Johann Gregor Thalnitscher von Thalberg ( sl, Janez Gregor Dolničar;Petrovich, Michael B. 1963. "The rise of modern Slovenian historiography." ''Journal of Central European Affairs'' 22(4): 440–467, p. 456. 10 March 1655 – 3 October 1719)Smolnik, Marijan, & Emilijan Cevc. 1988. "Dolničar, Janez Gregor." ''Enciklopedija Slovenije'', vol. 2, 302–303. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga. was a Carniolan lawyer, scholar of ancient inscriptions, chronicler, and historian.

Life

Thalnitscher was born 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 ...

on 10 March 1655 to Maria Anna () and Johann Baptist Thalnitscher.Dimitz, August. 2013 (reprint). ''History of Carniola Volume IV: From Ancient Times to the Year 1813 with Special Consideration of Cultural Development.'' Camp Hill, PA: Slovenian Genealogy Society International, pp. 92–94. His father was a Ljubljana judge and mayor, and made it possible for his son to study and travel throughout Germany and Italy, where he developed an enthusiasm for

Baroque art The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including th ...

. He studied in

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Bav ...

and

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, and became a doctor of law in Bologna in 1679. After this he served as a town notary and judge in Ljubljana. Thalnitcher's father was elevated to nobility on 31 December 1688, giving the family the epithet "von Thalberg." Thalnitscher died in Ljubljana on 3 October 1719.

Work

Thalnitscher was the spirit of cultural rebirth in the Baroque in Ljubljana and he also wrote about artworks and studied antiquities. His historical research is significant, and he was able to add material to his father's family chronicle. His chronicles ''Annales Urbis Labacensis'' (written in German) and ''Epitome chronologica'' (1714, in Latin) preserve many details of Carniolan history. Thalnitscher studied archaeological finds from Roman

Emona Emona (early gkm, Ἤμονα) or Aemona (short for ) was a Roman castrum, located in the area where the navigable Ljubljanica river came closest to Castle Hill,

and he transcribed and studied many ancient inscriptions, coins, and grave markers, including more recent ones in Ljubljana. As a member and co-founder of the ''

Academia Operosorum Labacensium The ''Academia Operosorum Labacensium'' (Academy of the Industrious Residents of Ljubljana)—a forerunner of the modern Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts—was founded in Ljubljana in 1693 as an association of 23 scholars. Most of the member ...

'', he helped publish materials about Carniolan history that were then distributed to various academies abroad. His extensive library, now part of Ljubljana's Seminary Library ( sl, Semeniška knjižnica), contains many pamphlets and ephemera that are a valuable source on musical and theater life in Baroque Ljubljana. Thalnitscher acted as a promoter and adviser for artistic projects in Ljubljana, and it is to his credit that the Italian late Baroque is also reflected throughout the wider Carniolan countryside. He succeeded in engaging prominent foreign artists in the construction of the

Ljubljana Cathedral Ljubljana Cathedral ( sl, ljubljanska stolnica), officially named Saint Nicholas's Church (, unofficially also ), also named Saint Nicholas's Cathedral ( sl, stolnica sv. Nikolaja), the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas, or simply the Cathedral (), is a ...

. He also proposed founding an "Academy of the Three Arts" (''Academia trium atrium'') devoted to painting, sculpture, and architecture, but this was never realized. Thalnitscher's inventory of the old and new Ljubljana Cathedral, titled ''Cathedralis Basilicae Labacensis Historia'' (1701–1719), was published in 1882 as ''Historia Cathedralis Ecclesiae Labacensis'' and is the first theoretical treatise on its artworks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thalnitscher, Johann Gregor 1655 births 1719 deaths Carniolan historians Lawyers from Ljubljana Writers from Ljubljana Carniolan lawyers