Anton Janša (c. 20 May 1734 – 13 September 1773) was a

Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...

apiarist A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees, a profession known as beekeeping. The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees in beehives, boxes, or other receptacles. The beekeeper does not control the creatures. The beekeeper o ...

and

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

. Janša is known as a pioneer of modern

apiculture Beekeeping (or apiculture, from ) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in artificial beehives. Honey bees in the genus ''Apis (bee), Apis'' are the most commonly kept species but other honey producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless be ...

and a great expert in the field. He was educated as a painter, but was employed as a teacher of apiculture at the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

court in Vienna.

Biography

Anton Janša was born in a family of nine children from Slovene parents in Breznica,

(now in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

). His exact birth date is not known, however, he was baptised on 20 May 1734. At a young age Janša, together with his brothers Tine and Lovro, showed a great interest in painting (they had a studio in their barn). All three brothers, despite being illiterate, went to Vienna and entered the painters' academy there. Ceferin wrote "Anton rose to the challenge, and even distinguished himself, winning the prestigious state scholarship for a study tour of Italy, awarded only to exceptional students." His two brothers actually finished their studies at the academy and became professors there. Anton, despite a talent for painting, soon discovered that his true interests were in bee-keeping. His interest came early on, since his father had over one hundred hives at home and neighbouring farmers would gather at the village and discuss farming and bee-keeping. In 1769 he began to work full-time as a bee-keeper and a year later became the first royally appointed teacher of apiculture for all

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n lands. He kept bees in the imperial gardens (''

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'') and travelled around Austria presenting his observations in regard to moving hives to various pastures. He died in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Importance

He became famous for his lectures in which he demonstrated his knowledge of bees. He also wrote two books in German: ''Abhandlung vom Schwärmen der Bienen'' (Discussion on Beekeeping, 1771) and ''Vollständige Lehre von der Bienenzucht'' (A Full Guide to Beekeeping). The latter was published in 1775, after his death. In his 1775 work he noted: "Bees are a type of fly, hardworking, created by God to provide man with all needed honey and wax. Among all God's beings there are none so hard working and useful to man with so little attention needed for its keep as the bee." The Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

issued a decree after Janša's death obliging all teachers of apiculture to use his books. In beekeeping he is noted for changing the size and shape of hives to a form where they can be stacked together like blocks. As a painter he also decorated the fronts of hives with paintings. Janša rejected the belief that the male bees are water carriers and assumed that the queen is fertilized mid-air. He advocated moving hives to pastures. The Janša Beehive was preserved by Slovene beekeepers and in 1884 a plaque was put on the house where he was born. The Museum of Apiculture in

Radovljica Radovljica (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Slovenia, town in the Upper Carniola region of northern Slovenia. It is the administrative seat of the Municipality of Radovljica. Geography The town is located on the southern slope of the Karawan ...

is also named after him.

Notes

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