) * Marko (surname) * Márkó, a village in Hungary See also *Marco (disambiguation) *Markko (disambiguation) *Marka (disambiguation) *Markov *Marku *Narko, Queensland Narko is a rural locality in the ...

(1947–2004), art historian * (1912–1912), poet, writer

References

External links

*
Miren on Geopedia

Populated places in the Municipality of Miren-Kostanjevica {{MirenKostanjevica-geo-stub