Page 226 - Panjek, Aleksander, Jesper Larsson and Luca Mocarelli, eds. 2017. Integrated Peasant Economy in a Comparative Perspective: Alps, Scandinavia and Beyond. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 226
integr ated peasant economy in a compar ative perspective
lagers were employed as seamen and in other maritime activities and the
women in selling the fish in the villages of the hinterland. In Križ also the
extraction of stone and stonemasonry developed (Brecelj, Legiša, and Vo-
grič 1989). This was fostered by the construction of the Austrian Southern
railroad (Vienna-Trieste) in the 1850s and the urban expansion. Not least it
was connected with the construction activities in the same villages, where
not only the number, but also the standard of housing increased in line
with the standard of life.
Thanks to the economic diversification and the participation in the
urban labour market as well, Križ was the most populated village until the
end of the 19th century. Then it was surpassed by Opčine, which, besides the
growth of the activities connected with the traffic, became the residential
area of the Triestine bourgeoisie. From the 1860s, indeed, Opčine was also
a rail crossroad with its station and service area, while from the end of the
century a new neighbourhood of rich residential houses was in the mak-
ing around the historic peasant village. A funicular railway inaugurated in
1903, connecting Opčine with the city downtown, had a relevant impact on
the growth of the village and contributed a lot to its economic integration
with the city. The smaller villages such as Gropada, Padriče, Bani and Tre-
bče remained more dependent on agrarian resources and the income from
salary work in the city.
Some concluding remarks
Aleksander Panjek stresses in his study on the Karst that the cultural lands-
cape of this region and the economic system staying behind its shaping, at
least since the Middle Ages cannot be understood just in light of the agra-
rian use and exploitation of the land. It is necessary to consider the non-
-agrarian economic activities of the karstic population and their structu-
ral role in an integrated peasant economic system (Panjek 2015). Among
the most influential external factors of this system was the city of Trieste,
both as a marketplace of the agrarian production and as a generator with
its commercial, maritime and other economic sectors of opportunities for
non-agrarian income. The potentiality and influence of the city on the de-
velopment of its hinterland steadily increased after the establishment of the
free port in early 18th century. The development of the population, its dyna-
mics and social structures also need to be analysed in this light.
The villages of the karstic district of the Triestine municipality took
advantage of a privileged position in the economic interrelations between
224
lagers were employed as seamen and in other maritime activities and the
women in selling the fish in the villages of the hinterland. In Križ also the
extraction of stone and stonemasonry developed (Brecelj, Legiša, and Vo-
grič 1989). This was fostered by the construction of the Austrian Southern
railroad (Vienna-Trieste) in the 1850s and the urban expansion. Not least it
was connected with the construction activities in the same villages, where
not only the number, but also the standard of housing increased in line
with the standard of life.
Thanks to the economic diversification and the participation in the
urban labour market as well, Križ was the most populated village until the
end of the 19th century. Then it was surpassed by Opčine, which, besides the
growth of the activities connected with the traffic, became the residential
area of the Triestine bourgeoisie. From the 1860s, indeed, Opčine was also
a rail crossroad with its station and service area, while from the end of the
century a new neighbourhood of rich residential houses was in the mak-
ing around the historic peasant village. A funicular railway inaugurated in
1903, connecting Opčine with the city downtown, had a relevant impact on
the growth of the village and contributed a lot to its economic integration
with the city. The smaller villages such as Gropada, Padriče, Bani and Tre-
bče remained more dependent on agrarian resources and the income from
salary work in the city.
Some concluding remarks
Aleksander Panjek stresses in his study on the Karst that the cultural lands-
cape of this region and the economic system staying behind its shaping, at
least since the Middle Ages cannot be understood just in light of the agra-
rian use and exploitation of the land. It is necessary to consider the non-
-agrarian economic activities of the karstic population and their structu-
ral role in an integrated peasant economic system (Panjek 2015). Among
the most influential external factors of this system was the city of Trieste,
both as a marketplace of the agrarian production and as a generator with
its commercial, maritime and other economic sectors of opportunities for
non-agrarian income. The potentiality and influence of the city on the de-
velopment of its hinterland steadily increased after the establishment of the
free port in early 18th century. The development of the population, its dyna-
mics and social structures also need to be analysed in this light.
The villages of the karstic district of the Triestine municipality took
advantage of a privileged position in the economic interrelations between
224
