Großklein is a municipality in the district of
Leibnitz
Leibnitz (Slovenian: ''Lipnica'') is a city in the Austrian state of Styria and on 1 Jan. 2017 had a population of 12,176. It is located to the south of the city of Graz, between the Mur and Sulm rivers.
The town is the capital of the Leibni ...
in
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 ...
,
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 ...
.
Etymology
Its place name can be considered unusual as "groß" is German for "big" or "tall" while "klein" translates to "small", thus, it can be translated as "big-small".
However, this does not reflect the real origins of the name. The "-klein" portion, according to German linguist Fritz Lochner von Hüttenbach, likely stems from Slavic roots in form of the word "glina" (=clay, loam) or "kljun" (=beak). Modern Großklein (="large Klein") as well as its surrounding areas were once part of a larger area called "Klein". The name was changed in 1968 following a decision by the municipal council.
Geography
The municipality lies on the south Styrian
Weinstraße.
References
Cities and towns in Leibnitz District
{{Styria-geo-stub