Südsteiermark

Southern Styria (Südsteiermark; also: lower Styria), old name for the area between the lower part of the River Mur and the upper part of the River Save; came to Styria in parts: in the mid-12^th century as "Grafschaft hinter dem Drauwald" (county beyond the Drauwald forest) - around Marburg (Maribor) - and in the mid-15^th century as the old "Mark an der Sann" (march at the River Sann) or county of Cilli- around Cilli (Celje). The population of southern Styria continued to speak Slovene, except for larger towns, where German was adopted by some of the inhabitants. This resulted in a fierce conflict of nationalities in the 2^nd half of the 19^th and the beginning of the 20^th century. As stipulated in the Treaty of Saint-Germain (1919), Austria had to cede Southern Styria to the new Yugoslav state. Today it forms the eastern part of Slovenia. During World War II the German Reich re-united Southern Styria with Styria (1941-1944) after the surrender of Yugoslavia.

Today the term Southern Styria denotes the most southerly regions of Styria (around the lower Murtal and the Sulmtal valleys). "Südsteirische Weinstraße" wine trail along the Austro-Slovene border.