- Prelog
: "This article is about the town in
Croatia . For information about theNobel Prize winner, seeVladimir Prelog ."Prelog is a town in northern
Croatia , located about 15 km east ofČakovec inMeđimurje county , at coord|46.335|N|16.615|E|, alt. 125 m. The municipality of Prelog has 7,871 residents, while 4,288 live in the town itself (census 2001).Early history
Prelog ( _hu. Perlak) is mentioned for the first time on
December 6 ,1264 , and that date is celebrated with a localfestival . The name "Prelog" is probably derived from the Croatian word "vlak" meaning "the train", "pulling", or "to pull", since the area attracted many visitors who intentionally came and eventually passed by in the process oftransit andtrade .The place was obviously well managed and organized so that in 1480 the king of
Croats andHungarians ,Matthias Corvinus , was stationed here with hisarmy . It was a trade center when theZrinski family of rulers (Nikola Zrinski ,Petar Zrinski ) controlled the region. In 1671, Petar Zrinski was accused of treason and executed. After this, the population of Prelog decreased due to fear and suspicion of foreign German armies present nearby.Growth
In 1716, however, the
population started growing and shops, crowded with merchants, travellers, and other busy people. Thetown became a center for the distribution of rocksalt for this part of the kingdom, and asilk plant, so-called "filandra", was founded. (It would close in 1848.)The beautiful
baroque Church ofSt. Jacob was built in 1761 in the heyday of the town.Towards the end of the 18th century, Prelog was the most developed
municipality in the area of what would become theMedjimurje of today. In 1786, it was significantly bigger than Čakovec (1729 vs. 1048 inhabitants).19th and 20th century
Strangely enough, Prelog did not benefit much from the first
train andrailroad track built in 1860, which reached westbound ofKotoriba and ultimately reachedBudapest andRijeka on the bay ofKvarner . The town was simply slightly offset, only indirectly connected, unable to benefit properly from the new means oftransport . A long period of industrial stagnation ensued. The firstbank opened in 1873, and another one in 1905. By the end of the 19th century, the number of residents was around 4100. She was a district ( _hu. jara) ofZala (former county) inKingdom of Hungary till 1918.In the first half of the 20th century, the marginalization of Prelog continued. It was relieved of previous administrative functions. In
World War II , (1941 - 1945), it was under Hungarian occupation. Nearby Čakovec (historic "Chaky's tower") overtook Prelog.Today
Prelog has regained its confidence and has begun to grow faster since, in 1997, it became a city and thus became again a separate and independent administrative unit.
Today, more than 50% of the
income is based onindustry andmanufacturing .Agriculture accounts for approximately 19% of the income while a quarter of it is based on commerce andtourism . Prelog'smiddle school educates specialists in the area of tourism and food processing and is attended by more than 470 students in study courses lasting three years. Theelementary school is attended by 570 pupils.There are more than 20 different sport clubs in the area (football,
tennis ,basketball ,table tennis , handball, and others). Among them, the most famous is the speedwayclub Prelog.Other nearby smaller municipalities are
Oporovec , Čehovec, Draškovec, Hemuševec,Cirkovljan , and Čukovec, with the total number of residents approaching 8,000.Culture
Prelog is home to a monument to the Croatian ban
Josip Jelačić . [ [http://www.mnovine.hr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8196 Memorial to ban Josip Jelačić unveiled] ]References
External links
* [http://www.prelog.hr/ Prelog - in Croatian]
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