Ljutomer

Ljutomer is a municipality in northeastern Slovenia, some 40km east of Maribor. Traditionally it was part of the region of Styria. It is now included in the Pormurska statistical region. Before 1918 it had a substantial German population. (Population data for 1880 gives: 608 Slovenes and 468 Germans.) The Ljutomer area was the birthplace of the ethnologist Stanko Vraz (1810-1851), the philologist Franc Miklošič (1813-1891), the pioneer of film making Karel Grossmann (1864-1929), the painter Ante Trstenjak (1894–1970), and is home to the bowler Miro Steržaj (b.1933).The economy of Ljutomer largely is based around grape farming and wine making.Ljutomer lies at the heart of the area known as Prlekija. It is first mentioned as a settlement in written documents dating to 1242. In 1265 it was granted market right. It was devastated by the plague and numerous fires and it had to defend itself against Ottoman and Hungarian raids. The concept of the United Slovenia was embodied here in the first mass meeting of Slovene nationalists in 1868. Ljutomer was given town status in 1927.[citation needed] The tradition of the Slovenian national awakening of the 19th century is continued by the library, the museum, the art gallery.