republic · Balkans and Hungary

Republic of Prekmurje

1919 CE – 1919 CE · capital Murska Sobota

Week-long republic proclaimed in 1919 in the Slovene-speaking Prekmurje region, caught between Hungary and the new Yugoslav state.

Origins

Prekmurje, between the Mura river and the Hungarian border, had a Slovene-speaking majority but had long belonged to Hungary. In the chaos of 1919, with Hungary under the Hungarian Soviet Republic, the local politician Vilmos Tkálecz proclaimed an independent Mura Republic at Murska Sobota on 29 May 1919, hoping for foreign recognition.

Rule and society

Tkálecz formed a small government and tried to raise a militia, but the republic had no real army, money or international support. Most of the population was rural, Slovene and Hungarian-speaking, Catholic and Lutheran, and was more concerned with food and order than with independence.

Decline and legacy

Troops of the Hungarian Red Army retook Murska Sobota on 6 June 1919, ending the republic after about a week; Tkálecz fled. In August 1919 the Yugoslav army occupied Prekmurje, and the Treaty of Trianon in 1920 assigned it to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It is now part of Slovenia.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Republic of Prekmurje. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/republic-of-prekmurje
MLA
“Republic of Prekmurje.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/republic-of-prekmurje. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Republic of Prekmurje.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/republic-of-prekmurje.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Republic of Prekmurje’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/republic-of-prekmurje (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻