Gradec, Slovene for 'little castle', was first mentioned in a 1091 deed, then part of the ImperialMarch of Styria. The prefix Windisch was added to distinguish it from the cityGraz. The modern Slovene name, Slovenj Gradec, derives from this German denomination. From 1180 until 1918, Slovenj Gradec belonged to the Duchy of Styria, since 1804 a crown land of the Austrian Empire. It was the ancestral seat of the Windisch-Graetz noble family first documented in 1220. Upon the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in 1918, with the rest of Lower Styria, it was included in the newly established Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Until 1918, the town was a German-speaking island in a Slovene-speaking area. In the 1880 census, the town of Slovenj Gradec was 75 percent German-speaking and 25 percent Slovene-speaking. Many inhabitants, like the family of the composer Hugo Wolf, were of mixed ethnic origin. After the end of World War I, many of the local German-speaking inhabitants emigrated to Austria. Those who remained were gradually assimilated into the now Slovene-speaking majority. During World War Two, the town was occupied by the Nazis and annexed to the Third Reich. The localSlovenes were submitted to a policy of violent Germanization and many died of various persecutions. The partisan insurgency developed in the area, especially in the hills to the east of the town. After World War II, the remaining ethnic Germans were expelled from Yugoslavia, and Slovenj Gradec lost its traditional presence of German speakers. From the 1950s onward, the town experienced a rapid industrialization and eventually became the unofficial economic and political center for Slovenian Carinthia. In 1994, it became one of the 11 towns in Slovenia with the status of City Municipality.
Main sights
The parish church in the town is dedicated to Saint Elizabeth of Hungary and belongs to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Maribor. It was first mentioned in written documents from 1235. Next to it stands a Gothicchapel dedicated to the Holy Spirit with frescos dating to the mid-15th century. In 1994, an archaeological excavation uncovered the remains of what is believed to be the oldest church in Styria, dating to the Carolingian period. The Slovenj Gradec Art Gallery was founded in 1957 and is located on the first floor of the old town hall in the town centre. The gallery hosted international fine art exhibitions under the sponsorship of the United Nations in 1966, 1975, 1979, 1985, and 1991. The 1997 exhibition "The Artist and Urban Environment" displayed art activity in Peace Messenger Cities from all over the world. In 2012, Slovenj Gradec and Ptuj were partners with Maribor, the European Capital of Culture. As a result, the gallery presented further exhibitions that attracted Europe-wide attention.
Notable residents
Notable people that were born or lived in Slovenj Gradec include:
Roman Bezjak, footballer
Katarina Čas, actress
Sašo Fornezzi, footballer
Ivan Gams , geographer
David Kiselak , footballer
Lado Kralj, writer, theatre critic, and literary historian
Since 1989, Slovenj Gradec was one of the most active and progressive cities within The International Association of Peace Messenger Cities, being a member of its executive board since 1997 and secretary-general of this organization in periods 2007–2010, 2010–2013, 2013–2016, and 2016–2019.
