Janez Bleiweis (19 November 1808 – 29 November 1881) was a Slovene conservative politician, journalist, physician, veterinarian, and public figure. He was the leader of the so-called Old Slovene political movement. Already during his lifetime, he was called father of the nation. Bleiweis was born in a wealthy merchant family in the

Carniola Carniola ( sl, Kranjska; , german: Krain; it, Carniola; hu, Krajna) 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 sti ...

n city of

Kranj Kranj (, german: Krainburg) is the third-largest city in Slovenia, with a population of 37,941 (2020). It is located approximately northwest of Ljubljana. The centre of the City Municipality of Kranj and of the traditional region of Upper Carniol ...

, then part of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

. Since childhood, he was raised in a bilingual environment. He was fluent in both Slovene and German, as most of the members of the upper middle class in Carniola at the time. He attended the lyceum in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

before enrolling at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

, where he studied medicine. After completing his studies, he worked as a professor of

veterinary medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

and

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

in Ljubljana. Bleiweis wrote a number of text from the fields of the veterinary medicine and human health, particularly about infectious diseases. In 1843, Bleiweis founded the journal ''

Kmetijske in rokodelske novice {{Unreferenced, date=July 2015 ''Kmetijske in rokodelske novice'' ( en, Agricultural and Artisan News), frequently referred to simply as ''Novice'' (''News''), was a Slovene-language newspaper in the 19th century, which had an influential role i ...

'' (Farmers' and Craftsmen's News) and edited it until his death in 1881. It dealt with economic, as well as with cultural issues in the

Slovene Lands The Slovene lands or Slovenian lands ( sl, Slovenske dežele or in short ) is the historical denomination for the territories in Central and Southern Europe where people primarily spoke Slovene. The Slovene lands were part of the Illyrian provinc ...

. In the spring of nations of 1848, he became involved in politics and supported the quest of United Slovenia. At the beginning of the constitutional period in the

, Bleiweis emerged as the leader of the

Slovene national movement Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia * Sl ...

. Already in the late 1850s, however, his politically conservatitive leadership was challenged by the younger generation of Slovene nationalists, known as the

Young Slovenes Young Slovenes ( sl, Mladoslovenci) were a Slovene national liberal political movement in the 1860s and 1870s, inspired and named after the Young Czechs in Bohemia and Moravia. They were opposed to the national conservative Old Slovenes. They en ...

, among whom were

Fran Levstik Fran Levstik (28 September 1831 – 16 November 1887) was a Slovene writer, political activist, playwright and critic. He was one of the most prominent exponents of the Young Slovene political movement. Life and work Levstik was born in 18 ...

Josip Stritar Josip Stritar (6 March 1836 – 25 November 1923) was a Slovene writer, poet, essayist, the first aesthetic critic, playwright, publisher and translator. Life Stritar spent his early childhood in his home village of Podsmreka in rural Lower ...

, and

Josip Jurčič Josip Jurčič (4 March 1844 – 3 May 1881) was a Slovene writer and journalist. He was born in Muljava, Austrian Empire (now part of the municipality of Ivančna Gorica, Slovenia)Levec, Fran. 1881. Josip Jurčič. ''Ljubljanski zvon'' 1(6) ( ...

. Bleiweis' group, which included Lovro Toman,

Etbin Henrik Costa Etbin Henrik Costa (18 October 1832 – 28 January 1875) was a Slovene national conservative politician and author. Together with Janez Bleiweis and Lovro Toman, he was one of the leaders of the Old Slovene political party. He was born in a w ...

Luka Svetec Luka Svetec (8 October 1826 – 28 January 1921) was a Slovene politician, lawyer, author and philologist. In the 1870s and 1880s, Svetec was one of the most influential leaders of the so-called Old Slovenes, a national conservative political g ...

and

Andrej Einspieler Andrej Einspieler (13 November 1813 – 16 January 1888) was a Slovenes, Slovene politician, Roman Catholic priest and journalist, and one of the early leaders of the Old Slovene national movement in the 19th century. He was known as the "father ...

was identified as the

Old Slovenes {{unreferenced, date=May 2016 Old Slovenes ( sl, Staroslovenci) is the term used for a national conservative political group in the Slovene Lands from the 1850s to the 1870s, which was opposed to the radical national liberal Young Slovenes. The m ...

thereafter, although they themselves never accepted such a name. Bleiweis was a

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

legitimist and follower of the Austroslavist ideology. In politics, he followed the example of the Czech leader

František Palacký František Palacký (; June 17, 1798 – May 26, 1876) was a Czech historian and politician, the most influential person of the Czech National Revival, called "Father of the Nation". Life František Palacký was born on June 17, 1798 at Hodslavi ...

, who demanded autonomy for the Slavic peoples within a unified

. In 1881, Bleiweis was granted

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

hood by

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the Grand title of the Emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg m ...

, the Emperor of Austria. The same year, he died in Ljubljana and was buried in the St. Christopher Cemetery in the Bežigrad district of Ljubljana.

References

Sources

Jože Pogačnik Jože Pogačnik (22 April 1932 – 16 February 2016) was a Slovenian film director and screenwriter. After studying film directing, Pogačnik first worked as a film critic, before becoming a prominent author of documentary films in the 1960s, ...

, "Janez Bleiweis" in ''Slovenska misel: eseji o slovenstvu'' (Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba, 1987), 437-438

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bleiweis, Janez 1808 births 1881 deaths People from Kranj Carniolan physicians Slovenian Roman Catholics Old Slovenes politicians Members of the Diet of the Duchy of Carniola Austro-Hungarian politicians Slovenian veterinarians Carniolan journalists Carniolan editors 19th-century journalists 19th-century Carniolan writers Male journalists 19th-century male writers University of Vienna alumni Members of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts Austrian Empire physicians