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Concept
History of the Jews in Slovenia
Summary
The history of the Jews in Slovenia and areas connected with it goes back to the times of Ancient Rome. In 2011, the small Slovenian Jewish community (Judovska skupnost Slovenije) was estimated at 500 to 1,000 members, of whom around 130 are officially registered, most of whom live in the capital, Ljubljana.
The ancient Jewish community of Slovenia predated the 6th-century Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps, when the Slavic ancestors of the present-day Slovenes entered their current territory. The first Jews arrived in what is now Slovenia in Roman times, with archaeological evidence of Jews found in Maribor and in the village of Škocjan in Lower Carniola. In Škocjan, an engraved menorah dating from the 5th century AD was found in a graveyard.
In the 12th century, Jews arrived in the Slovene lands fleeing poverty in Italy and central Europe. Even though they were forced to live in ghettos, many Jews prospered. Relations between Jews and the local Christian population were generally peaceful. In Maribor, Jews were successful bankers, winegrowers, and millers. Several "Jewish courts" (Judenhof) existed in Styria, settling disputes between Jews and Christians. Israel Isserlein, who authored several essays on medieval Jewish life in Lower Styria, was the most important rabbi at the time, having lived in Maribor. In 1397, Jewish ghettos in Radgona and Ptuj were set ablaze by anonymous anti-Jewish assailants.
The first synagogue in Ljubljana was mentioned in 1213. Issued with a Privilegium, Jews were able to settle an area of Ljubljana located on the left bank of the Ljubljanica River. The streets Židovska ulica (Jewish Street) and Židovska steza (Jewish Lane), which now occupy the area, are still reminiscent of that period.
The wealth of the Jews bred resentment among the Inner Austrian nobility and the burghers, with many refusing to repay Jewish money-lenders, and local merchants considered Jews to be competitors.
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