This article is about the city in Slovenia.

For the Prince-Bishopric and

Diocese of Maribor, see Lavant.

Maribor (German: Marburg an der Drau, rarely Italian: Marburgo) is a city

in Slovenia and the seat of the Maribor urban municipality. With a
population of 108,000 as of 2002, it is the second-largest city in the
country. Maribor lies on the river Drava at the meeting point of the Pohorje
mountain, the Drava valley, the Drava plain, and the Kozjak and Slovenske
gorice hill ranges. It is the center of the Slovenian region of Lower Styria
and its largest city. The nearest larger urban center is Graz in Austria
which is about 50 km (30 miles) away. Maribor's coat of arms features a
white pigeon flying downwards above a white castle with two towers and a
portcullis on a red shield.

In 1164 a castle known as the Marchburch (Middle High German for "March
Castle") was documented in the March of Styria. Maribor was first
mentioned as a market near the castle in 1204, and received town
privileges in 1254. It began to grow rapidly after the victory of Rudolf I of
Habsburg over Otakar II of Bohemia in 1278. Maribor withstood sieges by
the Ottoman Empire in 1532 and 1683, and the city remained under the
control of the Habsburg Monarchy for centuries.

Maribor, previously in the Catholic Diocese of Graz-Seckau, became part of

the Diocese of Lavant on 1 June 1859 and the seat of its Prince-Bishop. The
name of the diocese was changed to the Diocese of Maribor on March 5,
1962. It was elevated to an archdiocese by Pope Benedict XVI on April 7,
2006.

Before World War I, the city had a population of 80% Germans and 20%
Slovenians, and most of the city's capital and public life was in German
hands. According to the last Austro-Hungarian census in 1910, Maribor and
the suburbs Studenci (Brunndorf), Pobrežje (Pobersch), Tezno (Thesen),
Radvanje (Rothwein), Krčevina (Kartschowin), and Košaki (Leitersberg)
were composed of 31,995 Germans and 6,151 Slovenians. The wider
surrounding area was populated almost exclusively by Slovenians,
although many Germans lived in smaller towns like Ptuj.

During World War I, many Slovenians in Carinthia and Styria were detained
for allegedly being enemies of the state, which led to further conflicts
between German Austrians and Slovenians. After the collapse of Austria-
Hungary, Maribor was claimed by both the State of Slovenes, Croats and
Serbs and the First Austrian Republic. On 27 January 1919 Germans
awaiting the American peace delegation at the city's marketplace were
attacked by troops of Rudolf Maister, resulting in 13 killed and more than
60 wounded (the Marburger Bloody Sunday). Afterward, Maister's troops
took control of the city, which became part of the Kingdom of Serbs,
Croats, and Slovenes (the later Kingdom of Yugoslavia) without a
referendum.
After the war many Germans emigrated to Austria, especially officials.
German schools, clubs, and organisations were closed in the new state of
Yugoslavia, although Germans made up more than 25% of the city's
population in the 1930s. A policy of cultural assimilation was pursued in
Yugoslavia against the German minority in response to the Germanization
policy of Austria against its Slovenian minority.

In 1941 Lower Styria, the Yugoslav part of Styria, was annexed by Nazi
Germany. In late April Adolf Hitler, who encouraged his followers to "make
this land German again", visited Maribor where a grand reception was
organized by local Germans in the city castle. The city, a major industrial
center with extensive armaments industry, was systematically bombed by
the Allies during the World War II. The remaining German population was
expelled after the end of the war in 1945.

After the liberation, the city capitalized on its proximity to Austria as well
as its skilled workforce, and developed into a major transit,cultural center
of Eastern Slovenia and the biggest industrial city in Yugoslavia. After
Slovenia seceded from Yugoslavia in 1991, the loss of the Yugoslav market
severely strained the city's economy which was based on heavy industry,
resulting in record levels of unemployment of almost 25%. The situation
has improved since the mid-1990s with the development of small and
medium sized businesses and industry. Unemployment in June 2007 is
11,5% (ILO:7,8% )

Important people who lived in Maribor include Prince-Bishop Anton Martin

Slomšek, Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, the writer Drago Jančar, Olympic
gold medalist and athlete Leon Štukelj and football player Zlatko Zahovič.

Popular tourist sites in Maribor include a 12th century Gothic cathedral and
the town hall constructed in the Renaissance fashion. The castle dates
from the 15th century.

The city hosts the University of Maribor, established in 1961. It is also

home to the oldest grapevine in the world called Stara trta which is more
than 400 years old.

Maribor is hometown of NK Maribor, a Slovenian football team. They

participated in the UEFA Champions League in the 1999-2000 season.

Every January, the skiing centre of Mariborsko Pohorje, situated on the

outskirts of the city on the slopes of the Pohorje mountain range, hosts
women's slalom and giant slalom races for the Alpine Skiing World Cup
known as Zlata lisica (The Golden Fox).Every June, the two-week Festival
Lent (named after the waterfront district called Lent) is held, with
hundreds of musical, theatrical and other events.