Krain - Carniola - Kranjsko
Regions


 

Krain and the Slovenes before 1914

From the Encyclopedia Brittanica, 1911 Edition:

• Slovene

CARNIOLA (Ger. Krain), a duchy and crown-land of Austria, bounded N. by Carinthia, N.E. by Styria, S.E. and S. by Croatia, and W. by Gdrz and Gradisca, Trieste and Istria. It has an area of 3856 sq. m. Carniola is for the most part a mountainous region, occupied in the N. by the Alps, and in the S. by the Karst (q.v.) or Carso Mountains. It is traversed by the Julian Alps, the Karawankas and the Steiner Alps, which belong all to the southern zone of the Eastern Alps. The highest point in. the Julian Alps is formed by the three sugar-loaf peaks of the Triglav or Terglou (9394 ft.), which offers one of the finest views in. the whole of the Alps, and which bears on its northern declivity the only glacier in the province. The Triglav is the dividing range between the Alps and the Karst Mountains, and its huge mass also forms the barrier between three races: the German, the Slavonic and the Italian. Other high peaks are the Mangart (8784 ft.) and the Jaluz (8708 ft.). The Karawankas, which form the boundary between Carinthia and Carniola, have as their highest peak the Stou or Stuhlberg (734k ft.), and are traversed by the Loibl Pass (4492 ft.). They are continued by the Steiner or Santhaler Alps, which have as their highest peak the Grintouz or Grintovc (8393 ft.). This peak is situated on the threefold boundary of Carinthia, Carniola and Styria, and affords a magnificent view of the whole Alpine neighboring region. The southern. part of Carniola is occupied by the following divisions of the northern ramifications of the Karst Mountains:

• the Birnbaumer Wald with the highest peak, the Nanos (4275 ft.), and the Kramer Schneeberg (5890 ft.);
• the Hornwald with the highest peak, the HornbUchl (3608 ft.), and the Uskokengebirge (3874 ft.).

The portion of Carniola belonging to the Karst region presents a great number of caves, subterranean streams, funnels and similar phenomena. Amongst the best-known are the grottos of Adelsberg, the larger ones of, Planina and the Kreuzberghohle near Laas.

With the exception of the Idria and the Wippach, which as tributaries of the Isonzo belong to the basin of the Adriatic, Carniola belongs to the watershed of the Save. The Save or Sau rises within the duchy, and is formed by the junction at Radmannsdorf of its two head-streams the Wurzener Save and the Wocheiner Save. Its principal affluents are the Kanker and the Steiner Feistritz on the left, and the Zeyer or Sora, the Laibach and the Gurk on the right. The most remarkable of these rivers is the Laibach, which rises in the Karst region under the name of Poik, takes afterwards a subterranean course and traverses the Adelsberg grotto, and appears again on the surface near Planina under the name of Unz. Shortly after this it takes for the second time a subterranean course, to appear finally on the surface near Oberlaibach. The small torrent of Rothwein, which flows into the Wurzener Save, forms near Veldes the splendid series of cascades known. as the Rothwein Fall. Amongst the principal lakes are the Wochein, the Weissenfels, the Veldes, and the seven small lakes of the Triglav; while in the Karst region lies the famous periodical lake of Zirknitz, known to the Romans as Lacus Lugens or Lugea Palus.

The climate is rather severe, and the southern part is exposed to the cold north-eastern wind, known as the Bora. The mean annual temperature at Laibach is 48~4 F., and the rainfall amounts to 72 ins. Of the total area only 14.8% is under cultivation, and the crops do not suffice for the needs of the province; forests occupy 44.4%, 17.2% are meadows, 15.7% are pastures, and 17% of the soil is covered by vineyards. Large quantities of flax are grown, while the timber trade is of considerable importance. Fish and game are plentiful, and the silkworm is bred in the warmer districts. The principal mining product is mercury, extracted at Idria, while iron and copper ore, zinc and coal are also found. The industry is not well developed, but the weaving of linen and lace is pursued as a household industry.

Carniola had in 1900 a population of 508,348, which corresponds to 132 inhabitants per sq. m. Nearly 95% were Slovenes and 5% Germans, while 99% of the population belonged to the Roman Catholic Church. The local diet, of which the bishop of Laibach is a member ex officio, is composed of thirty-seven members, and Carniola sends eleven deputies to the Reichsrat at Vienna. For administrative purposes the province is divided into eleven districts and one autonomous municipality, Laibach (pop. 36,547), the capital. Other important places are Oberlaibach (5882), Idria (5772), Gurkfeld (5294), Zirknitz (5266), Adelsberg (3636), Neumarktl (2626), Krainburg (2484) and Gottschee (2421).

Carniola derives its modern name from the Slavonic word Krajina (frontier). During the Roman Empire it formed part of Noricum and Pannonia. The Slavonic population settled here during the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 7th century. Conquered by Charlemagne, the most of the district was bestowed on the duke of Friuli; but in. the 10th century the title of margrave of Carniola began to be borne by a family resident in the castle of Kieselberg near Krainburg. Various parts of the present territory were, however, held by other lords, such as the duke of Carinthia and the bishop of Freising. Towards the close of the 14th century all the separate portions had come by inheritance or bequest into the hands of Rudolph IV. of Austria, who took the title of duke of Carniola; and since then the duchy has remained a part of the Austrian possessions, except during the short period from 1809 to 1813, when it was incorporated with the French Illyrian Provinces. In. 1849 it became a separate crown-land.

See Dimitz, Geschichte Krains von der ltesten Zeil bis 1813 (4 vols., Laibach, 1874I 876).

The Slovenes arrived in these parts in the 7th century, apparently pressed westwards by the Avars. By A.D. 595 they were already at war with the Bavarians, later they formed part of Samos great Slavonic empire and were not quite, out of touch with other Slavs. On its collapse they fell under the yoke of the Bavarians and Franks. At first they had their own princes, but in time these gave place to German dukes and margraves, who had, however, to use the native tongue on certain occasions. These fiefs of the empire finally fell to the Habsburgs and never gave them any trouble, hence their language has had freer play than that of most of the Austrian Slavs: they have been allowed to use it in primary and secondary schools and to some extent in local administration. The Slovenes were very early (beginning with the 8th century) Christianized by Italian and German missionaries; to them we owe the Freisingen fragments, confessions and part of a sermon, the earliest monuments, not merely of Slovene but of any Slavonic. The MS. dates from c. 1000, but the composition. is older. The language is not pure Slovene, but seems to be an adaptation of an Old Slavonic translation. Yet it is enough to show that Old Slavonic is not Old Slovene. Kocel, a prince on the Platten See, to whom Cyril and Methodius (see SLAVS) preached on their way to Rome, was probably a Slovene, but no traces of their work survive in this quarter. Except for a few 15th-century prayers and formulae we do not find any more specimens of Slovene until the Reformation, when Primus Truber translated a catechism, the New Testament and other works (Tilbingen, 1550-1582), and J. Dalmatin issued a splendid Bible (Wittemberg, 1584), with an interesting vocabulary to make his work intelligible to any Slovene or Croat: at the same time and place A. Bohorizh (zh=~) issued a good grammar (Arcticae Ilorulae, &c.). To counteract this the Roman Catholics translated the work of their English apologist Stapleton, but their final policy was to burn all the Slovene books they could find, so that these are extremely rare. The policy was successful and only about 15 % of the Slovenes are Protestants. Slovene woke to a new life in the latter part of the 18th century. Valentin Vodnik was the first poet (see Arch. f. Slav. Phil. (1901), xxiii. 386, xxiv. 74), but his successor France Preleren (1800-1849) appears to have been really great, worthy of a larger circle of readers. Other poets have been A. Jane~i, S. Gregor~i~ and Murn-Aleksandrov; Erjavec was a story-teller, Jur~i a novelist, but as usual with these beginnings of literature the same man may make a grammar, issue an almanack, and try all kinds of poetry. The two great Slavists Kopitar and Miklosich were Slovenes, but were led astray by race feeling to insist upon Old Slavonic being Old Slovene. They were succeeded by G. Krek and V. Oblak.

The chief centres of Slovene letters are the Malice or Linguistic and Literary Society and the Lyceum at Laibach. The Matica publishes a chronicle (Letopis) and there are many periodicals, chief of which are the Ljubljansky Zvon and Kres, the latter published at Klagenfurt. The liberal and clerical organs carry on a lively polemic.

The Slovene language is the most westerly of the South Slavonic group. It is very closely allied to Serbo-Croatian, but shows some points of resemblance to tech (retaining dl and 11, loss of aorist, &c). It is split into eight dialects which differ among themselves widely. The people of Resia are sometimes classed quite apart. In phonetics Slovene is remarkable for the change of the original lj dj into ~ and j (our y) respectively, of j into u, and for the coincidence of the old half vowels i and ii in a dull e. In morphology it has retained the iual of both nouns and verbs more perfectly than any other living language, also the supine and several periphrastic tenses: it has lost its purist and imperfect, and its participles have mostly been fixed as so-called gerunds or verbal adverbs. The language has suffered much from Germanisms and even developed an article which has since been purified away. There is a free accent and the accented syllables may be long or short. The Resia dialect has preserved the Proto-Slavonic accent very exactly. The Slovenes have always used the Latin alphabet more or less clumsily: recently the orthography has been reformed after the manner of Cech, but uniformity has not yet been reached.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• .J. ~uman, Die Slovenen in Die Vlker Osterreich-Ungarns, vol. x. (Vienna, 1881);
• J. Sket, Slovenisches Sprach-und Ubungsbuch (Klagenfurt, 1888); Slovenska Slovsiven-a Citanka (Slovene literary reading-book ) (and ed., 1906); C. Pe~nik, Praktisches Lehrbuch der slovenischen Spree lie (Leipzig, 1890); M. Pleter~nik, Sloveusko-Nemiki Slovar (51. Ger. Dict.) (Laibach, 1894-1895);
• Freisingen Fragments, best ed. V. Vondrk, Ceck Akad., pt. iii. (Prague, 1896); V. Oblak, many articles on Sl. Grammar in Archiv f. slav. Phiologie (1889 sqq.);
• J. Baudouin de Coi, rtenay, Opytfoneliki Rezjanskich Govorov ( Attempt at phonetics of the dialects of Resia, Russian) (Warsaw, 1875);
• K. ~trekelj, Slovenske narodne Pesmi ( Slovene popular songs) (Laibach, 895 sqq.)., (E. H. M.)

From the The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1914 Edition:

A duchy and crownland in the Austrian Empire, bounded on the north by Karinthia, on the north-east by Styria, on the south-east and south by Croatia, and on the west by Trieste, Goritza, and Istria; area, 3857 sq. miles; population, 510,000. The Julian and Karavanken Alps traverse the country. The highest mountain peaks are Nanos, 4200 feet; Vremscica, 3360 feet; Sneznik, 5900 feet; Triglav, 9300 feet, on the top of which Jacob Aljaz, priest and tourist, erected a cylindrical hut of steel, capable of accommodating 4 or 5 persons. The principal rivers are the Save, the Trzaska Bistrica, the Kokra, the Kamniska Bistrica, the Sora, the Ljubljanica, the Mirna, the Krka, and the Kupa which serves as a boundary with Croatia. The principal lakes are Crno, spreading into seven lakes, of which the highest is over 6000 feet above sea-level; Bohinjsko; Blesko, in the middle of which on an island is built a church to the Blessed Virgin, amidst most picturesque scenery; Cerknisko, 1700 feet above sea-level, varies annually in extent from over ten to about five sq. miles. It was known to the Romans as Lugea palus, and is a natural curiosity. Dante Alighieri mentions it in his "Divina Commedia" (Inferno, xxxii). The Ljubljana fens cover an area of 76 sq. miles. Hot and mineral springs are to be found at Susica, Smarjetske, and Medijske. There is an interesting cave at Postojna. Of the inhabitants 95 per cent are Slovenes, kinsmen to the Croats; the remainder are Germans, 700 Croats, and Italians. In the districts of Gotschee and Crnomelj dwell the White Krainers, the connecting link between the Croats and Slovenes. One-half of the Germans live in Gotschee, 5000 in Ljubljana, 3500 at Novo Mesto, and 1000 at Radovljice. The Germans at Gotschee were settled there by Otho, Count of Ortenburg, in the fourteenth century, and they preserve their Tyrolean German dialect. Over 99 per cent of the people are Catholics, the remainder includes 319 Schismatics, 509 Protestants, 24 Armenians, 96 Jews, 7 infidels. Ninety-six per cent of the soil is productive.

Agriculture thrives better in Upper than in Lower Krain. The valley of Vipava is especially famous for its wine and vegetables, and for its mild climate. The principal exports are all kinds of vegetables, clover-seed, lumber, carvings, cattle, and honey. In the mineral kingdom the principal products are iron, coal, quicksilver, manganese, lead, and zinc. Upper Krain has the most industries, among the products being lumber, linen, woollen stuffs, and laces (in Idria), bells, straw hats, wicker-work, and tobacco. The railroads are the Juzna, the Prince Rudolf, the Bohinjska, the Kamniska, the Dolenjska, and the Vrhniska. The capital is Ljubljana, see of the prince-bishop, population, 40,000; it was known to the Romans as Aemona, and was destroyed by Obri in the sixth century. Krain is divided into Upper Krain or Gorenjsko, Lower Krain or Dolenjsko, and Central Krain or Notranjsko. The principal cities and towns are: Kamnik, Kranj, Trzic, Vrhnika, Vipava, Idria (which has the richest quicksilver mine in the world), Turjak, Ribnica, Metlika, Novo Mesto, Vace (famous for its prehistoric graveyard). The mean average temperature in spring is 56 deg.; in summer, 77 deg.; in autumn, 59 deg. and in winter, 26 deg. Politically the country is divided into 11 districts consisting of 359 communes; the state capital is the residence of the imperial governor. The districts are: Kamnik, Kranj, Radovljica, the neighbourhood of Ljubljana, Logatec, Postojna, Litija, Krsko, Novo Mesto, Crnomelj, and Gotschee or Kocevje. There are 31 judicial circuits. The duchy was constituted by rescript of 20 December, 1860, and by imperial patent of 26 February, 1861, modified by legislation of 21 December, 1867, granting power to the home parliament to enact all laws not reserved to the imperial diet, at which it is represented by eleven delegates, of whom two are elected by the landowners, three by the cities, towns, commercial and industrial boards, five by the village communes, and one by a fifth curia. The ballot is secret, every duly registered male twenty-four years of age has the right to vote. The home legislature consists of a single chamber of thirty-seven members, among whom the prince-bishop sits ex-officio. The emperor convenes the legislature, and it is presided over by the governor. The landed interests elect ten members, the cities and towns eight, the commercial and industrial boards two, the village communes sixteen. The business of the chamber is restricted to legislating on agriculture, public and charitable institutions, administration of communes, church and school affairs, the transportation and housing of soldiers in war and during manoeuvres, and other local matters. The land budget of 1901 amounted to 3,573,280 crowns ($714,656).

Ecclesiastical History

In early Christian times the duchy was under the jurisdiction of the metropolitans of Aquileia, Syrmium, and Salona;, but in consequence of the immigration of the pagan Slovenes, this arrangement was not a lasting one. After they had embraced Christianity in the seventh and eighth centuries Charlemagne conferred the major part of Krain on the Patriarchate of Aquileia, and the remainder on the Diocese of Trieste. In 1100 that patriarchate was divided into five archdeaconries, of which Krain was one. Emperor Frederick III, 6 December, 1461, established the Diocese, of Ljubljana or Laibach, subject directly to the pope, and this was confirmed by a Bull of Pope Pius II, 10 September, 1462. The new diocese consisted of part of Upper Krain, two parishes in Lower Krain, and a portion of Lower Styria and Karinthia; the remaining portion of Krain was attached to Aquileia, later on to Goritza and Trieste. At the redistribution of dioceses (1787 to 1791) not all the parishes in Krain were included in the Diocese of Ljubljana, but this was accomplished in 1833, by taking two deaneries from the Diocese of Trieste, one from Goritza, and one parish from the Diocese of Lavant, so as to include all the territory within the political boundaries of the crownland. The diocese is divided into 5 archdeaconries, comprising 22 deaneries, two chapters with 17 canons, 296 parishes, 1336 churches, 204 chapels, 722 priests, 572,613 Catholics of the Latin Rite, and 360 of the Oriental Rite. The following congregations of men have houses in Krain: Cistercian Franciscans 4, Capuchins 2, Brothers of Charity 1, Jesuits 1, Congregation of Missions 1, priests of the German Order 1, Salesians 2. Congregations of Women: Ursulines 3 convents, Carmelites 1, Sisters of Charity 12 houses, including two schools. Krain has a diocesan seminary and one resident college for boys. The patron of the duchy is St. Joseph, and the patrons of the diocese, St. Hermagora and St. Fortunatus, Martyrs.

Education

The school system was founded by state law of 14 May, 1869, and of 2 May, 1883. There are 386 schools, of which 327 are public. Attendance is compulsory, from the age of seven to fourteen. There are two training schools for teachers: one for males, one for females, connected with the school of agriculture. There are 7 colleges, in which both Slovenian and German are taught. The first college was founded in 1418 by a parish priest. There is a high school for girls. The industrial schools have commercial courses, besides teaching wood carving, trades, domestic economy, horse-shoeing; instruction is also given in singing and on the pipe organ. The Museum Rudolfinum has a famous library. The inspection of the schools is under a school-board. The parish priests have the right of visiting the schools or of appointing substitutes. The schools are supported from national, regional, and local taxes. The provincial school-board is the highest school authority for all the schools, except those subject directly to the minister of instruction and worship. It consists of twelve members, of whom two are priests. There is a literary society, the "Matica Slovenska," one Catholic daily paper, and a few monthly magazines.

Slovenes in the United States

There are in the United States about 100,000 Slovenes organized into two great benevolent associations on religious principles. They possess the following churches: St. Joseph's, Joliet, Ill.; St. Stephen's, Chicago, Ill.; St. Mary's, West Allis, Wisconsin; St. Joseph's, Calumet, Michigan; St. Joseph's, Leadville, Col.; St. Mary's, Pueblo, Col.; St. Lawrence's, St. Vitus's, St. Mary's, Cleveland, Ohio; St. Mary's, Steelton, Pa.; St. Mary's, Pittsburgh, Pa.; St. Joseph's, Forest City, Pa.; Holy Family, Kansas City, Kansas. Joliet has one parish school, and one Catholic weekly paper. The saintly bishop, Frederic Baraga, author of the first grammar of the Indian language, Bishops Ignatius Mrak, and John Vertin, Slovenes, were pioneers in apostolic work in upper Michigan, as well as Bishops James Trobec and John Stariha, who are still living.

Civil History

Before the coming of the Romans (c. 200 B.C.) the Taurisci dwelt in the north of Krain, the Pannones in the south-east, the Iapodes or Carni, a Celtic tribe, in the south-west. Under Roman rule, the northern part was joined to Noricum, the south-western and south-eastern parts and the city of Aemona to Venice and Istria. In the time of Augustus all the region from Aemona to Culpa belonged to the province of Savia. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476), Krain was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy, and (493) under Theodoric it formed part of the Ostrogothic kingdom. Between the upper Save and the Sotcha lived the Carni, and towards the end of the sixth century the Slovenes peopled that region called by Latin writers Carnia, or Carniola, i.e. part of greater Carnia. Later on with the coming of the Slovenian language, the name was changed to "Krajino" or in German "Chrainmarcha," Chreine, "the boundary." The new inhabitants were subjected to the Avars, but threw off their yoke, and joined the great Slavic state of Samo. Krain was governed by the Franks about the year 788. When Charlemagne established the province of Friuli he added to it a part of Krain. After the division of Friuli, it became an independent province, having its own Slovenian margrave residing at Kranj, subject to the governor of Bavaria at first, and after 876 to the Dukes of Karinthia. Henry IV gave it to the Patriarch of Aquileia (1071).

In the Middle Ages the Church held much property in Krain, thus in Upper and Lower Krain the Bishop of Friesing became (974) a feudal lord of the city of Skofja Loka, the Bishop of Brixen held Bled and possessions in the valley of Bohinj, and the Bishop of Lavant got Mokronog. Among secular potentates the Dukes of Meran, Goritzza, Babenberg, and Zilli held possessions given to them in fief by the patriarchs of Aquileia. The dukes governed the province nearly half a century, and finally Krain was given in fief with the consent of the patriarch to Frederick II, of Austria, who obtained the title of duke, 1245. Frederick was succeeded by Ulrich III, Duke of Karinthia, who married a relative of the patriarch, and endowed the churches and monasteries, established the government mint at the city of Kostanjevica, and finally (1268) willed to Otokar II, King of Bohemia, all his possessions and the government of Karinthia and Carniola. Otokar was defeated by Rudolf II of Hapsburg, and at the meeting at Augsburg, 1282, he gave in fief to his sons Albrecht and Rudolf the province of Krain, but it was leased to Count Majnhardt. Duke Henry of Karinthia claimed Krain; and the Dukes of Austria asserted their claim as successors to the Bohemian kingdom. Henry died 1335, Jan, King of Bohemia, renounced his claims, and Albrecht, Duke of Austria, got Krain; it was proclaimed a duchy by Rudolf IV, in 1364. Frederick IV united Upper, Lower, and Central Krain as Metlika and Pivka into one duchy. The union of the dismembered parts was completed by 1607. The French occupied Krain in 1797, and from 1805 to 1806. After the Treaty of Vienna, 1809, Napoleon erected Illyria, with Ljubljana as its capital, and Krain formed a part of the new territory from 1809 to 1813. The defeat of Napoleon restored Krain to Francis I, with larger boundaries, but at the extinction of the Illyrian Kingdom. Krain was confined to the limits outlined at the Congress of Vienna, 1815.

Sources:

• http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08696a.htm
• http://www.1911encyclopedia.com