
Goriška () is a
historical region
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
in western
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
on the border with
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. It comprises the northern part of the wider traditional region of the
Slovenian Littoral
The Slovene Littoral, or simply Littoral (, ; ; ), is one of the traditional regions of Slovenia. The littoral in its name – for a coastal-adjacent area – recalls the former Austrian Littoral (''Avstrijsko Primorje''), the Habsburg poss ...
(''Primorska''). The name ''Goriška'' is an adjective referring to the city of
Gorizia
Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...
, its historical and cultural centre.
Geography
The region stretches from the
Julian Alps
The Julian Alps (, , , , ) are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretches from northeastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 m at Mount Triglav, the highest peak in Slovenia. A large part of the Julian Alps is inclu ...
(
Triglav
Triglav (; ; ), with an elevation of , is the highest mountain in Slovenia and the highest peak of the Julian Alps. The mountain is the pre-eminent symbol of the Slovene nation, appearing on the Coat of arms of Slovenia, coat of arms and Flag ...
) in the north down the
Soča River to Nova Gorica and the
Karst Plateau in the
hinterland
Hinterland is a German word meaning the 'land behind' a city, a port, or similar. Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated wi ...
of
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
. It encompasses the following municipalities (from north to south):
It is entirely included in the
Gorizia Statistical Region
The Gorizia Statistical Region () is a statistical region in western Slovenia, along the border with Italy. It is named after the Italian town of Gorizia (the feminine adjective ''goriška'' comes from the Slovenian name for Gorizia: ''Gorica''). ...
, except for the southernmost municipalities of Komen and Sežana, which are part of the
Coastal–Karst Statistical Region
The Coastal–Karst Statistical Region (, ) is a statistical region in southwest Slovenia. It covers the traditional and historical regions of Slovenian Istria and most of the Karst Plateau, which traditionally belonged to the County of Gorizi ...
.
Goriška borders on
Upper Carniola
Upper Carniola ( ; ; ) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The largest town in the region is Kranj, and other urban centers include Kamnik, Jesenice, Jesenice, Jesenice, Domžale and ...
in the northeast and
Inner Carniola
Inner Carniola ( ; ) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the southwestern part of the larger Carniola region. It comprises the Hrušica (plateau), Hrušica karst plateau up to Postojna Gate, bordering the Slovenian Littoral (the Goriška, Gor ...
in the east. In the south, it is confined by
Slovenian Istria and the Trieste city limits. Together with the adjacent Italian provinces of
Gorizia
Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...
,
Udine
Udine ( ; ; ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Carnic Alps. It is the capital of the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity ...
and
Pordenone
Pordenone (; Venetian language, Venetian and ) is a city and (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the capital of the Province of Pordenone, Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone.
The name comes from Lati ...
in the west, it may be considered part of the larger
Friuli
Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...
region.
History
Upon the
Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps from about 600,
Slavic tribes in contact with the neighbouring principality of
Carantania moved into the
Karst Plateau into the eastern
Bassa Friulana, then part of the Lombard
Duchy of Friuli. After
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
had defeated the
Kingdom of the Lombards
The Kingdom of the Lombards, also known as the Lombard Kingdom and later as the Kingdom of all Italy (), was an Early Middle Ages, early medieval state established by the Lombards, a Germanic people, on the Italian Peninsula in the latter part ...
at the 774
Siege of Pavia, the territory was incorporated into the Carolingian frontier
March of Friuli
The March of Friuli was a Carolingian frontier march, centered in the historical region of Friuli (corresponding mainly to the modern province of Friuli-Venezia Giulia in north-eastern Italy). Since the Frankish conquest and pacification of the ...
. Margrave
Berengar had himself crowned
King of Italy
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by ...
in 888, while the adjacent
marches
In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diffe ...
of
Carinthia
Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...
(former Carantania) and
Carniola
Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...
had become part of
East Francia
East Francia (Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire created in 843 and ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was established through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the for ...
upon the 843
Treaty of Verdun
The Treaty of Verdun (; ), agreed to on 10 August 843, ended the Carolingian civil war and divided the Carolingian Empire between Lothair I, Louis the German, Louis II and Charles the Bald, Charles II, the surviving sons of the emperor Louis the ...
. When in 951 the East Frankish king
Otto I of Germany invaded Italy, he seized the Friulan lands as part of the larger
March of Verona
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 ...
, ruled by the
Bavarian, later
Carinthian dukes.
In 1077 King
Henry IV of Germany enfeoffed the
Patriarchs of Aquileia with Friuli; the town of Gorizia (''Görz'') became the power base of their
advocates
An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. Howeve ...
from the comital
Meinhardiner dynasty. They were able to acquire and consolidate an
immediate home territory, the
County of Görz, which they retained even after the Friulan territory of Aquileia was conquered by the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
in 1420 and incorporated into the ''
Domini di Terraferma
The () or () was the hinterland territories of the Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime ...
''. When the House of Gorizia became extinct in 1500, their county fell to the
House of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...
; with neighbouring Carinthia and Carniola it was administrated within
Inner Austria.

From 1754 onwards, the region belonged to the Princely County of
Gorizia and Gradisca
The Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca (; ; ), historically sometimes shortened to and spelled "Goritz", was a crown land of the Habsburg dynasty within the Austrian Littoral on the Adriatic Sea, in what is now a multilingual border area of ...
, a
crown land
Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...
of the
Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
. When in 1809
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
created the short-lived French
Illyrian Provinces
The Illyrian Provinces were an autonomous province of France during the First French Empire that existed under Napoleonic Rule from 1809 to 1814. The province encompassed large parts of modern Italy and Croatia, extending their reach further e ...
, he drew the border with the re-established
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...
in the west along the Soča/Isonzo River. After the 1815
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
, the entire crown land of Gorizia and Gradisca with Trieste and the
March of Istria
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 ...
as well as Carinthia and Carniola formed the Austrian
Kingdom of Illyria
The Kingdom of Illyria was a crown land of the Austrian Empire from 1816 to 1849, the successor state of the Napoleonic Illyrian Provinces, which were reconquered by Austria in the War of the Sixth Coalition. It was established according to th ...
with its capital at
Ljubljana
{{Infobox settlement
, name = Ljubljana
, official_name =
, settlement_type = Capital city
, image_skyline = {{multiple image
, border = infobox
, perrow = 1/2/2/1
, total_widt ...
(''Laibach'').
Part of the
Austrian Littoral
The Austrian Littoral (, , , , ) was a crown land (''Kronland'') of the Austrian Empire, established in 1849. It consisted of three regions: the Margraviate of Istria in the south, Gorizia and Gradisca in the north, and the Imperial Free City ...
from 1849, the Soča Valley was the site of the fierce
Battles of the Isonzo on the
Italian front of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. According to the 1919
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the whole Littoral region passed to the
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...
. Together with the adjacent Inner Carniolan and
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...
n lands, it was incorporated into the
Julian March administrative region. The border with the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...
was confirmed in the 1920
Treaty of Rapallo. During the
Fascist
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
regime the
Slovene minority was submitted to a violent policy of
Italianization
Italianization ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is the spread of Italian culture, language and identity by way of integration or assimilation. It is also known for a process organized by the Kingdom of Italy to force cultural and ethnic assimilation of the nati ...
, against the resistance of the
TIGR
TIGR (an acronym of the place-names ''Trieste, Trst'', ''Istria, Istra'', ''Gorizia, Gorica'', and ''Rijeka, Reka''), fully the Revolutionary Organization of the Julian March T.I.G.R. (), was a Militant (word), militant Anti-fascism, anti-fascis ...
movement.
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the present borders were established: most of the Slovene-inhabited areas were ceded to the newly established
Yugoslav republic of
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
, while the town of Gorizia itself with
Gradisca and the territory downstream the Isonzo River to the
Adriatic
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
coast were left to Italy.
Notable people
Well-known people from the region include
*architects
Max Fabiani
Maximilian Fabiani, commonly known as Max Fabiani (, ) (29 April 1865 – 12 August 1962) was an Italians, Italian architect, born in the village of Kobdilj near Štanjel on the Karst Plateau, County of Gorizia and Gradisca, in present-day Sl ...
and
Vojteh Ravnikar
*poets
Simon Gregorčič,
Alojz Gradnik
Alojz Gradnik (August 3, 1882 – July 14, 1967) was a Slovenian poet and translation, translator.
Life
Gradnik was born in the village of Medana in the Gorizia Hills region, in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire and is today in the Muni ...
,
Srečko Kosovel, and
Matej Bor
*writers
Danilo Lokar,
France Bevk,
Ivan Pregelj, and
Ciril Kosmač
*aviation pioneer
Edvard Rusjan
*artists
Veno Pilon,
Zoran Mušič, and
Anton Gojmir Kos
*military men
Anton Haus,
Sergej Mašera,
Janko Premrl (nom de guerre Vojko), and
Leon Rupnik
*the composer of the melody for the
Slovenian national anthem Stanko Premrl
*sportsman
Jure Franko
*entrepreneur
Ivo Boscarol
*politicians
Engelbert Besednjak,
Drago Marušič,
Marko Natlačen,
Robert Golob
Robert Golob (born 23 January 1967) is a Slovenian businessman and politician, serving as Prime Minister of Slovenia and leader of the Freedom Movement since 2022.
Early life and education
Golob obtained his PhD in electrical engineering at th ...
and
Borut Pahor
Borut Pahor (; born 2 November 1963) is a Slovenian politician who served as President of Slovenia from 2012 to 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister of Slovenia from 2008 to 2012.
A longtime member and former president of the Social D ...
*scholars
Simon Rutar,
Milko Kos,
Dušan Pirjevec Ahac,
Ivo Urbančič, and
Dean Komel.
See also
*
Slovene Littoral
*
University of Nova Gorica
*
Vipava Valley
*
Venetian Slovenia
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goriska
Historical regions in Slovenia
Historical geography of Italy
Slovene Littoral
de:Goriška