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. It is located on the

Karst Plateau The Karst Plateau or the Karst region ( sl, Kras, it, Carso), also locally called Karst, is a karst plateau region extending across the border of southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies between the Vipava Valley, the low hills su ...

in the Slovenian Littoral.

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 ...

, 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 dominion and it was included in the

County of Gorizia and Gradisca The Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca (german: Gefürstete Grafschaft Görz und Gradisca; it, Principesca Contea di Gorizia e Gradisca; sl, Poknežena grofija Goriška in Gradiščanska), historically sometimes shortened to and spelled " ...

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. After the end of the war in November 1918, the area was occupied by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

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 ...

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 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 ...

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 opposing ...

. 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 Franco Giraldi (11 July 1931 – 2 December 2020) was an Italian director and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Komen, Giraldi spent his childhood and adolescence between the Carso, Trieste and Gorizia. During the Second World War, still ...

, screenwriter (1931–2020) * Adela Žgur, academic (1909–1992)

References

External links

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