Prelog
Encyclopedia
Prelog is a city in Međimurje County, in northern Croatia
. The total population of the city is 7,840 (census 2011).
The town of Prelog is located in the southern part of Međimurje County, on the shores of the Drava
and Lake Dubrava
, a reservoir
on the river. The centre of Čakovec
, the county seat of Međimurje County, is located around 16 kilometres from the town. Prelog and Čakovec are connected with the D20 state road.
) includes the following settlements:
The town itself is the third most populated place in the county, after Čakovec and Nedelišće
(which does not have the status of a city).
. 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 of transit and trade
.
The place was obviously well managed and organised, so that the king
of Croats
and Hungarians, Matthias Corvinus, was stationed here with his army
in 1480. It was a trade centre when the Zrinski
family of rulers (Nikola Zrinski, Petar Zrinski
, etc.) controlled the region. In 1671, Petar Zrinski was accused of treason and executed. After that, the population of Prelog decreased due to fear and suspicion of foreign German
armies present nearby.
for this part of the kingdom
. There was also a silk
plant, so-called filandra, which would eventually close in 1848.
The beautiful baroque
Church of St. James 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 present-day Međimurje region. In 1786, it was significantly bigger than Čakovec. At the time, it had a population of 1,729, while the population of Čakovec was 1,048.
, and ultimately reached Budapest
and Rijeka
. The town was simply slightly offset, only indirectly connected, and unable to benefit properly from the new means of transport
.
A long period of industrial stagnation ensued. The first bank
opened in 1873, and another one followed in 1905. By the end of the 19th century, the number of residents was around 4,100. The town was the seat of the Prelog district of Zala County in the Kingdom of Hungary
until the Treaty of Trianon
was signed in 1920.
In the first half of the 20th century, the marginalisation of Prelog continued. It was relieved of its previous administrative functions. During World War II
, it was part of Hungary
again, as the entire Međimurje region was annexed by the Hungarians between 1941 and 1945.
Čakovec then overtook Prelog. However, it soon regained its confidence and began to grow again, receiving the town status from the Croatian Parliament
in February 1997, five years after the country's independence.
is based on industry
and manufacturing
. Agriculture
accounts for approximately 19% of the income, while a quarter of it is based on commerce
and tourism
.
Prelog's elementary school
is attended by more than 500 pupils. There is also a secondary school
in the town, the only in Međimurje County that is not located in Čakovec. The secondary school offers education for jobs in tourism, catering
and food processing
. It is attended by more than 400 students in study courses lasting three years.
in Croatia, as the local speedway club was one of the country's first organised clubs in the sport.
There are more than 20 different sports clubs in the town and its wider area, with the most popular sports including football
, tennis
, basketball
, table tennis
, handball
, etc. There is also a small airfield
for powered hang glider
s on the shores of the Drava, as well as a small marina
on Lake Dubrava nearby, with the lake also being a popular destination for anglers
.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. The total population of the city is 7,840 (census 2011).
The town of Prelog is located in the southern part of Međimurje County, on the shores of the Drava
Drava
Drava or Drave is a river in southern Central Europe, a tributary of the Danube. It sources in Toblach/Dobbiaco, Italy, and flows east through East Tirol and Carinthia in Austria, into Slovenia , and then southeast, passing through Croatia and forming most of the border between Croatia and...
and Lake Dubrava
Lake Dubrava
Lake Dubrava is a reservoir on the Drava in northern Croatia. It is administratively divided between Međimurje County and Varaždin County, and is bordered by the municipalities of Prelog, Sveti Đurđ and Veliki Bukovec...
, a reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
on the river. The centre of Čakovec
Cakovec
Čakovec is a city in northern Croatia, located around 90 kilometres north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital. Čakovec is both the county seat and largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmost, smallest and most densely populated Croatian county.-Population:...
, the county seat of Međimurje County, is located around 16 kilometres from the town. Prelog and Čakovec are connected with the D20 state road.
Population
The town's administrative area (cityMunicipalities of Croatia
A Municipality in Croatia is known as an općina . Though equal to Croatian Grads in administrative powers, they are usually more likely to consists of a collection of villages in more rural or suburban area, whereas Grads are more likely to cover urban area...
) includes the following settlements:
- CirkovljanCirkovljanCirkovljan is a village in Međimurje County, Croatia.The village is administratively part of the wider area of the town of Prelog. It is located on the D20 state road, approximately halfway between Prelog and Draškovec. The centre of Čakovec, the county seat of Međimurje County, is located around...
, population 818 - Čehovec, population 718
- Čukovec, population 332
- DraškovecDraškovecDraškovec is a village in Međimurje County, Croatia.The village is part of the wider area of Prelog and is located around 5 kilometres from the town. The county seat of Međimurje County, Čakovec, is located just over 20 kilometres from the village. Draškovec is connected with the village of...
, population 602 - Hemuševec, population 265
- OporovecOporovecOporovec is a village in Međimurje County, Croatia.The village is located in the southern part of the county, just over 20 kilometres from the county seat, Čakovec. Close to the village is Lake Dubrava, a reservoir on the Drava. Oporovec is administratively part of the Prelog municipality and is...
, population 425 - OtokOtok, Međimurje CountyOtok is a village in Međimurje County, Croatia.The village is located around 2 kilometres east of the town of Prelog, and is administratively part of its wider area . The Drava flows into Lake Dubrava just outside the village. In the 2001 census, the village had a population of 339.In a 1226...
, population 339 - Prelog, population 4,333
The town itself is the third most populated place in the county, after Čakovec and Nedelišće
Nedelišce
Nedelišće is a village in Međimurje County, in northern Croatia, and the seat of the Municipality of Nedelišće, which also includes 10 other villages in the south-western part of Međimurje County....
(which does not have the status of a city).
Beginnings
Prelog was first mentioned on 6 December 1264, and that date is celebrated with a local festivalFestival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
. The name Prelog is probably derived from the Croatian
Croatian language
Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
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 of transit and trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
.
The place was obviously well managed and organised, so that the king
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
of Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
and Hungarians, Matthias Corvinus, was stationed here with his army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
in 1480. It was a trade centre when the Zrinski
Zrinski
The Zrinski family was a Croatian noble family, influential during the period in history marked by the Ottoman wars in Europe in the Kingdom of Croatia and Hungary and in the later Austro-Hungarian Empire...
family of rulers (Nikola Zrinski, Petar Zrinski
Petar Zrinski
Petar Zrinski was a Croatian Ban and writer. A member of the Zrinski noble family, he was noted for his role in the attempted Croatian-Hungarian rebellion of 1664-1670 which ultimately led to his execution for high treason.-Zrinski family:Petar Zrinski was born in Vrbovec, a small town near...
, etc.) controlled the region. In 1671, Petar Zrinski was accused of treason and executed. After that, the population of Prelog decreased due to fear and suspicion of foreign German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
armies present nearby.
Growth
In 1716, however, the population started to grow. Shops were crowded with merchants, travellers and other busy people. The town became a centre for the distribution of rock saltSalt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
for this part of the kingdom
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
. There was also a silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
plant, so-called filandra, which would eventually close in 1848.
The beautiful baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
Church of St. James 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 present-day Međimurje region. In 1786, it was significantly bigger than Čakovec. At the time, it had a population of 1,729, while the population of Čakovec was 1,048.
During the 19th and 20th centuries
Strangely enough, Prelog did not benefit much from the first railroad, built in 1860, which reached westbound of KotoribaKotoriba
Kotoriba is a village and municipality in Međimurje County, in northern Croatia.It is located in the south-eastern part of the county, near the Mura River and border with Hungary, approximately 36 kilometres south-east of Čakovec and 20 kilometres east of Prelog, the largest and second-largest city...
, and ultimately reached Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
and Rijeka
Rijeka
Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third largest city in Croatia . It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,735 inhabitants...
. The town was simply slightly offset, only indirectly connected, and unable to benefit properly from the new means of transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
.
A long period of industrial stagnation ensued. The first bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
opened in 1873, and another one followed in 1905. By the end of the 19th century, the number of residents was around 4,100. The town was the seat of the Prelog district of Zala County in the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
until the Treaty of Trianon
Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon was the peace agreement signed in 1920, at the end of World War I, between the Allies of World War I and Hungary . The treaty greatly redefined and reduced Hungary's borders. From its borders before World War I, it lost 72% of its territory, which was reduced from to...
was signed in 1920.
In the first half of the 20th century, the marginalisation of Prelog continued. It was relieved of its previous administrative functions. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, it was part of Hungary
Hungary during World War II
Hungary during World War II was a member of the Axis powers. In the 1930s, the Kingdom of Hungary relied on increased trade with Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany to pull itself out of the Great Depression. By 1938, Hungarian politics and foreign policy had become increasingly pro-Fascist Italian and...
again, as the entire Međimurje region was annexed by the Hungarians between 1941 and 1945.
Čakovec then overtook Prelog. However, it soon regained its confidence and began to grow again, receiving the town status from the Croatian Parliament
Parliament of Croatia
The Parliament of Croatia or the Sabor is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Croatia and legislature of the country. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, represents the people and is vested with the legislative power...
in February 1997, five years after the country's independence.
Economy and education
Today, more than 50% of the incomeIncome
Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...
is based on industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
and manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
. Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
accounts for approximately 19% of the income, while a quarter of it is based on commerce
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
.
Prelog's elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
is attended by more than 500 pupils. There is also a secondary school
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
in the town, the only in Međimurje County that is not located in Čakovec. The secondary school offers education for jobs in tourism, catering
Catering
Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...
and food processing
Food processing
Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...
. It is attended by more than 400 students in study courses lasting three years.
Sports and recreation
Prelog is considered the hometown of motorcycle speedwayMotorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
in Croatia, as the local speedway club was one of the country's first organised clubs in the sport.
There are more than 20 different sports clubs in the town and its wider area, with the most popular sports including football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
, handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
, etc. There is also a small airfield
Aerodrome
An aerodrome, airdrome or airfield is a term for any location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve cargo, passengers or neither...
for powered hang glider
Powered Hang Glider
A foot-launched powered hang glider , also called powered harness, nanolight, or hangmotor, is a powered hang glider harness with a motor and propeller in pusher configuration...
s on the shores of the Drava, as well as a small marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
on Lake Dubrava nearby, with the lake also being a popular destination for anglers
Angling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
.