Until 1918, the town was part of the
Austrian monarchy (on the
Austrian side after the
compromise of 1867) and the seat of the district of the same name, one of the 11
Bezirkshauptmannschaften in the
Austrian Littoral province. Sežana remained a small and rather insignificant village until the mid-19th century, when the
Austrian Southern Railway Company built the
Austrian Southern Railway, connecting
Vienna to
Trieste, next to it. Sežana thus became connected to major traffic and soon emerged as the most important center on the Karst Plateau, together with
Opicina. After 1918, it was annexed to the
Kingdom of Italy and included in the
Province of Trieste. During the
Fascist period, the population was subjected to a violent
Italianization policy, and many locals joined the militant anti-fascist organization
TIGR. During
World War II, especially after 1943, the area became a battlefield between the
Partisan resistance and the Fascist and
Nazi German forces. In May 1945, Sežana was liberated by the
Yugoslav Partisans. Between June 1945 and September 1947, it was administered by the
British and
U.S. Army. In 1947, it became part of the
Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia and, in 1991, of independent
Slovenia.
Sežana railway station was opened in 1857, and forms part of the
Vienna–Trieste railway. Since 1947, it has been that railway's border crossing point between Yugoslavia/Slovenia and Italy. ==Economy==