CAR'NIO'LA (Ger. Krainl. An Austrian erownland, bounded by Carinthia and Styria on the north, Croatia on the east, Croatia and Kiis tenland on the south, and Kiistenland on the west (Map: Austria, 1) 4). It covers an area of 3856 square miles. The surface of Carniola is mostly mountainous. The northern part is traversed by a portion of the Karawanken chain. while on the west it receives the Julian Alps, which form the chief mountain chain of kfistenland. Carniola belongs chiefly to the basin of the Save, which crosses its northern portion. In the south the main stream is the Gurk. There arc not a few mountain eaves and eharming lakes. Although the proportion of productive land is very consid erable (ove• 95 per cent.), arable land is scarce in Carniola on account of the aumerons forests. The production of cereals is light. Vegetables constitute a very prominent element in the diet of the inhabitants. Silk, flax, and grapes are culti vated, and the exploitation of the forests is car ried on extensively. The chief mineral is quiek silver, the mines of Idria being considered the most productive in Europe, with the exception of the _Unladen mines in Spain. The other prominent minerals are iron and brown coal. The chief manu facturing industries are the weaving of textiles and the making of leather goods. The trade is largely transit. Nearly 300 miles of railway lines, with Laibach, the capital, as the centre, facilitate the commerce of the crownland. The Diet of Car niola is composed of the Bishop of Laibach, ten representatives of the landed aristocracy. eight representatives of the towns and industrial cen tres, two representatives of the chambers of com merce and industry of Laibach, and sixteen repre sentatives of the rural communities. In the Lower
Ilouse of the monarchy Carniola is represented by eleven delegates, two from the landed aristocracy, three from the towns, five from the rural commu nities-, and one elected by the people at large. For internal administration, the crownland is divided into eleven districts, and the city of Laibach. There are about 350 elementary schools (2S3 Slav), attended by over 75.000 children, or 89 per cent. of the total school population.
Carniola had a population of 508.34S in 1900, against 498,958 in 1890, showing an increase of 1.9 per cent. for the decade. Nearly 94 per cent. of the people are Slovenes, and the remain der consists of Germans, Serbo-Croatians, and Italians. Almost the entire population belongs to the Roman Catholic Church. The capital, Laibach, has a population of over 3(1,000.
Carniola received its present name from the Slavonic Wends, who occupied the region after the fall of the Roman Empire. Charlemagne con quered it and gave it to the Dukes of 'Friuli. From 072 it had margraves of its own, some times called dukes, who possessed, however, only a part of the country. On the extinction of the male line of the margraves, part of the territory passed to the Dukes of Austria in the Thirteenth Century, and the remainder was acquired by them in the Fourteenth. From IRO!) to 1Ri3 it formed part of the Freneh province of Illyria. and in 18-19 it became a crownland.