Melinci Explained

Official Name:Melinci
Pushpin Map:Slovenia
Pushpin Label Position:left
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Slovenia
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Slovenia
Subdivision Type1:Traditional region
Subdivision Name1:Prekmurje
Subdivision Type2:Statistical region
Subdivision Name2:Mura
Subdivision Type3:Municipality
Subdivision Name3:Beltinci
Area Footnotes:[1]
Area Total Km2:6.78
Population As Of:2019
Population Total:769
Population Density Km2:auto
Population Blank1 Title:Ethnicities
Population Blank2 Title:Religions
Coordinates:46.5726°N 16.2383°W
Elevation M:175.6

Melinci (in Slovenian pronounced as /mɛˈliːntsi/; Hungarian: Muramelence[2]) is a village in the Municipality of Beltinci in the Prekmurje region of northeastern Slovenia.[3]

Name

Melinci was attested in historical documents in 1322 as Hmelnice and Hmeliniche (and as Hmelinica in 1379). The name is derived from the Slovene common noun hmelj 'hops'.[4]

Cultural heritage

There is a small chapel in the settlement. It is dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows and belongs to the Parish of Beltinci.

The Martyr of Melinci

A folk story called "The Martyr of Melinci" (Mälìnčki mantrník)[5] collected by the Prekmurje Slovene writer Števan Kühar (1882–1915) describes how the Mura River was in flood and threatened to destroy the village. The men of the village gathered together and decided to bury alive a seven-year-old child, Števek from the Džuro farm (Džúrov Štèväk or Džurof Štefek) as a sacrifice to appease the river. After that the river never again flooded like it had before. The legend continues that the boy appeared in a dream to a pious woman, urging her to ask the village authorities to dig him up. This was permitted, but only a few shovels of soil had been turned before a powerful smell emanated from the earth. The officers of the parish then forbade the martyr to be disinterred. After this it was said that a light would appear at the place where Števek had been buried.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Naselje Melinci . Statistični urad Republike Slovenije . April 6, 2020.
  2. Sebők, László. 1990. Magyar neve? Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 125.
  3. http://www.beltinci.si/ Beltinci municipal site
  4. Book: Snoj . Marko . Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen . 2009 . Modrijan . Ljubljana . 259.
  5. Števan Kühar. "Mälìnčki mantrník," in Národno blágo vogrskij Sloväncof, p. 23 (1914), reprinted as "Melinčki mantrnik" in Kalendar Najsvetejšega Srca Jezušovega, vol. 19, pp. (Maribor, 1922, pp. 37–38).