Editing Celje (section)

==History==
===Early history===
The first settlement in the area of Celje appeared during the [[Hallstatt culture|Hallstatt]] era. The settlement was known in the Celtic times and to Ancient Greek historians as ''Kelea'';<ref>{{cite web|title=The history of Celje: From the Celts and Romans to the Counts and Yugoslavia to the EU|url=https://www.inyourpocket.com/celje/History|access-date=2016-10-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003190530/https://www.inyourpocket.com/celje/History|archive-date=2016-10-03|url-status=dead}}</ref> findings suggest that [[Celt]]s coined [[Noricum|Noric]] money in the region.

[[File:Vischer - Topographia Ducatus Stiria - 035 Cilli - Celje.jpg|thumb|left|Celje, [[Georg Matthäus Vischer]], ''Topographia Ducatus Stiriae'', [[Graz]] 1681]]
Once the area was incorporated in the [[Roman Empire]] in 15 BC, it was known as ''Civitas [[List of Latin place names in the Balkans|Celeia]]''. It received [[town privileges|municipal rights]] in AD 45 under the name ''municipium [[Claudia Celeia]]'' during the reign of the [[Roman Emperor]] [[Claudius]] (41–54). Records suggest that the town was rich and densely populated, secured with the walls and towers, containing multi-storied marble palaces, wide squares, and streets. It was called ''Troia secunda'', the second; or small [[Troy]]. A [[Roman road]] through Celeia led from [[Aquileia]] (Sln. ''Oglej'') to [[Pannonia]]. Celeia soon became a flourishing [[Roman colony]], and many great buildings were constructed, such as the temple of [[Mars (god)|Mars]], which was known across the Empire. Celeia was incorporated into Aquileia c. 320 under the Roman Emperor [[Constantine I]] (272–337).

The city was razed by [[Slavic tribes]] during the [[Migration period]] of the 5th and 6th centuries, but was rebuilt in the [[Early Middle Ages]]. The first mention of Celje in the Middle Ages was under the name of ''Cylie'' in [[Wolfhold von Admont]]'s Chronicle, which was written between 1122 and 1137. The town was the seat of the [[Counts of Celje]] from 1341 to 1456, with [[Prince of the Holy Roman Empire|princely status]] from 1436. It acquired market-town status in the first half of the 14th century and [[town privileges]] from Count [[Frederick II of Celje|Frederick&nbsp;II]] on 11&nbsp;April&nbsp;1451.

[[File:Celje-1441.JPG|thumb|left|Celje, pictured in 1750. The [[Voglajna|Voglajna River]] can be seen on the left, flowing into the [[Savinja]]. The island district is called Otok (Slovene for 'island').]]
[[File:017 Celje, Cilli Kreisstadt - J.F.Kaiser Lithografirte Ansichten der Steiermark 1830.jpg|thumb|left|Celje, 1830 - Lith. Kaiser, Graz]]
After the Counts of Celje died out in 1456, the region was inherited by the [[Habsburg]]s of [[Austria]] and administered by the [[Duchy of Styria]]. The [[city wall]]s and defensive [[moat]] were built in 1473. The town defended itself against [[Turkish people|Turks]] and in 1515 during great [[Slovene peasant revolt of 1515|Slovene peasant revolt]] against peasants, who had taken [[Celje Castle|Old Castle]].

Many local nobles converted to [[Protestantism]] during the [[Protestant Reformation]], but the region was converted back to [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]] during the [[Counter-Reformation]]. Celje became part of the Habsburgs' [[Austrian Empire]] during the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. In 1867, after the defeat of Austria in the [[Austro-Prussian War]], the town became part of [[Austria-Hungary]].

===19th century===
The first [[train|service]] on the [[Vienna]]-[[Trieste]] [[Austrian Southern Railway|railway line]] came through Celje on 27 April 1846. In 1895, [[I. high school in Celje|Celje secondary school]], established in 1808, began to teach in [[Slovene language|Slovene]].

At the end of the 19th century and in the early 20th century, Celje was a center of German [[nationalism]] which had repercussions for [[Slovenes]]. The 1910 census showed that 66.8% of the population was German.<ref>For more information on the 1910 Austro-Hungarian census, see ''Geographischer Atlas zur Vaterlandskunde an der österreichischen Mittelschulen''. K. u. k. Hof-Kartographische Anstalt G. Freytag & Berndt, [[Vienna]] 1911.</ref> A symbol of this was the German Cultural Center ({{langx|de|Deutsches Haus}}), built in 1906 and opened on 15 May 1907, today it is [[Celje Hall]] ({{langx|sl|Celjski dom}}). The centuries-old German name of the town, ''Cilli'', sounded no longer German enough to some German residents, the form ''Celle'' being preferred by many.

Population growth was steady during this period. In 1900, Celje had 6,743 inhabitants and by 1924 this had grown to 7,750. The [[National Hall, Celje|National Hall]] (''Narodni dom''), which hosts the Mayors Office and Town Council today, was built in 1896. The first [[telephone]] line was installed in 1902 and the city received [[electricity|electric power]] in 1913.

Slovene and [[German ethnic nationalism]] increased during the 19th and early 20th centuries. With the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918 as a result of World War I, Celje became part of the [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]] (later known as [[Yugoslavia]]). During this period, the town experienced a rapid industrialization and a substantial growth in population.

===Second World War===
Celje was occupied by [[Nazi Germany]] in April 1941. The [[Gestapo]] arrived in Celje on 16 April 1941 and were followed three days later by [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] leader [[Heinrich Himmler]], who inspected ''Stari pisker'' prison. During the war, the city suffered from [[Allies of World War II|allied]] [[Aerial warfare#World War II|bombing]], aimed at important communication lines and military installations. The [[Celje National Hall|National Hall]] was severely damaged.

The toll of the war on the city was heavy. The city (including nearby towns) had a pre-war population of 20,000 and lost 575 people during the war, mostly between the ages of 20 and 30. More than 1,500 people were deported to [[Serbia]] or into the German interior of the [[Nazi Germany|Third Reich]]. Around 300 people were interned and around 1,000 people imprisoned in Celje's prisons. An unknown number of citizens were forcibly conscripted into the [[Wehrmacht|German army]]. Around 600 "stolen children" were taken to Nazi Germany for [[Germanization]]. A monument in Celje called ''Vojna in mir'' (War and Peace) by the sculptor [[Jakob Savinšek]], commemorates the World War II era.

After the end of the war, the remaining German-speaking portion of the populace was [[Expulsion of Germans after World War II|expelled]]. Anti-tank [[Trench warfare|trenches]] and other sites were used to create 25 [[mass graves in Celje]] and its immediate surroundings and were filled with [[Croatia]]n, Serbian, and Slovenian militia members that had collaborated with the Germans, as well as ethnic German civilians from Celje and surrounding areas.

===Independent Slovenia===
Celje became part of independent Slovenia following the [[Ten-Day War]] in 1991. On 7 April 2006, Celje became the seat of a new [[Diocese of Celje]], created by [[Pope Benedict XVI]] within the [[Archdiocese of Maribor]].