) , pushpin_map = Slovenia , pushpin_label_position = left , pushpin_map_caption = Location of the city of Celje in Slovenia , coordinates = , subdivision_type =

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

, subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Traditional region , subdivision_name1 =

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

, subdivision_type2 = Statistical region , subdivision_name2 =

Savinja The Savinja () is a river in northeast Slovenia which flows mostly in the Upper and Lower Savinja Valley ( sl, Zgornja in Spodnja Savinjska dolina) and through the cities of Celje and Laško. The Savinja is the main river of the Savinja Alps (Sl ...

, subdivision_type3 =

Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, subdivision_name3 =

Celje ) , pushpin_map = Slovenia , pushpin_label_position = left , pushpin_map_caption = Location of the city of Celje in Slovenia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Cou ...

, established_title = Town rights , established_date = 11 April 1451 , founder = , named_for = , parts_type = Districts & local communities , parts_style = list , p1 = , p2 = , government_type = , government_footnotes = , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Matija Kovač , unit_pref = Metric , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = 22.7 , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 238 , elevation_max_m = , elevation_min_m = , population_footnotes = , population_total = 37872 , population_as_of = 2020 , population_density_km2 = auto , population_blank1_title = Municipality , population_blank1 = 50,039 , population_note = , timezone =

CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast Ente ...

, utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST =

CEST CEST or cest may refer to: * Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), daylight saving time observed in the central European time zone * Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory * Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer, a subset of Magnetization transfer in ...

, utc_offset_DST = +2 , postal_code_type =

Postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...

, postal_code = 3000 , area_code = 03 , blank_name =

Climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

, blank_info = Cfb , registration_plate = CE , website = , footnotes = Source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, census of 2002. , official_name = Celje (, german: Cilli, ) is the fourth-largest city in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. It is a regional center of the traditional Slovenian region of

and the administrative seat of the City Municipality of Celje ( sl, Mestna občina Celje). The town of Celje is located below Upper Celje Castle () at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the

, Hudinja, Ložnica, and Voglajna rivers in the lower Savinja Valley, and at the crossing of the roads connecting

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...

, Velenje, and the Central Sava Valley. It lies above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

(MSL).

Name

Celje was known as ''Celeia'' during the

Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

. Early attestations of the name during or following Slavic settlement include ''Cylia'' in 452, ''ecclesiae Celejanae'' in 579, ''Zellia'' in 824, ''in Cilia'' in 1310, ''Cilli'' in 1311, and ''Celee'' in 1575. The proto-Slovene name ''*Ceľe'' or ''*Celьje'', from which modern Slovene ''Celje'' developed, was borrowed from

Vulgar Latin Vulgar Latin, also known as Popular or Colloquial Latin, is the range of non-formal Register (sociolinguistics), registers of Latin spoken from the Crisis of the Roman Republic, Late Roman Republic onward. Through time, Vulgar Latin would evolve ...

''Celeae''. The name is of pre-Roman origin and its further etymology is unclear. In the local Slovene dialect, Celje is called ''Cjele'' or ''Cele''. In

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

it is called ''Cilli'', and it is known in Italian as ''Cilli'' or ''Celie''.

History

Early history

The first settlement in the area of Celje appeared during the

Hallstatt Hallstatt ( , , ) is a small town in the district of Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Salzkammergut ...

era. The settlement was known in the Celtic times and to Ancient Greek historians as ''Kelea''; findings suggest that

Celt The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

s coined Noric money in the region. Vischer - Topographia Ducatus Stiria - 035 Cilli - Celje

Once the area was incorporated in the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

in 15 BC, it was known as ''Civitas Celeia''. It received municipal rights in AD 45 under the name ''municipium Claudia Celeia'' during the reign of the Roman Emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

(41-54). Records suggest that the town was rich and densely populated, secured with the walls and towers, containing multi-storied marble palaces, wide squares, and streets. It was called ''Troia secunda'', the second; or small

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

. A

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

through Celeia led from

Aquileia Aquileia / / / / ;Bilingual name of ''Aquileja – Oglej'' in: vec, Aquiłeja / ; Slovenian: ''Oglej''), group=pron is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river N ...

(Sln. ''Oglej'') to

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...

. Celeia soon became a flourishing

Roman colony A Roman (plural ) was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It is also the origin of the modern term ''colony''. Characteri ...

, and many great buildings were constructed, such as the temple of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

, which was known across the Empire. Celeia was incorporated into Aquileia ca. 320 under the Roman Emperor

Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

(272-337). The city was razed by

Slavic tribes This is a list of Slavic peoples and Slavic tribes reported in Late Antiquity and in the Middle Ages, that is, before the year AD 1500. Ancestors *Proto-Indo-Europeans (Proto-Indo-European speakers) ** Proto-Balto-Slavs (common ancestors of Bal ...

during the

Migration period The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...

of the 5th and 6th centuries, but was rebuilt in the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

. The first mention of Celje in the Middle Ages was under the name of ''Cylie'' in Wolfhold von Admont's Chronicle, which was written between 1122 and 1137. The town was the seat of the

Counts of Celje The Counts of Celje ( sl, Celjski grofje) or the Counts of Cilli (german: Grafen von Cilli; hu, cillei grófok) were the most influential late medieval noble dynasty on the territory of present-day Slovenia. Risen as vassals of the Habsburg dukes ...

from 1341 to 1456 It acquired market-town status in the first half of the 14th century and

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

from Count Frederick II on 11 April 1451. Celje-1441

After the Counts of Celje died out in 1456, the region was inherited by the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

s of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and administered by the

Duchy of Styria The Duchy of Styria (german: Herzogtum Steiermark; sl, Vojvodina Štajerska; hu, Stájer Hercegség) was a duchy located in modern-day southern Austria and northern Slovenia. It was a part of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 180 ...

. The city walls and defensive

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

were built in 1473. The town defended itself against Turks and in 1515 during great

Slovene peasant revolt The Slovene Peasant Revolt ( sl, slovenski kmečki upor, german: Windischer Bauernbund) took place in 1515 and was the largest peasant revolt in the Slovene Lands. It engulfed most of what is now Slovenia as well as a significant portion of the pr ...

against peasants, who had taken Old Castle. Many local nobles converted to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

during the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, but the region was converted back to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

during the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

. Celje became part of the Habsburgs'

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. In 1867, after the defeat of Austria in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

, the town became part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

19th century

The first

service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a pu ...

on the

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

railway line came through Celje on 27 April 1846. In 1895, Celje secondary school, established in 1808, began to teach in Slovene. At the end of the 19th century and in the early 20th century, Celje was a center of German

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

which had repercussions for

Slovenes The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovene as their n ...

. The 1910 census showed that 66.8% of the population was German. A symbol of this was the German Cultural Center (german: Deutsches Haus), built in 1906 and opened on 15 May 1907, today it is Celje Hall ( sl, Celjski dom). The centuries-old German name of the town, ''Cilli'', sounded no longer German enough to some German residents, the form ''Celle'' being preferred by many. Population growth was steady during this period. In 1900, Celje had 6,743 inhabitants and by 1924 this had grown to 7,750. The National Hall (''Narodni dom''), which hosts the Mayors Office and Town Council today, was built in 1896. The first

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

line was installed in 1902 and the city received

electric power Electric power is the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt, one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with other SI units: thousands, millions and billions o ...

in 1913. Slovene and German ethnic nationalism increased during the 19th and early 20th centuries. With the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918 as a result of World War I, Celje became part of the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

(later known as

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

). During this period, the town experienced a rapid industrialization and a substantial growth in population.

Second World War

Celje was occupied by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in April 1941. The

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

arrived in Celje on 16 April 1941 and were followed three days later by SS leader Heinrich Himmler, who inspected ''Stari pisker'' prison. During the war the city suffered from

allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...

, aimed at important communication lines and military installations. The National Hall was severely damaged. The toll of the war on the city was heavy. The city (including nearby towns) had a pre-war population of 20,000 and lost 575 people during the war, mostly between the ages of 20 and 30. More than 1,500 people were deported to

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

or into the German interior of the Third Reich. Around 300 people were interned and around 1,000 people imprisoned in Celje's prisons. An unknown number of citizens were forcibly conscripted into the

German army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

. Around 600 "stolen children" were taken to Nazi Germany for Germanization. A monument in Celje called ''Vojna in mir'' (War and Peace) by the sculptor Jakob Savinšek, commemorates the World War II era. After the end of the war, the remaining German-speaking portion of the populace was expelled. Anti-tank trenches and other sites were used to create 25

mass graves in Celje Mass graves in Celje were created in Celje, Slovenia, after the Second World War, from 1945 to 1956. The 11 known mass graves in Celje itself and 14 in the immediate vicinity include some of the largest mass graves in Slovenia. Background After the ...

and its immediate surroundings and were filled with

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n, Serbian, and Slovenian militia members that had collaborated with the Germans, as well as ethnic German civilians from Celje and surrounding areas.

Independent Slovenia

Celje became part of independent Slovenia following the

Ten-Day War The Ten-Day War ( sl, desetdnevna vojna), or the Slovenian War of Independence (), was a brief armed conflict that followed Slovenia's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991. It was fought between the separatists of the ...

in 1991. On 7 April 2006, Celje became the seat of a new Diocese of Celje, created by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

within the Archdiocese of Maribor.

Sights

The town's tourist sights include a Grayfriars' monastery founded in 1241 and a

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

from the 16th century. The parish church, dating from the 14th century, with its beautiful

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

chapel, is an interesting specimen of medieval architecture. The so-called German church, in Romanesque style, belonged to the monastery, which was closed in 1808. The throne of the counts of Cilli is preserved here, and also the tombs of several members of the family.

Geography

Climate

Celje has a warm-summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Dfb'').

Symbols

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of Celje are based on the coat of arms of the

. The coat-of-arms of Celje was selected for the national arms immediately after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1918, when Slovenia together with Croatia and Serbia formed the original

(later

). A similar coat of arms was integrated into the Slovenian national arms in 1991.

Districts and local communities

The city of Celje is divided into 10 districts (''mestne četrti'') and the municipality 9 local communities (''krajevne skupnosti''): ''Districts'' * Center * Dečkovo Naselje *

Dolgo Polje Dolgo Polje (; sl, Dolgo polje) is a district () of the City Municipality of Celje and a neighborhood of the city of Celje in central-eastern Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ' ...

* Gaberje * Hudinja *

Karel Destovnik Kajuh Karel Destovnik, pen name and nom de guerre Kajuh (Slovene convention: ''Karel Destovnik – Kajuh'', 13 December 1922 – 22 February 1944) was a Slovenian poet, translator, resistance fighter, and Yugoslav people's hero. Life and work Kajuh ...

Lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

* Nova Vas *

* Slavko Šlander ''Local communities'' * Aljažev Hrib *

Ljubečna Ljubečna () is a settlement in the City Municipality of Celje in eastern Slovenia. It is an urbanized settlement on the northeastern outskirts of Celje. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Styria, Styria. It is now included with th ...

Medlog Medlog () is a settlement in the City Municipality of Celje in eastern Slovenia. It lies on the western outskirts of Celje. The grass runway of Celje Airport is located in the western part of the settlement. The area is part of the traditional reg ...

* Ostrožno * Pod Gradom *

Škofja Vas Škofja Vas (; sl, Škofja vas) is a settlement in the City Municipality of Celje in eastern Slovenia. It lies on the Hudinja River in the northern outskirts of Celje. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. It is now included with ...

Šmartno v Rožni Dolini Šmartno v Rožni Dolini (; sl, Šmartno v Rožni dolini) is a settlement in the City Municipality of Celje in eastern Slovenia. It lies on the northern outskirts of Celje. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. It is now included ...

Teharje Teharje () is a settlement in the City Municipality of Celje in eastern Slovenia. It lies on the right bank of the Voglajna River on the eastern outskirts of Celje. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. It is now included with t ...

* Trnovlje

Demographics

In 1991 the population consisted of: * Slovenians: 33,434 (82.1%) *

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

: 1,864 (4.6%) *

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...

: 1,687 (4.1%) * ethnic Muslims: 466 (1.1%) *

Yugoslavs Yugoslavs or Yugoslavians ( Bosnian and Croatian: ''Jugoslaveni'', Serbian and Macedonian ''Jugosloveni''/Југословени; sl, Jugoslovani) is an identity that was originally designed to refer to a united South Slavic people. It has ...

: 405 (1%) *

Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...

: 189 * Macedonians: 140 * Montenegrins: 93 *

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

: 41 * Others: 82 * Unknown: 1,972 (4.8%) * Undeclared: 249 * Regionally declared: 88 Town of Celje has 37,490 citizens as of 2002: Municipality: * Male: 22,744; * Female: 24,816; * Households: 18,410; * Mean number of household members: 2.6; * Apartments: 19,578; * Buildings with apartments: 8,090. The Celje annual municipal festival is held on April 11.

Education

Celje does not have its own university, although some college-level education has been established in the city. * The Faculty of

Logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

, formally part of the University of Maribor, was established in Celje in 2005. * International School for Social and Business Studies * Faculty of Commercial and Business Sciences * UP Faculty of Management

Law and government

Mayor

The current mayor of Celje is Bojan Šrot.

Vice mayors

The current mayors of Celje are Breda Arnšek and Vladimir Ljubek.

Courts

In Celje there are three courts of general jurisdiction: * Celje Higher Court; * Celje District Court; * Celje Local Court. In addition to that there are also Celje Labour Court for resolving labour law disputes and an external department of Administrative Court for resolving disputes arising from administrative procedures.

Communications

Postal number: SI-3000 (from 1991). (Old one: 63000 (between 1945–1991)).

Twin cities and friendship towns

Celje is twinned with *

Grevenbroich Grevenbroich () is a town in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the river Erft, approximately 15 km southwest of Neuss and 15 km southeast of Mönchengladbach. Cologne and Düsseldorf are in a 30 ...

, Germany, since 1986 *

Singen Singen (Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Singe'') is an industrial city in the very south of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany and just north of the German-Swiss border. Location Singen is an industrial city situated in the very south ...

, Germany, since 1990 *

Slavonski Brod Slavonski Brod (), commonly shortened to simply Brod, is a city in eastern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Being one of the principal cities in the historical regions of Slavonia and Posavina, Slavonski Brod was the 7th large ...

, Croatia, since 2010 *

Doboj Doboj ( sr-cyrl, Добој, ) is a city located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of Bosna river, in the northern region of the Republika Srpska. As of 2013, it has a population of 71,441 ...

, Bosnia and Hercegovina, since 1965 *

Pánd Pánd is a village in Pest county, Hungary. Location Pánd is located between the towns of Káva and Tápióbicske along the minor road connecting Nagykáta and Monor. It is almost entirely located in the valleys of Őr Hill and Dobos Hill. ...

, Hungary, since 1998 Celje has friendship agreements with: *

Budva Budva ( cnr, Будва, or ) is a Montenegrin town on the Adriatic Sea. It has 19,218 inhabitants, and it is the centre of Budva Municipality. The coastal area around Budva, called the Budva riviera, is the center of Montenegrin tourism, kno ...

, Montenegro *

Cherepovets Cherepovets ( rus, Череповец, p=tɕɪrʲɪpɐˈvʲɛts) is a city in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located in the west of the oblast on the banks of the Sheksna River (a tributary of the Volga River) and on the shores of the Rybinsk Reservoir. ...

, Russia *

Ćuprija Ćuprija (Serbian Cyrillic: Ћуприја, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 19,380, while the municipality has 30,645 inhabitants. History The Romans founded the ...

, Serbia *

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

, Austria *

Spittal an der Drau Spittal an der Drau is a town in the western part of the Austrian federal state of Carinthia. It is the administrative centre of Spittal an der Drau District, Austria's second largest district (''Bezirk'') by area. Geography The town is located o ...

, Austria

Notable residents and people born in Celje

Anna of Celje Anna of Cilli or Anne of Celje (1386 – 21 May 1416) was Queen of Poland (1402–1416). She was the second wife of Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło), King of Poland and Supreme Duke of Lithuania (reigned 1387–1434). Their marriage was pol ...

(1381–1416), second wife of Jogaila, king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania * Lenore Aubert (1918–1993),

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

actress and model *

Barbara of Celje Barbara of Cilli or Barbara of Celje ( Hungarian: ''Cillei Borbála'', German: ''Barbara von Cilli,'' Slovenian and Croatian'': Barbara Celjska,'' 1392 – 11 July 1451), was the Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia by marriage t ...

(1390/1395–1451), second wife of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor * (1915–2001), film actress * Gregor Cankar (born 1975), athlete * Jolanda Čeplak (born 1976), athlete *

Anica Černej Anica Černej (3 April 1900, in Čadram, Oplotnica – 3 May 1944, in Neubrandenburg) was a Slovenes, Slovene author and poet. Career Černej worked at college of education in Ljubljana, where her main interests were social and pedagogical subjec ...

(1900–1944), poet, author, and schoolmistress *

Janez Drnovšek Janez Drnovšek (; 17 May 1950 – 23 February 2008) was a Slovenian liberal politician, President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia (1989–1990), Prime Minister of Slovenia (1992–2002, with a short break in 2000) and President of Slovenia (200 ...

(1950–2008), politician, statesman, and third

president of Slovenia The president of Slovenia, officially the president of the Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Predsednik Republike Slovenije), is the head of state of the Republic of Slovenia. The position was established on 23 December 1991 when the National Assembly (S ...

Janez Drozg Janez Drozg (April 4, 1933 – November 10, 2005) was a Slovene television and film director from Celje. Alongside his work with TV Ljubljana which dominated much of his career, he also directed features films such as ''Boj na požiralniku'' in ...

(1933–2005), television director * Dejan Glavnik (born 1975), Slovenian extreme cyclist * (born 1964), singer * Bojan Gorišek (born 1962), pianist *

Hermann II of Celje Hermann II ( sl, Herman; early 1360s – 13 October 1435), Count of Celje, was a Styrian prince and magnate, most notable as the faithful supporter and father-in-law of the Hungarian king and Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg. Hermann's ...

(1365–1435), Count of Celje, Ortenburg and Seger *

Andrej Hieng Andrej Hieng (17 February 1925 – 17 January 2000) was a Slovene language, Slovene writer, playwright and theatre director. Hieng was born in Ljubljana in 1925. He studied at the Academy for Theatre, Radio, Film and Television, Academy of ...

(1925–2000), writer, playwright, screenwriter and dramaturgist * (1943–2015), critic, essayist, theatrologist and dramaturgist *

Romana Jordan Cizelj Romana Jordan (born 8 January 1966) is a Slovenian politician and physicist, currently serving as Member of the European Parliament (MEP). She is a member of the Slovenian Democratic Party, which is part of the European People's Party, and sits ...

(born 1966), physicist and politician *

Boban Jović Boban Jović (born 25 June 1991) is a retired Slovenian footballer who played as a defender. Club career Jović started playing football at his local club Šampion, but moved to Aluminij in his teens. Even though he was playing in Slovenian ...

(born 1991), footballer *

Jelko Kacin Jelko Kacin (born 26 November 1955) is a Slovenian politician. During the Slovenian Independence War, he was the Secretary of Information of Slovenia. He founded the Slovenian Press Agency on 3 June 1991 and the war (also called the Ten-Day War ...

(born 1955), politician *

Alma Karlin Alma Ida Willibalde Maximiliana Karlin (October 12, 1889 – January 14, 1950) was a Slovenian traveler, writer, poet, collector, polyglot and theosophist. She was one of the first European women to circle the globe alone. Biography She was b ...

(1889–1950), traveller, author, poet, and collector * Margareta of Celje (1411–1480), noblewoman member of the

House of Celje The Counts of Celje ( sl, Celjski grofje) or the Counts of Cilli (german: Grafen von Cilli; hu, cillei grófok) were the most influential late medieval noble dynasty on the territory of present-day Slovenia. Risen as vassals of the Habsburg dukes ...

, duchess of Głogów and Ścinawa. *

Margit Korondi Margit Korondi (24 June 1932 – 6 March 2022) was a Hungarian gymnast. She competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, where she received a gold medal in uneven bars, a silver medal in team all-around, and four bronze medals. At the 1956 ...

(born 1932), gymnast, Olympic champion * (1937–2012), geophysicist and seismologistMotnikar, Barbara Šket, & Andrej Gosar. 2012. Obituaries: Janez Lapajne, 1937–2012. ''IASPEI Newsletter'' (June/July): 4.
*

Janez Lapajne Janez Lapajne (; born 24 June 1967 in Celje, Slovenia, grew up in Ljubljana, Slovenia is a Slovenian film director, producer, writer, editor and production designer. The son of geophysicist , he graduated in film directing from the University o ...

(born 1967), film director *

Marianne Elisabeth Lloyd-Dolbey Datin Marianne Elisabeth Lloyd-Dolbey (18 October 1919, in Drešinja Vas, Kingdom of Yugoslavia – 10 October 1994, in Celje, Slovenia) was a personal secretary to Sultan of Brunei Omar Ali Saifuddien III. Early life and education Mari ...

(1919-1994), personal secretary to the Brunei sultan

Omar Ali Saifuddien III Sultan Sir Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien ( Jawi: ; 23 September 1914 – 7 September 1986) was the 28th Sultan of Brunei, reigning from 4 June 1950 until his abdication from the throne on 5 October 1967. He was also Brunei's fir ...

* Janko Orožen (1891–1989), historian, honorary citizen *

Oto Pestner Oto Pestner (born January 4, 1956 in Celje) is a politician and one of the most prominent singers and composers of popular music from Slovenia. Until 2008, he was the leader of the Slovene vocal group New Swing Quartet. From 1986 to 1991 and in 1 ...

(born 1956), musician and singer *

Milan Pogačnik Milan Pogačnik (born 30 August 1946) is a Slovenian politician. Between November 2008 and March 2010, he served as the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Nutrition of Slovenia. Biography Pogačnik was born in Celje, then part of the People's ...

(born 1946), politician *

Lucija Polavder Lucija Polavder (born 15 December 1984 in Celje)Factfile of Lucija Polavder
on Judo ...

(born 1984), judoka * (1914–1947), worker, victim of the communist regime *

Fran Roš Fran Roš (, 14 January 1898 – 22 August 1976) was a Slovene writer, poet, and playwright. Life Fran Roš was born in Kranj."Roš Fran." 1960. ''Slovenski biografski leksikon'', vol. 9: Raab–Schmid. Ljubljana: Slovenska akademija znanosti in ...

(1898–1976), writer, poet, playwright, honorary citizen *

Johann Gabriel Seidl Johann Gabriel Seidl (21 June 1804 – 18 July 1875) was an Austrian archeologist, poet, storyteller and dramatist. He wrote the lyrics to "Gott erhalte, Gott beschütze unsern Kaiser, unser Land!" This was the 1854 version of the Austrian I ...

(1804–1875), archeologist, poet, storyteller and dramatist *

Bina Štampe Žmavc Bina Štampe Žmavc (born October 4, 1951, in Celje) is a Slovene writer, poet, director and translator. Biography She was born on October 4, 1951 in Celje. She visited both primary and grammar schools in Celje. After the grammar school she stu ...

(born 1952), poet and author * Tina Trstenjak (born 1990), judoka, Olympic champion *

Beno Udrih Beno Udrih (born July 5, 1982) is a Slovenian former professional basketball player who serves as a player development coach for the New Orleans Pelicans. He previously played in the NBA for the San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Buck ...

(born 1982), basketball player *

Bogumil Vošnjak Bogumil Vošnjak, also known as Bogomil Vošnjak (9 September 1882 – 18 June 1955), was a Slovene and Yugoslav jurist, politician, diplomat, author, and legal historian. He often wrote under the pseudonym Illyricus. Biography He was bor ...

(1882–1955), scholar, politician, diplomat *

Urška Žolnir Urška Žolnir (born 9 October 1981) is a Slovenian retired judoka and a politician. She's a member of Judo Club Sankaku Celje. She won the bronze medal in the half-middleweight (–63 kg) division at the 2004 Summer Olympics and gold me ...

(born 1981), judoka, Olympic champion

Gallery

File:The Celje Ceiling (stropna freska, Stara grofija).jpg, The Celje Ceiling from the Old's Counts Mansion (17th century) File:SLO-Celje08-2.JPG, Stane Street, with the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

in the background File:Postcard of Celje (58).jpg, An old postcard of the railway station in front, Celje Hall on the right, and the Iron Court (''Železni dvor'', ''Eisenhof'') on the far left File:SLO-Celje23.JPG, The National Hall (''Narodni dom''), today the

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

, ( Jan Vladimír Hráský, 1895–1896) File:Celje Celjski dom 001.jpg, The Celje Hall (''Celjski dom''), ( Peter Paul Brang, 1905–1906) File:SLO-Celje19.JPG, The

Celje Water Tower The Celje Water Tower ( sl, Vodni stolp v Celju) is a well-preserved part of the town walls of Celje ) , pushpin_map = Slovenia , pushpin_label_position = left , pushpin_map_caption = Location of the ci ...

, part of the town walls, built after 1451 File:Celjski grad.JPG, Upper Celje Castle, viewed from the banks of the

River in Pečovnik toward the northeast File:View over Celje from the Old town.JPG, View over Celje from Old town castle

References

External links

*
Celje on Geopedia
* *
CeljeCafe.com unofficial website
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Styria (Slovenia) Populated places in the City Municipality of Celje Noricum