Lendava (; formerly ''Dolnja Lendava'', in older sources also ''Dolenja Lendava''; hu, Lendva, formerly ''Alsólendva''; german: Lindau, formerly ''Unter-Limbach'') is a town 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 ...

in the region of

Prekmurje Prekmurje (; dialectically: ''Prèkmürsko'' or ''Prèkmüre''; hu, Muravidék) is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region of Slovenia, settled by Slovenes and a Hungarian minority, lying between the Mur R ...

. It is the seat of the

Municipality of Lendava The Municipality of Lendava (; sl, Občina Lendava; hu, Lendva község) is a municipality in the traditional region of Prekmurje in northeastern Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Lendava. Lendava became a municipality in 19 ...

. It is close to the border crossing with Hungary at Dolga Vas–

Rédics Rédics is a village in Zala County, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to t ...

, and Hungarian is one of the official languages of the municipality, along with Slovene. The town is the centre of the Hungarian minority in Slovenia. It is also known for the monumental theater and Hungarian Community Centre designed by the architect

Imre Makovecz Imre Makovecz (November 20, 1935 – September 27, 2011) was a Hungarian architect active in Europe from the late 1950s onward. Makovecz was born and died in Budapest. He attended the Technical University of Budapest. He was founder and "eter ...

Name

The town is named after the

Ledava The Ledava (German: Limbach, Hungarian: Lendva) is a river of Styria, Austria and of , Prekmurje, northeastern Slovenia. The Ledava is the largest river of Goričko and the largest tributary of the Mur in Slovenia. It is in length. It originates ...

River; the original nasal in the name of the river was lost in Slovene, but the ''n'' in the name of the town was preserved due to Hungarian influence. The former name of the town, ''Dolnja Lendava'' (literally, 'lower Lendava'), contrasted with that of ''

Gornja Lendava Grad (; formerly ''Gornja Lendava'', hu, Felsőlendva) is a village in the Municipality of Grad in the Prekmurje region of northeastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the municipality and is the largest and oldest settlement in the Goričko region ...

'' (literally 'upper Lendava'). The name of the settlement was changed from ''Dolnja Lendava'' to ''Lendava'' in 1955.

History

''Alsólendva'' was a district ( hu, járás) of the Zala ''comitat'' in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

until 1918. It was part of Hungary again from 1941 to 1945.

Jewish community

The first census of the population in the beginning of the 18th century mentions two Jewish merchants, and the following censuses showed an increasing Jewish population composed of merchants, innkeepers, distillers, mead producers, lawyers, and

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

s. They played an important role in the economy of Lendava, owning a local hotel, a few pubs, and stores. Local Jews also started the first bank in Lendava. A Jewish school opened in 1850 and it was active until 1921. The last

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

in Lendava was Mor Lowy. The synagogue in Lendava is one of only two synagogues left in Slovenia.

Geography

Climate

The meteorological station is a climatic station and is one of 17 of its kind in the country. The station in Lendava is at an altitude of 190 m and is located on a sloping hillside. The surrounding area includes neighbouring houses with outbuildings, vineyards, trees, gardens and meadows. The station has been at this location since January 1962. With an annual precipitation of , Lendava is one of the driest towns in the country; in general this is true for the whole of Prekmurje. Only the coastal regions of Slovenia receive similarly low annual precipitation on average. Since records began, Lendava has had a White Christmas on 12 occasions: 1963, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1978, 1981, 1984, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2001 and 2007. The thickest snow cover for a Christmas Day was in 1963 at .

Landmarks

Church

The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the settlement is dedicated to

Saint Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria (also spelled Katherine); grc-gre, ἡ Ἁγία Αἰκατερίνη ἡ Μεγαλομάρτυς ; ar, سانت كاترين; la, Catharina Alexandrina). is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, wh ...

and belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Murska Sobota. There is also a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

church in the town. It was built in 1931.

Castle

Lendava Castle Lendava (; formerly ''Dolnja Lendava'', in older sources also ''Dolenja Lendava''; hu, Lendva, formerly ''Alsólendva''; german: Lindau, formerly ''Unter-Limbach'') is a town in Slovenia in the region of Prekmurje. It is the seat of the Municipa ...

is a former property of the

Esterházy family The House of Esterházy, also spelled Eszterházy (), is a Hungarian noble family with origins in the Middle Ages. From the 17th century, the Esterházys were the greatest landowner magnates of the Kingdom of Hungary, during the time that it ...

. The mainly 18th-century building stands on a hill above the town centre and contains a museum and a gallery.

Twin towns – Sister cities

Lendava is twinned with: *

Zalaegerszeg Zalaegerszeg (; hr, Jegersek; sl, Jageršek; german: Egersee) is the administrative center of Zala county in western Hungary. Location Zalaegerszeg lies on the banks of the Zala River, close to the Slovenian and Austrian borders and west-south ...

, Hungary

References

External links

*
Lendava on Geopedia
{{Authority control Populated places in the Municipality of Lendava Hungary–Slovenia border crossings Spa towns in Slovenia Cities and towns in Prekmurje