Tromejnik — known in German as Dreiländerecke and in Hungarian as Hármashatár — marks the meeting point of the borders of Slovenia, Austria, and Hungary. It lies at an elevation of 390 meters (46.8691° N; 16.1138° E) on a forested hilltop that, despite lacking a panoramic view, carries significant symbolic and historical weight. At the summit stands a stone pyramid marking the exact point where the three states meet, a physical reminder of shifting borders, political transformations, and the layered history of Central Europe.
Establishment of the Tri‑Border Point
The present location of the tri‑border was determined in the aftermath of the First World War. On 31 May 1924, the International Border Delimitation Commission officially placed the boundary marker at its current site, implementing the provisions of the peace treaties that followed the dissolution of Austria‑Hungary. Each side of the pyramid bears the coat of arms of one of the three countries, oriented toward the territory it represents. Two key dates are inscribed on the monument:
• 10 September 1919 — the signing of the Treaty of Saint‑Germain, which defined the border between Austria and the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.
• 4 June 1920 — the signing of the Treaty of Trianon, which established the border between Hungary and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes and confirmed the incorporation of Prekmurje into the South Slavic state.
The Slovenian coat of arms was added to the monument in 1993, following Slovenia’s independence. Access to the summit is possible from all three countries, reinforcing the site’s symbolic role as a place where borders meet rather than divide.
Prekmurje and the Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon, signed on 4 June 1920 in the Grand Trianon Palace at Versailles, was one of the central post‑war treaties that reshaped the political landscape of Central Europe. It was concluded between the Allied and Associated Powers on one side and Hungary, as the successor to the Hungarian half of the former Austro‑Hungarian Monarchy, on the other.
The treaty had profound consequences for Hungary:
• it lost more than two‑thirds of its pre‑war territory,
• it lost around two‑thirds of its population,
• approximately 3.3 million ethnic Hungarians found themselves outside the borders of the new Hungarian state.
The largest territorial gains from the former monarchy went to:
• Romania,
• Czechoslovakia,
• the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which also acquired Prekmurje, thereby finalizing its integration into the South Slavic state.
The treaty also imposed strict military limitations, including a cap of 35,000 soldiers in the Hungarian army.
Tromejnik as a Place of Encounter and Memory
Although modest and forested, the hilltop of Tromejnik is a place where the major historical processes of the 20th century converge: the collapse of empires, the creation of new states, the drawing of borders, and the shaping of national identities. Today, it stands as a quiet symbol of open borders, European cooperation, and the coexistence of three nations whose histories have long been intertwined.