The history of Celje: From the Celts and Romans to the Counts and Yugoslavia to the EU
8th to 6th centuries BC
15 BC
Romans first move into the area, and incorporate it into their Empire. The town begins to flourish as a major transport point.
46 BC
The town is granted municipal rights during the reign of Emperor Claudius under the name Municipium Claudia Celeia, expansion of both the population and development continues.
Late 4th century
Christianity begins to spread rapidly. Archaeological records indicate the building of an early Christian basilica, the only of its kind discovered in Slovenia.
6th century
After a long period of increased warfare following the disintegration of the Roman Empire, agriculturally advanced Slavs invade and establish permanent settlement in the area.
824
The only mention of Celje between the 6th and 12th centuries is in a contract signed on behalf of Emperor Louis regarding the gift of a local church.
1241
Celje has been rebuilt into a once again sizeable market town, a fact evidenced by the establishment of the Celje Minorite by Catholic monks.
1333
At the time a smaller fortress, the old castle comes into the possession of the Lords of Sanneck, or the Cilli family, who begin renovating and expanding it.
1341
The Lords of Sanneck are given the elevated title the Counts of Celje by Emperor Louis IV, and go on to become the most powerful family in the region.
1436
King Sigismund of Luxemburg, who some 40 years earlier had had his life saved by Count Hermann II and later married Hermann's daughter Barbara, elevates the Counts to the rank of princes of the Holy Roman Empire. The Counts strongest rivals, the apparently envious and quick-tempered Habsburgs, reacted with a declaration of war.
1443
The war with the Habsburg's ends with the signing of a mutual inheritance agreement, which states that if one of the families is ever without a male heir, then all of their property and lands are awarded to the other.
1456
After a series of Machiavellian dealings, Ulrich II, the most powerful member of the Cilli family, manages to expand the Counts' dominion to wide swaths of present-day Austria, Croatia, Bosnia and most of Hungary. However, in the process he ultimately made more enemies than he could handle, and was assassinated in Belgrade on 8 November. This would prove to be one of the more fateful events in the region's history, as he was the family's last male heir, and in accordance with the agreement made 13 years earlier all of the holdings of the Counts of Celje were ceded to the Habsburgs.
16th century
Many of Celje's noblemen convert to Protestantism, by 1580 it has supplanted Catholicism as the leading religion in the region.
Early 17th century
During the Counter-Reformation many Protestants are driven from the area and Roman Catholicism is once again the dominant religion.
27 April 1846
The first service on the newly completed Venice-Trieste railway line stops in Celje.
1867
After the Prussian defeat of Austria, Celje officially becomes part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
1902
The town's first telephone line is installed
1910
Celje becomes a hotbed for German nationalism, and a census shows that 66.8 per cent of the population is German.
1918
In the aftermath of World War I Celje, along with all of Slovenia, becomes part of the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes - the forerunner of Yugoslavia.
Early 20th century
As a result of its strategic position as a transport hub and increased access to the Balkan market, the town experience rapid industrial expansion and population growth. The city's German population is now a small, but wealthy, minority.
April 1941
Germany occupies Celje, and the city sufferers heavy losses throughout World War II. Many people were either imprisoned or deported to camps abroad, while other were conscripted into the German army.
1945
After Yugoslav forces reclaim the city, the remaining German citizens are expelled. Many Slovenes who were thought to have collaborated with the occupying forces are also expelled or killed, with estimates ranging from 10,000 to 100,000, and the bodies are buried in mass graves on the outskirts of the city. The atrocities could not be openly discussed during the Yugoslav era, and even nowadays remain a rather taboo topic.
1991
Slovenia declares its independence from Yugoslavia, precipitating a ten-day war which ends with the withdrawal of the Yugoslav army. A new national flag and coat of arms is adopted, with the latter taking its three golden stars from the coat of arms of the Counts of Celje.
2004
Slovenia joins the European Union and Nato.
2007
On 1 January, Slovenia introduces the Euro as its official currency, and in December implements the Schengen Agreement allowing for visa-free travel to other member states.
May 2010
The first issue of Celje In Your Pocket is published.
