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Ljubljana


The Jews in Ljubljana were first mentioned by Janez Vajkard Valvazor (1641-1693), a Slovenian nobleman, scholar, polymath and member of the Royal Society. In his seminal work, The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola, Valvazor wrote that the Jews rebuilt their synagogue in 1213 and that the new building was even more magnificent that the first one. Another ancient document of 1327 is a settlement permission granted by Henrik of Carinthia, a feudal lord in Carniola, to a group of Jews who moved from Cividale in neighbouring Italy to Ljubljana. The Jews who moved to Ljubljana in the Middle Ages settled around Novi trg and their neighbourhood was situated in the area of today's Jewish street and Jewish path. Despite their dense settlement Ljubljana did not have a Jewish ghetto because their numbers were too low and some Jews settled in other parts of the city. Following the decree issued by Emperor Maximilian I, Jews were expelled from the city and resettled in Lower Austria. The decree was in power until the end of the 18th century, with the exception of the brief period of the Illyrian provinces under the French occupation, during which individual Jews were allowed to settle in the city. In 1867 the Austro-Hungarian authorities allowed resettlement and the city noblemen had to bow to this decision. At the turn of the century ninety-five Jews lived in Ljubljana. They were merchants and after the First World War also administrators, traders, bankers and engineers. Some succeeded in fleeing soon after the breakout of the war, but the majority was deported to concentration camps in northern Italy. Those who escaped the fascist persecution and remained in Ljubljana were deported by the Germans in 1943, after the capitulation of Italy. Only a handful of Jews from Ljubljana survived the Nazi extermination camps.

Martina Bofulin (martina_bofulin@yahoo.com)



 
 




[Jewish Ghetto] [Street sign] [Graveyard] [Graveyard]
[Street Sign] [Monument]


- People: Riko Henrik Pollak
- Ljubljana Municipality

- National Museum of Contemporary History