Kobarid

Coordinates: 46°14′47.17″N 13°34′40.82″E / 46.2464361°N 13.5780056°E / 46.2464361; 13.5780056
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Kobarid
Slovenian Littoral
Statistical regionGorizia
MunicipalityKobarid
Area
 • Total4.6 km2 (1.8 sq mi)
Elevation
235.3 m (772.0 ft)
Population
 (2016)
 • Total1,090
[1]

Kobarid (pronounced [kɔbaˈɾiːt] ⓘ; Italian: Caporetto; Friulian: Cjaurêt; German: Karfreit) is a settlement in Slovenia, the administrative centre of the Municipality of Kobarid.

Kobarid is known for the 1917 Battle of Caporetto, where the Italian retreat was documented by Ernest Hemingway in his novel A Farewell to Arms. The battle is well documented in the museum in the centre of Kobarid. The museum won a Council of Europe award in 1993.

Name

Kobarid was attested in written sources as Kauoretum in 1184 (and as de Cavoreto in 1258, Caboret in 1291, and de Chiavoretto in 1343). The Slovenian name is derived from *Koboridъ, borrowed from Old Friulian *Kaborệdu. The original Romance form of the name, *Cap(o)rētum, is probably derived from Latin caper 'goat' and refers to a place where there are goats. The town is known as Cjaurêt in Friulian, Karfreit in German, and Caporetto in Italian.[2]

Geography

Soča Valley

The municipality is the westernmost in Slovenia, situated in the Julian Alps in the Upper Soča (Isonzo) Valley, at the confluence with the Nadiža (Natisone) River, close to the border with Italy. In the southwest, the road leads to the neighbouring Italian comune of Pulfero. The area is located in the north of the historic Goriška region, itself part of the larger Slovene Littoral.

Spectators at cliff diving event

History

Kobarid has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Archaeological remains from the

Roman road from Forum Iulii (present-day Cividale del Friuli) up to the Predil Pass and the Noricum
province.

Middle Ages

In the 6th century, the area was settled by Slavic tribes, ancestors of the modern Slovenes. When Kobarid was first mentioned in 1184, it was part of the Patria del Friuli ruled by the Patriarchs of Aquileia.

While the estates in the west were gradually conquered by the Republic of Venice until 1420, Kobarid together with Tolmin County and the possessions of the Counts of Gorizia was incorporated in the Inner Austrian territories of the Habsburg monarchy, like the Slovene-speaking territories of Carniola and Lower Styria.

Modern time

From 1754 Kobarid belonged to the newly established Princely County of

Gorizia and Gradisca, a Habsburg crown land which later formed the Austrian Littoral together with the March of Istria and the Imperial Free City of Trieste
.

With the exception of a brief period between 1809 and 1813, when it was included under the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, Kobarid remained under Austrian rule until 1918. In the mid-19th century, the town became an important centre of the Slovene national revival.

World wars

Kobarid World War I museum

At the outset of World War I, the area saw one of the first victims of the conflict, Countess Lucy Christalnigg, killed by Landsturmer guards while she was on a mission for the Red Cross.[4] During the war, the whole area was the theatre of the Battles of the Isonzo, fought between the Kingdom of Italy and Austria-Hungary. The town was almost completely destroyed between 1915 and 1917.

After the end of the war in 1918, Kobarid was occupied by the Italian Army, and upon the 1919

Italian Fascist regime. During the Italian administration, Kobarid also became an important symbolic place for the Fascist authorities because of its role in World War I. An Italian military ossuary was built on the hill above the town, and Benito Mussolini
visited Kobarid in 1938.

Immediately after the

Liberation Front of the Slovenian People. During this period, almost all Italian families that settled in Kobarid during the 25 years of Italian administration left the town. In early November 1943, Nazi German forces took over the town and established their rule until May 1945, when the town was finally liberated by the Yugoslav People's Army
.

In early June 1945, Kobarid came under joint British–U.S. occupation and placed under Allied temporary military administration until the establishment of a final border between Italy and Yugoslavia. The Morgan Line, which divided the Allied military occupation zone from the Yugoslav one, ran just east of the town, along the Soča River.

In September 1947, the

Communist
state.

Mass grave

Kobarid was the site of a

Kolovrat in April 1945. Unlike most mass graves in Slovenia, the graves were well maintained during the communist era. The remains were exhumed in 2000 and re-interred in a common grave at Žale Cemetery in Ljubljana.[5]

Kobarid today

In the 1960s and 1970s, Kobarid emerged as an important tourist center. In addition to the Kobarid Museum, the Napoleon Bridge has also become an important symbol of Kobarid. The bridge is a popular tourist destination that offers views of the mountains around Kobarid and the Soča River.

With the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, Kobarid became part of independent Slovenia.

Notable people

Josip Pagliaruzzi, Slovene poet

References

  1. ^ Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia
  2. ^ Snoj, Marko. 2009. Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen. Ljubljana: Modrijan and Založba ZRC, pp. 191–192.
  3. ^ Kobarid Museum site
  4. ISBN 978-1495363924
  5. ^ Ferenc, Mitja (December 2009). "Grobišče na pokopališču". Geopedia (in Slovenian). Ljubljana: Služba za vojna grobišča, Ministrstvo za delo, družino in socialne zadeve. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  6. ^ Bokal, Ljudmila, ed. 2008. Čebelarski terminološki slovar. Ljubljana: Založba ZRC, ZRC SAZU and Lukovica: Čebelarska zveza Slovenije, p. 256.

External links

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