March 26, 1511 Earthquake: Idrija,skofja Loka, Slovenia, Balkans NW

1511, Mar 26. Venice. Also felt at Padua, Trevisa. Rather considerable but lasting a very short time. The water in the canals was much agitated. Some houses and statues were thrown down. (ref #521)

151, Mar 26. Friuli. 46o05'N, 13o20'E. Int IX. (ref #1075)

1511, March 26. Italy, Cividale in (Friuli), Udine and many towns in (Venetia) and Trieset. Int III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed towns and devastated districts. (reference #1055)

1511, Mar 26. 46.2 N, 14.5 E, Int IX-X. (ref #1149)

1511, Mar 26. Skofja Loka. Int X. (ref #1224)

1511 Mar 26. Very disastrous earthquake in Friuli. Destruction of half the city Gemona, including the churches of St.Mary and St.Blaise. At Cividale: destruction of some buildings and more than 50 houses, 15 dead. At Udine complete collapse of the castle and toilet Loggia. Carniola, especially in Ljubljana (Laibach): widespread destruction. At Venice several houses collapsed. There were ruins of houses up Olmutz, Moravia. Replicated Aug 8, 1511, a new ruins Cividale and 3,000 deaths. Int X 1/2. (ref #1093)

1511, Mar 26. Udine, Italy - Yugoslavia border. (ref #1002)

1511, Mar 25. Immediately after the main shock (or foreshock) at 15h other earthquakes followed and a culmination was reached in the evening after 20h with a very intensive event which caused great destruction mainly in the Fruili area. The strongest effects of the shock at 15h were observed mainly in the region of western Slovenia. The aftershock series which followed was observed in both regions, i.e. in Slovenia and in Fruili, and they lasted until Feb 19, 1512 and sporadically up to the end of 1516.

...Independent sources from Carniola (Slovenia) and the Friuli region indicate clearly two different origin times, as indicated above.

...The geographical distribution of the observed effects during the aftershock series show a remarkable difference in both regions. The complete reconstruction of the event gives the most probable picture of a very strong foreshock in the Idrija zone, followed hours later by an even stronger event in the region of Gemona-Tolmin. This earthquake was felt throughout central Europe.

...It is estimated that in spite of their weak resistance

to lateral forces, an intensity of 8 MSK scale was necessary to produce such destructive effects. Even simple structures such as fortification walls, towers and gate-towers with favourable width to height ratios were ruined in some places. It is important to note that at least 95 % of all buildings at that time in Slovenia were constructed of wood. Many villages therefore remained relatively intact, and because of the sparsely peopled country, the number of victims was low...

Some of the aftershocks of 1511 events were very strong and caused more destruction in the whole area. Most remarkable of all is the event of August 8, 1511 in Cividale which caused a death toll of about 3000 human lives.

Both earthquakes had a strong impact upon social and economic life in the region. In the Friuli region with about 26,000 to 27,000 inhabitants, the human loss was about 12,000 people but only a part of this figure can be attributed to earthquakes. Bonito (1691) says clearly that 12,000 deaths were due to earthquakes, wars, famine and plague. Most cities and castles in the country were rebuilt in the years following. Damage amounting to 200,000 florins was estimated in the town of Ljubljana alone.

(above from reference #1123)