Coats of arms - Prlekija - Cultural and Historical Heritage - Slovenia

Ljutomer

The coats-of arms of the villages and smaller places in Prlekija have no heraldic origin, such as past or contents. Some villages do not even have it. The coats-of–arms have their own identity and message, mostly with roguish representation of time and place. They bear unique pride of all those people, whom they belong to and who throw out their chest with them.

Through the time, various authors worked on the coats-of-arms, but mostly they only wrote down what they represent and at what occasions Prlekians use them. A thorough description of them is left by Ph.D. Fran Kovačič in his work „Ljutomer, zgodovina trga“, written in 1926. Before him there were S. Vraz, M. Slekovec and Josip Pajek, who wrote about them. Jan Baukart, a teacher from Ljutomer, listed them systematically and wrote about some of them in the memorial anthology Prlekija, which was published in 1955. The publicist Juš Makovec introduced them again along with additional drawings by J. Lebar in the work Od Mure do goric. There were many others like D. Pediček, V. Mirt, A. Ratiznojnik, MA M. Puconja, S. Pavličič, M. Šoštarič, Mrs. Kunaver who wrote about them in articles and publications. Some data can be found in different expert (historical) publications, in students’ research projects and in Austrian and German literature.

A group of experts and students of The University of Ljubljana and Zavod za kulturo in izobraževanje Ljutomer „discovered“ the Prlekian coats-of-arms again in a project. This was an opportunity to link them as a unique heritage of domestic past with the needs of modern world and to establish their presence in it. The challenge and the aim of the project was to collect them and introduce them to the public as the most unique form of cultural heritage, but at the same time to offer the interested parties new opportunities to trade with them as a form of applied and decorative element of tourism.

In spite of all the work and numerous discoveries about them, the Prlekian coats-of-arms remain a mystery and that is what is charming about them. They are alive and they fill our every-day life either with a completely renovated image and purpose or a joke that has been told a hundred times. Such they stay with us, Prlekians, such will welcome all those, who visit us.

Custodian / Information

LOKAL TOURIST BOARD PRLEKIJA LJUTOMER
JUREŠA CIRILA 4
9240
LJUTOMER
Tel. : ++386 2 581 11 05
Fax : ++386 2 584 83 34
E-mail :
Web site : www.jeruzalem.si

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Administrator : LTO Prlekija Ljutomer | ++386 2 584 83 33 | | www.jeruzalem.si...