Celje
Celje (ⓘ, in German: Cilli , in Hungarian: Cille) is the third city in Slovenia by number of inhabitants. It is the capital of the region of Lower South-West Styria (Jugozahodna Spodnja Štajerska) and the administrative seat of the municipality of the same name.
The city is located in the lower reaches of the Savinja Valley at the confluence of the Savinja, Ložnica and Voglajna rivers (with its tributary the Hudinja) under the Celje Castle hill (407 m).
Symbols
The Celje coat of arms refers to the Counts of Celje.
The Celje coat of arms was integrated into the Slovenian national coat of arms in 1991. The same coat of arms had already been selected in 1918, at the end of the First World War, when Slovenia joined Serbia and Croatia, forming the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
History
The first urban settlement that is known corresponds to the time of the Hallstatt culture.
During the Celtic occupation, the city was known as Kelea, and this is how it appears on the coins minted by this people. In times of the Roman Empire it was called Civitas Celeia. The city obtained its municipal rights in 46, during the mandate of Emperor Claudius I, under the name of municipium Claudia Celeia.
Written records state that it was a rich and densely populated town, surrounded by defensive walls with towers, marble palaces, wide streets and squares. At this time it received the nickname "little Troy" or Troia secunda. A Roman road connected Aquileia with Pannonia.
Celeia quickly became one of the most flourishing Roman colonies and had a considerable number of public buildings, among which the temple of Mars, famous throughout the Empire, stood out. Celeia was incorporated into the diocese of Aquileia around the year 320, during the time of Emperor Constantine I.
During the great migrations of the 5th and 6th centuries the city was devastated. There is no news of the city again until the 12th century, when it appears under the name Cylie in the Chronicle of Admont, written between 1122 and 1137.
Celje acquired the status of a market town in the first half of the XIV century and rights on April 11, 1451 by order of Count Frederick II of Celje.
Illustrious people
- Armando II de Celje
- Federico II de Celje
- Barbara of Celje
- Ulrico II of Celje
- Alma Maximiliana Karlin
- Janez Drnovšek