Melinci (; [Sebők, László. 1990. Magyar neve? Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 125.]) is a village in the Municipality of Beltinci in the Prekmurje region of northeastern Slovenia.[ Beltinci municipal site]
Name
Melinci was attested in historical documents in 1322 as
Hmelnice and
Hmeliniche (and as
Hmelinica in 1379). The name is derived from the Slovene common noun
hmelj '
hops'.
Cultural heritage
There is a small
chapel in the settlement. It is dedicated to Our Lady of the Snows and belongs to the Parish of Beltinci.
The Martyr of Melinci
A folk story called "The
Martyr of Melinci" (
Mälìnčki mantrník)
[Števan Kühar. "Mälìnčki mantrník," in Národno blágo vogrskij Sloväncof, p. 23 (1914), reprinted as "Melinčki mantrnik" in Kalendar Najsvetejšega Srca Jezušovega, vol. 19, pp. (Maribor, 1922, pp. 37–38).] collected by the
Prekmurje Slovenes writer Števan Kühar (1882–1915) describes how the
Mur River was in flood and threatened to destroy the village. The men of the village gathered together and decided to bury alive a seven-year-old child, Števek from the Džuro farm (
Džúrov Štèväk or
Džurof Štefek) as a sacrifice to appease the river. After that the river never again flooded like it had before. The legend continues that the boy appeared in a dream to a pious woman, urging her to ask the village authorities to dig him up. This was permitted, but only a few shovels of soil had been turned before a powerful smell emanated from the earth. The officers of the parish then forbade the martyr to be disinterred. After this it was said that a light would appear at the place where Števek had been buried.
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