Koper
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| Koper - Capodistria | |||
| — City — | |||
| City of Koper Mesto Koper - Città di Capodistria |
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  Koper - Capodistria
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| Coordinates: 45°33′N 13°44′E / 45.55°N 13.733°E | |||
| Country | Slovenia | ||
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| Region | |||
| Municipality | Koper | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Boris Popovič | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 120.2 sq mi (311.2 km2) | ||
| Population (2002) | |||
| - Total | 23,726 | ||
| - males | 23,385 | ||
| - female | 24,154 | ||
| Average age | 38.28 years | ||
| Residential areas | 32.34 m2 (348.1 sq ft)/person | ||
| Households | 17,391 | ||
| Families | 13,879 | ||
| Source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, census of 2002. | |||
Koper (Italian: Capodistria) is a coastal town and municipality and the largest commercial port in Slovenia, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea.[1] The town has a population of 23,726 and is officially bilingual, with both Slovene and Italian as official languages. Sights in Koper include the 15th-century Praetorian Palace in Venetian Gothic style, the 12th century Carmine Rotunda church, and the Cathedral of St Nazarius with its 14th century tower.
Koper is also one of the main road entry points into Slovenia from Italy which lies to the north of the municipality. The main motorway crossing is at Spodnje Škofije to the north of Koper city, the motorway continues into Rabuiese and Trieste. On the coast, there is a crossing at Lazaret into Lazaretto in Muggia comune in Trieste province. The Italian border crossing is known as San Bartolomeo. Italian used to be the main language in the city, 92% in 1900, but has decreased sharply after becoming part of Yugoslavia in 1954 and then Slovenia in 1991.
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[edit] History
Koper rose from an ancient settlement built on an island in the southeastern part of the Gulf of Koper in the northern Adriatic. In the time of Ancient Greece, the town was known as Aegida, later it became known by its Latin names Capris, Caprea, Capre or Caprista, from which the modern Slovenian name stems.
In 568, Roman citizens of nearby Tergeste (modern Trieste) fled to Capris due to an invasion of the Lombards. In honour of the Byzantine emperor Justinian II, the town was renamed to Justinople. Later, Justinople was under both Lombard and Frankish rule.
Since the 8th century, possibly even since the 6th century, Koper was the seat of a diocese. One of Koper's bishops was the Lutheran reformer Pier Paolo Vergerio. In 1828, it was merged into the diocese of Trieste.
Trade between Koper and Venice had been registered since 932. In the war between Venice and Germany (Holy Roman Empire), Koper was on the German side, and was in result awarded with town rights, granted in 1035 by the emperor Conrad II. From 1232, Koper was under the patriarch of Aquileia, and in 1278 it joined the Republic of Venice.
Koper grew to become the capital of Venetian Istria and was renamed to Caput Histriae, "head of Istria" (from which its modern Italian name Capodistria stems).
According the census of the year 1900 7205 Italian, 391 Slovenian, 167 Croatian and 67 German inhabitants lived in Koper.
Assigned to Italy after World War I, at the end of World War II it was part of the Zone B of the Free Territory of Trieste, controlled by Yugoslavia. Most of the Italian inhabitants left the city by 1954, when the Free Territory of Trieste formally ceased to exist and Zone B became part of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In 1977, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Koper was separated from the Diocese of Trieste.
With Slovenian independence in 1991 Koper became the only commercial port in Slovenia. The University of Primorska is based in the town.
[edit] Prominent citizens
- Zvest Apollonio, painter
- Andreja Klepač, professional tennis player
- Gian Rinaldo Carli, man of letters
- Vittore Carpaccio, painter. Born in Venice, lived in Koper (then Capodistria)
- Boris Cavazza, actor
- Aldo Cherini, historian and writer[2]
- Giorgio Cobolli, Italian gold medal in the Second World War[3]
- Lucija Čok, linguist, politician
- Ioannis Kapodistrias, Greek patriot and first governor of the Greek state(1828-1831) his family hailed originally from Koper/Capodistria
- Lorella Flego, TV entertainer
- Rudolf Golouh, politician and author
- Aurelio Juri, politician
- Franco Juri, politician, musician
- Tinkara Kovač, singer
- Bruno Maier, writer and literary critic[4]
- Matjaž Markič, swimmer
- Davor Mizerit, rower
- Igor Pribac, philosopher
- Pierantonio Quarantotti Gambini, journalist and writer. Born in Pazin (then Pisino), lived in Koper (then Capodistria)[5][6]
- Tomaž Šalamun, poet
- Santorio Santorio, medical scientist
- Nazario Sauro, Italian patriot
- Spartaco Schergat, military frogman, sank the English battleship Queen Elizabeth in 1941. Italian gold medal in the Second World War[7]
- Francesco Trevisani, painter
- Pier Paolo Vergerio the Elder, humanist, statesman and canonist[8]
- Pier Paolo Vergerio the Young, man of Church
- Vittorio Italico Zupelli, general, minister
[edit] Sister cities
Ferara, Italy. [1]- Muggia, Italy.[2]
- San Dorligo della Valle, Italy.[3]
Buzet, Croatia. [4]
Samara, Russia.
Žilina, Slovakia. [5]
Jiujiang, China. [6]
Saint John, Canada. [7]
[edit] References
- ^ English sources call the town Koper, Capodistria and Koper-Capodistria.
- ^ Page in Italian about Aldo Cherini
- ^ Brief article in Italian from Corriere della Sera: Lutto, muore Giorgio Cobolli eroe della Guerra d'Africa (George Cobolli, hero of African War, is dead)
- ^ Page on Bruno Maier in Italian
- ^ Article in Italian about Quarantotti Gambini
- ^ Trieste, a Gateway to the New Europe. Brief note about Gambini, p.3
- ^ Article in Italian about the sinking of the battleship Queen Elizabeth.
- ^ Press on Vergerius, Petrus Paulus
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Koper |
- Official website in English
- Port of Koper
- University of Primorska
- Aerial view of Koper
- Students' Association of Koper (KŠOK)
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