Žirina

Žirina is the capital city of Zagoria. With 276,000 inhabitants,it's the largest city of the nation and more than 1/3 of the whole Zagorian population lives here. It is the centre of Zagorian government,educational institutions and business. The most important institution is the University of Žirina,one of the top universities of the Ex-Yugoslav area,Europe and,as of 2015,it is included in the 1% of the best universitites of the World. Its position,exactly between Slovenia and Croatia,in the large valley of Žirja river,made Žirina always a city full of life and with a multicultural face. Today ,like the whole country, Žirina is constantly growing,demographically and economically speaking. Its opportunities are attracting more and more students and workers from the whole southern Europe and from other parts of the continent.

History
Žirina was first mentioned in an Austrian document dated 1108 with the name Sirrein,however,remainings from the Roman era have been founded near Žirina Lake. Until 1630,the city was only a small market town on the road between Ljubljana and Grad na Žirjanski Dolini,the old capital of Zeigermark(Zagorian province under Austrian rule),but with the Great Farmer's Revolution,the old capital was mostly destroyed and the governors escaped to Žirina,making it the capital city. Once the city was captured by rebels after a Battle for Žirina(1634) ,Žirina was declared capital of the short-lived Zagorian Principality.

In 1647,when the Habsburgs reconquered Zagoria and abolished the principality,splitting it between Styria and Zagreb region,Žirina lost its importance,which was regained in 1702 with the creation of the Žirina Academy of Arts and Music. This permitted the city to become a prestigious European city,actracting people from all over the continent.

After the WW1,with the creation of Yugoslavian Kingdom,Žirina became the capital of Zagorian Banovina. In 1930,a revolt against the leadership(dominated by Croats or Serbs) was born in the city,making the Yugoslav army attack it,destroying buildings and infrastructures. Once the revolt was lifted,Zagorian Banovina was abolished.

Žirina knew a relatively calm period until the Nazi Invasion of Yugoslavia (1941),when the city was fastly occupied by the Germans. However,in the sorrounding mountains,Partisans organized the liberation of the city and of Zagoria,giving the city a constant state of emergency,with the 75% of the population fleeing to the countryside.

Žirina was liberated after a large offensive of the Yugoslav partisans in 1945.

The government of the new Socialist Yugoslavia decided to split the region between Slovenia and Croatia,with Žirina being part of Slovenia. The city was awarded as Hero City and large founds were given the city for the urban development.



The high development the city knew during SFRJ years reached an end in 1991 after the first free elections in Yugoslavia. Slovenia and Croatia voted mostly for independence,causing a reaction of the Yugoslav People's Army,who attacked Slovenia (and Zagoria with it). Zagoria,at the border with Croatia,suffered a medium-sized damage,and heavy fighting occoured in Žirina's outskirts and in Krapina.



With Slovenian victory,Žirina became part of the independent Slovenia,until the mid-90's when Zagoria declared independence from Slovenia and Croatia. The crisis the city and the whole Zagoria met during the first years of 90's,ended only in the late 90's with new economic reforms. Since 1995,Žirina is the capital of the Socialist Republic of Zagoria.



Geography
The city,who is located on the northern bank of Žirja river,is divided into 6 districts (okrozja).



Demography
The 78% of the total population declared himself as Zagorian. However there's an important percentage of Bosniaks(7%) and Serbs(8%). The remaining 7% is divided between Croats and Slovenes.

1/5 of the overall population is composed by students.

Serbs and Bosniaks make the majority in the Zeričkaj district,Croats live mostly in Center district or in Staro Mesto,while Slovenes are split between Center and Medgorice-Jezero.

All the communities live peacefully. However,in 2014 and in 2015,there were some troubles and urban guerrilla-sceneries between Serbs and Bosniaks in Zeričkaj (see 2014-2015 Bosniak-Serb Clashes and Zeričkaj incident). The violences were lifted by the police. This is not the only episode in Zagoria,since other cities like Grad experienced this.

The city has a very low crime rate. There have been episodes of robbery in Zeričkaj and Novo Študentsko Mesto. There are cca. 15 murders per year.

Religions
As of 2014,54% of Žirina population is Atheist ;30% declared themselves Catholic;6% were Orthodox;3% were Muslims;7% were Protestant or Other religion.

Before 1943,year when almost the whole jewish community was sent to death camps,after being forced to live in the Žirina Ghetto ,there were at least 20.000 jews in the city and the sorrounding settlements.

Today there are less than 2000 jews,two synagogues and a monumental cemetery. Anyway,the jewish community is very active and Žirina has become an important city for the remaining jewish communities in the Yugoslav area.

Languages
The official language in use is Zagorian. About 70% of the total population declares to speak as mother language Zagorian;10% declares to speak Slovene;8% declares to speak Croatian;5% declares to speak Serbian;4% declares to speak Bosnian;2% declares to speak Serbo-croatian;the remaining 1% declares to speak other languages (German,Hungarian...) as mother language.