Ajdovščina

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Občina Ajdovščina
Area:	245.2 km²
Population	18,095
- males	9,004
- females	9,091
Mayor:	{{{mayor}}}
Average age:	38.83 years
Residential areas:	29.99 m²/person
- households:	5,720
- families:	4,835
Working active:	8,326
- unemployed:	613
Average monthly salary (August 2003old statistic doc.):
- gross:	233,094 SIT
- net:	150,166 SIT
College/university students:	782
Source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, census of 2002.

Ajdovščina is a small town and a municipality with the same name and a population of 7000, located in the Vipava Valley (Vipavska dolina), Slovenia.

The first mentions of Ajdovščina go as far as 2000 BC but the town became better known around 200 BC as Mansio Fluvio Frigido, a small post in use by the Roman empire later in the 200 AC also known as Castra or Castrum at Fluvio Frigido whose remains are still visible.

Ajdovščina and its surroundings were a very important commercial and strategical point as some major battles took place in the Vipava Valley, such as in 394 AD the Battle of the Frigidus. A local legend mentions that Theodosius I used the strong northern winds that are known as burja (English: bora and common in Ajdovščina and the Vipava Valley to his favor and disabled the enemy archers and pilum units with the help of the wind.

The river Hubelj is the dividing line between the 2 bigger parts of Ajdovščina, that are localy known as Šturje and Ajdovščina. During the pre-World War I years the river was also the border between Goriška and Carniola, two of the Slovenian regions.

Despite the fact that the Italian border is less than 20 km away the style of the town does not resemble that of a typical Italian town. This may be attributed to the fact that in World War II Ajdovščina was under Italian occupation and this left a big mark on the local people. And due to the fact that the bora winds that are known would cause a lot of trouble to the common Italian house construction. Thus the population adopted and modified the classical Kras architecture for their own needs, like for example putting stones on roofs.

After the World War II Ajdovščina became the economical and cultural centre of the upper Vipava Valley.

Major industries include textile fabrics, construction, food, beverage and furniture.

The climate is Mediterranean (minimum temperature in winter &minus:1 °C, maximum 17 °C; in the summer time maximum temperature 39 °C, minimum 20 °C). The town is located around 25 km from the Adriatic Sea.

Contents 1 Demographics 2 Notable citizens 3 See also 4 External links

[edit] Demographics

Population by mother tongue, census 2002

Slovenian 16760

Bosnian 325

Serbian 182

Serbo-Croatian 141

Croatian 139

Albanian 164

Macedonian 40

Italian 16

Hungarian 7

German 3

Others 38

Unknown 380

[edit] Notable citizens

• Veno Pilon (1896-1970) - painter,
• Danilo Lokar - author,
• Anton Čebej - painter.

See List of Slovenes.

[edit] See also

• NK Primorje

[edit] External links

• Ajdovščina, official page of municipality (in Slovene)
• More info: http://www.tic-ajdika-mp.si/11b-e.html
• Virtual Ajdovscina by Burger (virtual photos) in English
• Pilon Gallery in Ajdovscina
• Airpark Ajdovscina
• Panorama OF Vipava valley (Java, 360 photos - use QuickTime program)
• Planina Pri Ajdovščini

Slovenia | Slovenian regions
Urban municipalities: Celje | Koper | Kranj | Ljubljana | Maribor | Murska Sobota
Nova Gorica | Novo Mesto | Ptuj | Slovenj Gradec | Velenje

Coordinates: 45°53′N 13°55′E