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Hello there!!

Last time i wrote about my county and posted some nice pictures. Now it's time to write a bit about my home village Donji Kraljevec. There is going to be a bit history, a bit interestning facts and a bit fun. So let's start!

Again, put on this tune, and try to read at least half of it 🙂

Old folk song - i look to the sky

History


The coat of arms of Donji Kraljevec.

Donji Kraljevec - literally translated it means Lower Kingsley, is a village located around 20 kilometres south-east of Čakovec, the county seat and largest city of Međimurje County, and just over 4 kilometres north-east of Prelog, the second largest city of the county. In the 2001 census, the village had a population of 1,694 and was also the largest village in the municipality.



The first time ever mentioned as Donji Kraljevec was in 1467. It is mentioned as a royal estate, in fact, as the possession of King Matthias Corvinus. In 1844. Donji Kraljevec had as many as 142 tax payers, of which only 28 have been bondservants.



A disastrous fire struck the village on the 23rd April 1934., and for longer periods of time disrupted normal life in the place.

Arround 14 hours on this day the fire appeared in the western part of town. Due to strong winds spread the flames rapidly. After almost twenty minutes there were 70 houses in flames. The fire laid waste to the ground and a big part of the town. It was the kind of disaster Medjimurje has never seen. The fire raged all day, burned the houses and farm buildings with a complete inventory of cattle of 118 householders.



The fire destroyed a total of 373 residential and commercial buildings. Over 700 people were left homeless. A good portion of them did not save anything except what was on them. Twenty people were left blind, and many have suffered severe burns and had long been treated in hospitals. Fortunately no one was killed as the fire broke out at daylight. Damage was estimated at 3 million dinars which was for those times a huge amount of money.



After the recovery things started to get better for the little town and it became a center of trade in the eastern region, and was best known for horse breeding and the "Fijakeri" (so where called the carriges that transported people from the train station all arround the county).



When hungary occupied the County in 1941. many people from Donji Kraljevec joined the resistance forces of the Partizans. After Hungary responded with a retaliation on the towns people, the local partizan forces made a diversion on the railroad, blowing up a Hungaryan train on the way to Budapest. After that many villager where deported to concentration camps all arround Europe, among them my great grandfather from the mothers side. He died in Dachau in late 1944.



Life in the little town went on with a slow pace while being part of Yugoslavia, till the separation and declaration of independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. In the Croatian homeland war, the county Međimurje was the first who got liberated, and this gave the town the opportunity to blossom.

Donji Kraljevec today

The town remained on of the strongest in industry and trade in the eastern part of the county. Today it counts a bit over 2,000 citizens and the Lord be praised, 9 pubs! xD

It has it's own radio station, an elementary school, a volunteer fire department, a soccer and a baskettball team, a Europe wide known speedway track, 4 big factorys which employ over 1,200 workers, a hotel and many other la-di-da things that already bore the hell out of you. 😃


The speedway track on the outskirts of Donji Kraljevec.


The church of St. Marie Magdalena.


The elementary school.

Where im i in all this??

I am a 22 year old student, a volounteer fire fighter, a heavy drinker and a stuborn bastard. I hang arround the internet a bit to much and smoke huge amounts of cigaretes, but hey - LIFE IS SHORT!


Me and my mates from the volunteer fire department having a good time after the yearly assembly - second from left.


Drunk...at a Belfast Food concert, hugging a slowenian bee... hahahaha


And me, acting badass with 2 girls from my college.

Sorry i dont have any pictures where im sober, you dont want to see them anyway! 😃

Now what i want you to do is VOTE the god damn article and comment something nice, because i worked very hard on this shit!! 😛

I hope you enjoyed reading and taking a look at the pictures.

Till next time, love you all.

Luka o/