Komen (, it, Comen or ''Comeno'') is a settlement 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 the seat of the

Municipality of Komen The Municipality of Komen (; sl, Občina Komen) is a municipality in the Littoral region of Slovenia, near the Italian border. The seat of the municipality is the town of Komen. The municipality was established on 6 November 1994, when the forme ...

. It is located on the Karst Plateau in the

Slovenian Littoral The Slovene Littoral ( sl, Primorska, ; it, Litorale; german: Küstenland) is one of the five traditional regions of Slovenia. Its name recalls the former Austrian Littoral (''Avstrijsko Primorje''), the Habsburg possessions on the upper Ad ...

Name

Komen was attested in written sources in 1247 as ''Cominum'' (and as ''Cumin'' in 1255, ''de Cumino'' in 1269, and ''Comein'' in 1526). The name is probably derived from the Slavic common noun ''*komъ'' 'hill, mountain, elevation'. Derivation from the noun ''komin'' 'stove, chimney' is unlikely for accentual reasons. The Italian name, which is derived from the Slovene name, is given as ''Comen'' in older sources and ''Comeno'' in newer sources.

History

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, it was first part of the

Duchy of Friuli The Duchy of Friuli was a Lombard duchy in present-day Friuli, the first to be established after the conquest of the Italian peninsula in 568. It was one of the largest domains in ''Langobardia Major'' and an important buffer between the Lombard ...

and in the 13th century it was included in the

County of Gorizia The County of Gorizia ( it, Contea di Gorizia, german: Grafschaft Görz, sl, Goriška grofija, fur, Contee di Gurize), from 1365 Princely County of Gorizia, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. Originally mediate ''Vogts'' of the Patriarchs of ...

. Komen was first mentioned in a document from 1247. In 1500, the whole region fell under

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 ...

dominion and it was included in the County of Gorizia and Gradisca until 1918. During

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 ...

, the western parts of the municipality were devastated by the

Battles of the Isonzo The Battles of the Isonzo (known as the Isonzo Front by historians, sl, soška fronta) were a series of 12 battles between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I mostly on the territory of present-day Slovenia, and the remaind ...

. After the end of the war in November 1918, the area was occupied by Italian troops and annexed to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

with the

Treaty of Rapallo Following World War I there were two Treaties of Rapallo, both named after Rapallo, a resort on the Ligurian coast of Italy: * Treaty of Rapallo, 1920, an agreement between Italy and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (the later Yugoslav ...

in 1920. On February 15, 1944, the village of Komen was burned down by the Nazi German troops as retaliation for Partisan resistance activity in the area; the surviving inhabitants were forcibly resettled to

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, from where they only returned after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1947, it became part of

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

and in 1991 of independent Slovenia.

Notable people

Notable people that were born or lived in Komen include: * Franco Giraldi, screenwriter (1931–2020) *

Adela Žgur Adela Žgur (22 October 1909 – 3 August 1992) was a Slovene academic, who prepared the first English textbooks for secondary students in Slovenia. Holding degrees in German and English language and literature, much of her published work was tra ...

, academic (1909–1992)

References

External links

*
Komen on Geopedia
{{Authority control Populated places in the Municipality of Komen