Grožnjan ( Italian : Grisignana ; Venetian : Grizinjana ) is a settlement and municipality in Croatia . It is part of Croatia's Istria County , which takes up most of the Istrian peninsula. Around 36% of the municipality's population is Italian .
60-407: In Grožnjan are found ancient Roman artifacts and near Grožnjan is the remains of a Roman house, but the first mention of Grožnjan dates from 1102, when Margrave of Istria Ulric II and his wife Adelaida granted their land to Patriarch of Aquileia . In this document the fort is called Castrum Grisiniana . In 1238 Grožnjan was the property of Vicardo I Pietrapalosa. In 1286, Grožnjan fort was lent to
120-457: A Frankish vassal. The region then had nine cities, Trieste foremost among them. After King Pepin had made several attempts to conquer Venice on the Adriatic coast, his father Emperor Charlemagne under the 812 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle finally recognised the formal Byzantine control over the city along with Istria, at least its western coast. After this, it falls into obscurity, but perhaps
180-689: A real independent state – although its formal status and separate sovereignty were generally respected. It operated as a separate state in the Marshall Plan (launched in April 1948) and the related OEEC (formed in March 1948). Meanwhile, the Tito-Stalin split in mid-1948 led to the deterioration of relations between Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, which resulted in a political stalemate, and
240-580: Is held for two or three weeks, in the second half of July. Grožnjan also has an annual painting festival, the Ex Tempore, hosting more than 300 artists from the whole Europe. Margrave of Istria The March of Istria (or Margraviate of Istria / ˈ ɪ s t r i ə / ) was originally a Carolingian frontier march covering the Istrian peninsula and surrounding territory conquered by Charlemagne 's son Pepin of Italy in 789. After 1364, it
300-463: Is today known as "Town of artists". It has about 20 art galleries, it hosts summer film school, and it has become an international center of Croatian music youth. Grožnjan has an annual jazz festival "Jazz is Back-BP", that was started by Boško Petrović , attracting international musicians, such as Georgie Fame in 2007, Mike Sponza . In 2008 it won the European award for best small jazz festival. It
360-486: The 9th Corps ) entered Trieste on 1 May 1945, after a battle in the town of Opicina on the outskirts of Trieste. The 2nd New Zealand Division also arrived the following day, and forced the surrender of some 2,000 German troops holding out in Trieste, who warily had refused to capitulate to Yugoslav troops, fearing reprisals and executions. An uneasy truce then developed between New Zealand and Yugoslav troops occupying
420-783: The Axis powers . When the Fascist regime collapsed and Italy capitulated with the Armistice of Cassibile in September 1943, the territory in and around Trieste was occupied by the German Wehrmacht armed forces, which made the city the capital of their regional Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral (OZAK). Amid the collapse of German front line towards the end of the war, Yugoslav Partisan units ( 4th Army and
480-739: The Duchy of Friuli , part of their Kingdom of Italy . The Istrian peninsula remained under Byzantine (Eastern Roman) influence, while South Slavic tribes ( Croatians and Slovenes ) settled in the east and north. Aistulf , King of the Lombards from 749, attacked the remaining Byzantine territories in Italy and even threatened the Byzantine Papacy in Rome . As Pope Zachary expected no help from Constantinople , he forged an alliance with Pepin
540-755: The European Commission about the Free Port of Trieste: Annex VIII to the Treaty of peace with Italy of 10 February 1947 stipulates in its Article 1 that the port of Trieste shall be a customs-free port. Article 5(2) of Annex VIII provides that in connection with the importation into or exportation from or transit through the Free Port, the authorities of the Free Territory shall not levy on such goods customs duties or charges other than those levied for services rendered . [emphasis added] During
600-795: The French Empire as part of the Illyrian Provinces in 1809. In 1815, after Napoleon had been defeated, the territory was returned to Austria as part of the Kingdom of Illyria by the 1815 Congress of Vienna . After the partition of the Illyrian kingdom in 1849, the Margravate of Istria became a subdivision of the Austrian Littoral crown land . It received considerable autonomy as a crown land in its own right with
660-793: The Great Depression had its consequences. In the 1920s people started to emigrate, looking for work in Trieste and overseas. During the rule of the Kingdom of Italy Grožnjan attained waterworks, the area was electrified, and the Mirna river valley was reclaimed. After the Second World War , Istria was divided into two parts, the Yugoslav one and the Free Territory of Trieste , which was divided into Zone A, controlled by
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#1732798377030720-681: The Habsburg archdukes of Austria in 1374, who since 1335 had held the Carniolan march. In 1382 they also gained control over the City of Trieste . After the secular territory of the patriarchs of Aquileia had been completely conquered by Venice in 1420, most of Istria belonged to La Serenissima . The Austrian House of Habsburg only held a small territory in the interior of the peninsula around Pazin ( Mitterburg ), which it administered from its Carniolan duchy. The Habsburg rulers nevertheless added
780-632: The March of Friuli was ruled from Aquileia by Margrave Eberhard and his Unruoching descendants. It became part of Middle Francia after the 843 Treaty of Verdun , and was allotted to Emperor Louis II 's Italian kingdom in 855. The Unruoching margrave Berengar of Friuli even succeeded Charles the Fat as King of Italy in 888. After the German king Otto I had campaigned northern Italy under Berengar's grandson King Berengar II , in 952 he merged Friuli into
840-576: The Port of Koper/Capodistria . The first had a peculiar free zone (nowadays also offshore ) status originated in 1719 and confirmed by the Treaty of Peace with Italy of 1947 , which allows the transportation of goods inside the area. This status is recognised by the international community and the European Union. An excerpt from the answer given by Algirdas Šemeta on 7 August 2012, on behalf of
900-639: The United Nations Security Council approved Resolution 16 under Article 24 of its charter calling for the creation of a free state in Trieste and the region surrounding it. A permanent statute codifying its provisions was to become recognized under international law upon the appointment of an international governor approved by the Quatripartite Powers (UK, US, France, and the Soviet Union). On 15 September 1947,
960-486: The 1910 census, the settlement of Grožnjan had 1,658, and the municipal area had 4,028 inhabitants. The town had a doctor, a post office, a school, a lawyer, a notary public, an oil processing plant, a bakery, groceries and clothing stores, two butchers, several inns, and various trade shops (shoemakers, blacksmiths, tailors, carpenters, etc.). The dissolution of the Austrian Empire, the subsequent Italian rule and
1020-468: The 2021 census, the whole of Grožnjan Municipality had 656 inhabitants, while the settlement of Grožnjan itself had 142 inhabitants. The ethnic composition of the municipality in 2021 was 50% Croats , 35.82% Italians , 6.25% regionally declared, and 1.83% Slovenes . The native language in the municipality was 49.24% Croatian , 44.51% Italian , and 2.59% Slovene . The municipality consists of following settlements (population numbers from 2021): Grožnjan
1080-606: The Andechs margraves were banned due to alleged entanglement in the assassination of the German king, Frederick Barbarossa's son Philip of Swabia . By mid-century most of the Istrian coast had been conquered by Venice. The patriarchs had ceased appointing margraves and had given the remaining interior of the peninsula into the direct control of their Vogt officials, the Counts of Görz . The Görz territories were finally acquired by
1140-524: The Aquileian patriarch during war with Venice but changed sides in 1287, and Grožnjan was given to Venice. Vicardo's son Pietro inherited Grožnjan after his father's death in 1329, and when he died in 1339 it again became the patriarch's property. The patriarch rented it to a Friuli noble family, de Castello. In 1354 Grožnjan's new owner became Volrich, or Ulrich, Reifenberg, who in 1358 sold it to Venice for 4,000 ducats in order to pay his debts. Volrich
1200-643: The Byzantines never succeeded in re-establishing their government in the returned territories, if they were actually handed over. The remaining parts of Istria were probably eventually just re-integrated into the Carolingian duchy of Friuli. When after the deposition of the last Friulian duke Baldric , Emperor Louis the Pious at the 829 Reichstag in Worms divided his vast duchy into four marches. Istria with
1260-552: The Carolingian Kingdom of Italy under his son Pepin . Though officially a duchy, Friuli de facto was a march with a merely titular ducal dignity, from 776 ruled by Frankish appointees. An Istrian margraviate itself first emerged following the death of Duke Eric of Friuli in the 799 Siege of Trsat on the Frankish border with Littoral Croatia . Istria was enfeoffed to the Frankish count Hunfrid , who also bore
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#17327983770301320-562: The London Memorandum was signed by ministers of the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, and Yugoslavia. The memorandum effectively disestablished the Free Territory of Trieste, which meant that the civilian administration was formally transferred to neighboring Italy and Yugoslavia. Most of Zone A, including Trieste, was given to Italy, while Zone B – which already had a separate communist civilian government since 1947 –
1380-607: The Morgan Line: Zone A, which was 222.5 square kilometres (85.9 sq mi) and had a population of 262,406 - including Trieste itself - was administered by the British and American forces; Zone B, which was 515.5 square kilometres (199.0 sq mi) with 71,000 residents - including north-western Istria - was administered by the Yugoslav army. Between October 1947 and March 1948, the Soviet Union rejected
1440-576: The November 1975 signing of the bilateral Treaty of Osimo between Italy and Yugoslavia, which ended any current or future claims - as the London Memorandum had only dissolved the territory de facto , but not de jure . *Governors of all Julian March prior to the establishment of the Territory. The economy of the territory was based on its ports, namely the Free Port of Trieste and
1500-676: The Quadripartite Commission set up by the UN), in the part of Istria which was to become Zone B there were a total of 67,461 inhabitants - including 30,789 Slovenes, Serbs and Croats, 29,672 Italians, and 7,000 people of unidentified nationality. Elections in the Territory were held twice, in 1949 and 1952, but only for municipal councils. The elections for what was supposed to be the People's Assembly (Free Territory of Trieste's national legislature) were never held. On 5 October 1954,
1560-864: The Short , the powerful Mayor of the Palace of the Frankish kingdom north of the Alps , whom he legitimized as King of the Franks . In 755, Pepin invaded Italy and forced Aistulf under Frankish suzerainty. Pepin's son Charlemagne in 773/774 finally incorporated the Italian kingdom into the Carolingian Empire . Charlemagne at first attached the Istrian peninsula to the Lombard Duchy of Friuli, part of
1620-641: The US Army, and Zone B, controlled by the Yugoslav Army . Grožnjan becomes a part of Zone B. On October 5, 1954, the London Memorandum was signed and Zone A was assigned to Italy, and Zone B to the People's Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . In 1975 the Treaty of Osimo divided the Free Territory of Trieste and Grožnjan became part of Yugoslavia. The London Memorandum provided the population with
1680-610: The area, until British General William Morgan proposed partition of the territory into separate military-administered zones. Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito agreed with the idea on 23 May, as the British 13th Corps was moving forward to the proposed demarcation line. A formal agreement on partition was signed in Duino on 10 June, which created the so-called Morgan Line dividing the Julian March territory. Yugoslav troops withdrew to their area on 12 June 1945. In January 1947,
1740-727: The border region known as the Julian March (Venezia Giulia). In 1924, Italy also annexed the Free State of Fiume (now the city of Rijeka in Croatia). During the 1920s and 1930s, the Slavic population was subject to forced Italianization and discrimination under the Italian Fascist regime led by Benito Mussolini . They were also exposed to state violence by mobs incited by the ruling fascist party PNF , which included
1800-534: The candidacy of 12 successive nominees for the civilian governor of the territory, at which point the Tripartite Powers (United States, United Kingdom, and France) issued a note to the Soviet and Yugoslav governments on 20 March 1948 recommending that the territory be returned to Italian sovereignty. Since no governor was ever appointed under the terms of UN Resolution 16, the Territory never functioned as
1860-474: The early 1990s, the area of the former Zone B is today part of Slovenia and Croatia . The Free Territory of Trieste comprised an area of 738 square kilometres (285 sq mi) around the Gulf of Trieste in the northern Adriatic, from Duino (Devin) in the north to Cittanova (Novigrad) in the south, and had approximately 330,000 inhabitants. It bordered post-war Italy to the north, and Yugoslavia to
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1920-753: The east and south. The rivers of the territory included the Rižana/Risano , the Dragonja/Dragogna , the Timavo/Timava , the Val Rosandra/Glinščica , and the Mirna/Quieto . The Territory's highest point was at Monte Cocusso/Kokoš (668 metres (2,192 ft)). Its most extreme points were near Medeazza/Medjavas at 45° 48’ in the north, at Tarski Zaliv / Porto Quieto at 45° 18’ in the south, Savudrija / Punta Salvore at 13° 29’ in
1980-629: The establishment of the Diet of Istria at Parenzo by the 1861 February Patent . The title was held afterwards by the Habsburg monarch and the "Margrave of Istria" was included in the grand title of the Emperor of Austria . Free Territory of Trieste The Free Territory of Trieste was an independent territory in Southern Europe between Northern Italy and Yugoslavia , facing
2040-405: The estimates published by the Allied Military Government, the population in Zone A as of 1949 was about 310,000, which included 239,200 ethnic Italians and 63,000 ethnic Slovenes. According to contemporary Italian sources, in Zone B there were at the time 36,000 to 55,000 Italians and 12,000 to 17,000 Slovenes and Croats. According to the Yugoslav census of 1945 (which was considered falsified by
2100-500: The fall of Napoleon's Empire in 1813, his Illyrian Provinces , including Grožnjan, became part of the Austrian Empire . In 1816 the Austrian Emperor Francis II visited Grožnjan on his tour through Istria and met with the local clergy and population. During Austrian rule, the Grožnjan area flourished. The building of the Parenzana railroad in 1902 enhanced the development of trade and agriculture. Wine, olive oil, eggs, and other produce were sold in Koper and Trieste . According to
2160-480: The infamous burning of the Slovene National Hall in Trieste on 13 July 1920. Because of this, some native Slovenes and Croats emigrated to Yugoslavia, while others joined the TIGR resistance organization, whose methods included more than 100 bombings and assassinations, mostly against Italian authorities in the region, and especially in the areas around Trieste and Gorizia to the north. Beginning in 1940, Italy joined World War II alongside Nazi Germany as one of
2220-468: The late 1940s and in the years following the division of the territory, up to 40,000 people (mostly Italians) chose to leave the Yugoslav Zone B and move to the Italian Zone A for various reasons: some were intimidated into leaving, and some simply preferred not to live in Yugoslavia. Within Yugoslavia, the people who left were referred to as optanti 'choosers', whereas they called themselves esuli 'exiles'. About 14,000 Italians chose to remain in
2280-423: The municipality of Buje . In 1965, when the Town of Arts was founded, some of the housing was given to artists from Croatia, Slovenia, and Vojvodina, and some were assigned to the Cultural Centre of the International Music Youth Federation in 1969. In 1993 Grožnjan got its municipality status again. In the 2001 census, the municipality of Grožnjan had 785 inhabitants, of which 51,2% were Italians. This made Grožnjan
2340-411: The north part of the Adriatic Sea , under direct responsibility of the United Nations Security Council in the aftermath of World War II . For a period of seven years, it acted as a free city. The territory was established on 10 February 1947, by a protocol of the Treaty of Peace with Italy , to accommodate an ethnically and culturally mixed population in a neutral independent country. The intention
2400-515: The northeastern territories of the peninsula, while the western and southern coast was gradually occupied by the Republic of Venice . The German king Henry IV nominally assigned the remaining march to the Patriarchate of Aquileia , the margravial title and the Istrian territories were however retained by Carniola. In 1173 the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick Barbarossa enfeoffed the Bavarian noble House of Andechs , who attached Istria to their Duchy of Merania . Aquileia regained Istria in 1209, when
2460-463: The only municipality with a majority share of ethnic Italians in Croatia. In the 2011 census , the whole of Grožnjan Municipality had 736 inhabitants, while the settlement of Grožnjan itself had 164 inhabitants. The ethnic composition of the municipality in 2011 was 39.40% Italians , 29.62% Croats , 18.21% regionally declared, and 2.17% Slovenes . The native language in the municipality was 56.52% Italian , 37.36% Croatian , and 2.72% Slovene . In
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2520-439: The option of emigration to Italy. The new Yugoslavia's emergent communist system and its application, along with lingering hostilities between Italians and Yugoslavs (like the murder of priest Francesco Bonifacio ), contributed to a large wave of emigration (part of the Istrian–Dalmatian exodus ). By April 1956, 2/3 of the population emigrated from the area to Italy. In 1955 Grožnjan lost its municipality status and became part of
2580-419: The peace treaty between the United Nations (UN) and Italy was ratified, establishing the Free Territory of Trieste. Official languages were Italian and Slovene, possibly with the use of Serbo-Croatian in the portion of Zone B south of the Dragonja River. However, local government bodies were never formed, and it continued to be run by military authorities, respecting the administrative division demarcated by
2640-410: The proposal to return the territory to Italy was suspended until 1954. The Allied Military Government (AMG) thus continued to administer Zone A. The governance was split into peacekeeping and law enforcement sectors, with the local command comprising 5,000 Americans in the Trieste United States Troops (TRUST) and 5,000 British personnel in the British Element Trieste Forces (BETFOR). According to
2700-476: The settlers were Morlachs from Dalmatia , but also Slavic people, Albanians and Greeks , all refugees of the Ottoman Empire . All settlers in Istria were given free land and were exempt from fiscal duties and work obligations for twenty years; the only condition was to cultivate the land within five years. The economic success of the colonization of villages was reflected in the towns as well: trade and transportation developed and demographics improved. After
2760-435: The southeastern Bavarian marches, including Verona, Istria, Carniola and Styria . There appear counts of Istria late in the 10th century, but Istria together with the March of Carniola was separated from the Carinthian duchy in 1040, when both were bestowed on the Thuringian Count Poppo of Weimar , heir by marriage to the last known Friulian margrave Weriand ( Werigand (Friaul) ). The Carniolan margraves gradually acquired
2820-601: The territory was mostly populated by ethnic Slovenes or Croats in the southernmost portion of the area. There was also a smaller number of Istro-Romanians , Greeks, Albanians, as well as a sizeable Triestine Jewish community. The local Triestine dialect reflects this ethnic mix. Based on the Romance Venetian language , the dialect was influenced by ancient Rhaeto-Romance substrate. In addition, some Triestine vocabulary are of German and Slovene origin, and there are also loanwords from other languages, such as Greek . The variations of spoken Slovenian and Serbo-Croatian in
2880-428: The territory were also largely dialectal, sharing words with the Triestine and Istrian dialects. In the southernmost part of the territory, the Croatian-based dialects are of the Chakavian type, while the Venetian-based Istrian is also commonly used. At the end of World War I in 1918 and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary , Kingdom of Italy annexed Trieste, Istria and part of modern-day western Slovenia , establishing
2940-412: The territory. Italian -speakers have been predominant in most urban settlements and along the coast, with significant ethnic Slavic minorities of Slovenes and Croats inland - especially in the Trieste district, where Slovenes represented a third of the population by the end of World War I (although most of them were recent arrivals, after 1880, from interior Slovene districts). The countryside of
3000-433: The title of a dux Foroiulanus . The original Carolingian march stretched from the Julian Alps and the Karst Plateau down to the Gulf of Kvarner . It was one of three marches, along with Friuli and Carantania , guarding Italy from the Avars , Slavs , and Magyars successively. In the first decade of the 9th century, Istria was ruled by one Duke John , nominally according to its ancient Byzantine customs, but in fact as
3060-411: The title of a "Margrave of Istria" to their other titles, persisting until the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1918. Venetian Istria fell to the Habsburg monarchy (the Austrian Empire after 1804) according to the 1797 Treaty of Campo Formio but was subsequently seized by Napoleon in the 1805 Peace of Pressburg , forming part of the Kingdom of Italy . It was then incorporated into
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#17327983770303120-413: The town walls and renovated the palace. Captain's Office moved from Grožnjan to Raspo in 1394, when a central rule was established for the whole area. Since then Grožnjan was governed by Venetian noblemen who were given the title of " Mayor ". From the early 16th century Grožnjan's mayors were chosen among Koper noblemen. In the 15th century judicial duties were performed by the Pietrapelosas, and in 1446
3180-452: The town walls were fortified in order to protect it from possible Turkish attacks. After the terrible plague in 1630 the Grožnjan area became almost completely deserted. In order to revitalize the area the St. Mark's Republic brought Italian families from Veneto and Friuli ; these were mostly tradesmen who settled in towns. Settlers were invited by the Republic of Venice to cultivate the abandoned land in some hamlets around Grožnjan. Most of
3240-399: The vast March of Verona , which he granted to his brother Duke Henry I of Bavaria , who already controlled the adjacent Carinthian and Carniolan marches. After the deposition of Henry's son and successor Duke Henry the Wrangler in 976, Emperor Otto II separated Carinthia from the Bavaria as a duchy in its own right, ruled by Duke Henry the Younger who was also given suzerainty over
3300-448: The west, and Gročana/Grozzana at 13° 55’ in the east. Since 1382, Trieste had been part of the Habsburg monarchy , whilst neighboring Istria had been divided for centuries between the Habsburg monarchy (its central, northern and eastern parts) and the Republic of Venice (its western and southern parts). The population of the territory has been diverse and mixed, with different and often changing ethnic majorities in different parts of
3360-410: Was de facto dissolved in 1954 and given to Italy (Zone A) and Yugoslavia (Zone B). This created a border dispute which was only settled twenty years later with the signing of the bilateral Treaty of Osimo in 1975, which was ratified in 1977. The city of Trieste and the territory which formed Zone A is today part of Italy's Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia in
3420-504: Was a son of Deitalm, a descendant of Aquileian patriarch Volcher, and in 1356, during the war between Venice and Hungary , his army, entrenched in Grožnjan, strongly resisted the Hungarian army. Yet it seems that at the same time Volrich negotiated the surrendering of Grožnjan in Venice. Venice took Grožnjan over in 1358 and ruled until the demise of the Venetian Republic in 1797. In 1359 the Umag captain Pietro Dolfin moved to his new residence in Grožnjan, and in 1360 and 1367 he fortified
3480-438: Was also to cool down territorial claims between Italy and Yugoslavia, due to its strategic importance for trade with Central Europe . It came into existence on 15 September 1947. Its administration was divided into two areas: one being the port city of Trieste with a narrow coastal strip to the northwest (Zone A); the other (Zone B) was formed by a small portion of the north-western part of the Istrian peninsula . The territory
3540-474: Was given to Yugoslavia. In addition, Yugoslavia received several villages of Zone A in the municipalities of Muggia and San Dorligo della Valle , such as Plavje , Spodnje Škofije , Elerji , Hrvatini , Kolomban , Cerej , Premančan , Barizoni , and Socerb (with its castle ), according to the demarcation line defined by Annex I. However, objections to the demarcation line and territorial claims from both sides continued. These were finally put to rest with
3600-461: Was the Istrian province of the Habsburg monarchy , the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary . The settlement area of the ancient Histri tribes had been conquered by the Roman Empire in 178 BC and was incorporated into the northeastern Venetia et Histria region under Emperor Augustus . Upon the Decline of the Roman Empire and the Migration Period , the Lombards under King Alboin from 568 onwards conquered Venetia , where they established
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