The Prekmurje Venice of 1925

Abstract

In the first half of November 1925 Slovenia and most of what was at the time the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was ravaged by floods which barely spared any regions at all. The deluge did most damage in the area then governed by the Maribor county, where the rivers Drava, Savinja and Mura overflowed. Three people died in Murska Sobota due to heavy rain, and around a thousand people lost their homes. In the days since 11 November aid in food, workforce and money arrived from all parts of Slovenia. Murska Sobota and thus the Prekmurje region was separated from the rest of the country, but telephone and telegraph connections remained operational. Due to a somewhat disorganised damage assessment commission, irregularities and delays were also involved in the distribution of the urgent financial aid. The damage in the territory of Murska Sobota was estimated at several millions of dinars. The numbers varied and the request for financial aid, addressed to the authorities in Belgrade, was not fulfilled completely, although the Slovenian members of parliament put all their efforts into it. In 1925 and 1926 the political disagreements also manifested themselves at the local level, especially the area governed by the Maribor county. Daily newspapers kept publishing reports from the affected region and underlined Belgrade's non-responsiveness. In their own way the floods contributed to the urban development of Murska Sobota, where the railroad connection was established a year earlier as well. Thus the city was electrified and in the 1930s it recovered economically with the aid of ambitious Slovenian industrialists.