My grand father arrived in the U.S. thru Ellis Island in 1905. It shows he was f

Question:Does anyone know what country this was? I was told is now in the country called Slovenia.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Does anyone know what country this was? I was told is now in the country called Slovenia.

My best guess would be that it is Zirknitz in Sankt Stefan ob Sainz, Deuchlandsburg, Styria, Austria.

A number of Ellis Island records have variants such as Zirknik, Firknik, Cirkmitz, Friknita as well as Friknito. Many of these variants seem to be associated with the same family immigrating at different times (they all probably came from the same area so the determination that these are name variants).

It is likely pronounced in a way (especially by immigrants) that isn't easily transliterated to the Arabic alphabet and the Ellis Island clerks just made their best guess.

www.ellisisland.org---Is this your grandfather??

First Name: Frank
Last Name: Drenik
Ethnicity: Austrian-Slovenian
Last Place of Residence: Firknito
Date of Arrival: Jan 02, 1905
Age at Arrival: 30y Gender: M Marital Status: M
Ship of Travel: La Champagne
Port of Departure: Havre
Manifest Line Number: 0008

Your grandfather's brother, maybe??
First Name: Anton
Last Name: Drenik
Ethnicity: Austria-Slovenian
Last Place of Residence: Firknita
Date of Arrival: Jan 02, 1905
Age at Arrival: 33y Gender: M Marital Status: S
Ship of Travel: La Champagne
Port of Departure: Havre
Manifest Line Number: 0003

Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north. The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana.
The country has been part of various other countries through its history--the Roman Empire, Austria-Hungary, the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929, and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1945 until gaining independence in 1991. Slovenia is a member of the European Union, the Council of Europe and NATO.
There is a very good article on the country's history as well as current information on wikipedia.