Strahoninec () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Strahoninec is the only

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 ...

in the municipality. Also part of the municipality is the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

of Poleve, located just over a kilometre south of the village. In the 2011 census, the municipality had a population of 2,682. Of the entire population, a total of 2,645 people (98.6%) identified themselves as

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 ...

. The village of Strahoninec is located next to the southern limits of

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 ...

, the county seat of Međimurje County, around 3 kilometres from the centre of the city. The north-eastern part of the village is connected with Savska Ves, while its western part is close to

Nedelišće Nedelišće (; Kajkavian language, Kajkavian: ''Nedelišče'') is a village in Međimurje County, in northern Croatia, and the seat of the Municipalities of Croatia, Municipality of Nedelišće, which also includes 10 other villages in the south-w ...

History

In 1478, the village was listed as ''Strahoninecz'' in the list of settlements belonging to the Čakovec area. In 1564, ''Judicatus Strahonincs'' was mentioned. At the time, a ''judicatus'' was an

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

consisting of several rural municipalities. In 1672, Strahoninec was mentioned as part of the Nedelišće ''judicatus''. In 1718, it belonged to the Mihovljan ''judicatus'', but was again mentioned as part of the Nedelišće ''judicatus'' three years later, in 1721. The first organised census in the Međimurje region took place in 1786. According to it, there were 44 houses in Strahoninec, accommodating 56 families and a population of 384. Another census took place in 1828. According to it, there were 48 houses in the village, accommodating a predominantly

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

population of 385. The name of the village in that census was ''Ztrahominec''. It was derived from ''strah'', the Croatian word for "

fear Fear is an unpleasant emotion that arises in response to perception, perceived dangers or threats. Fear causes physiological and psychological changes. It may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the ...

", and ''minuti'', which means "to pass" or "to go away". It was a reference to the people who travelled through the area. They were afraid of a large

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

they had to go through after crossing the

Drava The Drava or Drave (, ; ; ; ; ), historically known as the Dravis or Dravus, is a river in southern Central Europe.

, and their fears were gone once they entered the village. In the 1828 census, the hamlet of Poleve was mentioned for the first time. However, neither its population nor the number of houses were mentioned. In 1868, the hamlet was mentioned as ''Polevo'', and was part of the village of Strahoninec. In the 1910 census, the hamlet was mentioned under a Hungarian name, ''Szépmajor'', and had a population of 91. Strahoninec was also known by a Hungarian name, ''Nagyfalu'', at the beginning of the 20th century. In the 1900 census, it had a population of 777. At the time, there were 724 Croats, 44

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

and 8

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

living in the village. In the 1910 census, the village had a population of 782. It was part of the Čakovec district () of

Zala County Zala (, ; ; ) is an administrative county (Counties of Hungary, comitatus or ''vármegye'') in south-western Hungary. It is named after the Zala River. It shares borders with Croatia (Koprivnica–Križevci County, Koprivnica–Križevci and Me� ...

in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

until the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

was signed in 1920. It then became part of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

. In 1921, Strahoninec became the seat of a municipality, which also included

Kuršanec Kuršanec (, before 1896 ''Kursanecz'') is a village in Međimurje County, Croatia. The village is located in the south-western part of Međimurje County, near Lake Varaždin, and is administratively part of the wider area of the county seat, Čak ...

, Poleve and Totovec. In 1941, it became part of

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

again, as the entire Međimurje region was annexed by the Hungarians until 1945. At the time, the village was known as ''Drávanagyfalu'', which is still the name used for it in Hungarian. In 1941, it had a population of 1,212. The majority of the population identified themselves as Hungarians at the time. After

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 ...

, it became part of

within the

Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

. In the 1953 census, the village of Strahoninec had a population of 1,386. At the time, it was the seat of a municipality, which also included the villages of Šandorovec and Totovec. In 1955, it became part of the Čakovec municipality. The village developed quickly during the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1981 census, it had a population of 2,260, which grew to 2,580 in the 1991 census. Following the independence of Croatia, it was part of the wider area of the city of Čakovec. On 17 January 1997, Strahoninec became a separate municipality.

Gallery

References

External links

The official website of the municipality
{{authority control Municipalities of Croatia Populated places in Međimurje County