József Klekl ( sl, Jožef Klekl) (October 13, 1874 – May 30, 1948) was a Slovene

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest from Prekmurje and politician in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, writer, governor of the

Slovene People's Party The Slovenian People's Party ( sl, Slovenska ljudska stranka, , Slovene abbreviation SLS ) is a conservative, agrarian, Christian-democratic political party in Slovenia. Formed in 1988 under the name of Slovenian Peasant Union as the first democ ...

''(Slovenska lüdska stranka),'' later a delegate in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

. Klekl was an active proponent of the independence of the Slovene March in Hungary ''(Slovenska krajina),'' and for some time fusion with the

State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( sh, Država Slovenaca, Hrvata i Srba / ; sl, Država Slovencev, Hrvatov in Srbov) was a political entity that was constituted in October 1918, at the end of World War I, by Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( ...

Early life

Klekl born in

Prekmurje Prekmurje (; dialectically: ''Prèkmürsko'' or ''Prèkmüre''; hu, Muravidék) is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region of Slovenia, settled by Slovenes and a Hungarian minority, lying between the Mur Ri ...

, in

Krajna Krajna is a forested historical region in Poland, situated in the border area between the Greater Poland, Kuyavian-Pomeranian and Pomeranian Voivodeships. The region consists of parts of Złotów, Piła, Sępólno, Nakło, Bydgoszcz and Czł ...

, in the Vas County of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

. The writer József Klekl (1879–1936), his cousin, was also born here. Because he was older, he is known as ''Jožef Klekl Stari'' ('József Klekl Sr.') in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

n. His parents, István Klekl and Teréz Sálmán, were farmers. The Klekl family was of German descent. His grandfather Anton Klekl was born in Kellerdorf, near

Radkersburg Bad Radkersburg (; sl, Radgona; archaic hu, RegedeDivald, Kornél. 1931. ''Old Hungarian Art''. London: Oxford University Press, p. 117.) is a spa town in the southeast of the Austrian state of Styria, in the district of Südoststeiermark. G ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. On July 11, 1897, Klekl became a priest and chaplain to

Ferenc Ivanóczy Ferenc () is a given name of Hungarian origin. It is a cognate of Francis, Francisco, Francesco, François, Frank and Franz. People with the name include: * Ferenc Batthyány, Hungarian magnate and general * Ferenc Berényi, Hungarian artist * ...

Tišina Tišina (; hu, Csendlak) is a town in the Prekmurje region of northeastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Tišina. The parish church in the settlement is dedicated to the Nativity of Mary and belongs to the Roman Catholic Dioc ...

. At the time, Ivanóczy was the governor of the

Hungarian Slovenes Hungarian Slovenes ( Slovene: ''Madžarski Slovenci'', hu, Magyarországi szlovének) are an autochthonous ethnic and linguistic Slovene minority living in Hungary. The largest groups are the Rába Slovenes ( sl, porabski Slovenci, dialecticall ...

. From 1902 to 1903 he was a chaplain in Dürnbach im Burgenland, and from 1903 to 1905 in

Črenšovci Črenšovci (; hu, Cserföld) is a settlement in the Prekmurje region in northeastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Črenšovci. Črnec Creek, a tributary of the Ledava, flows past the settlement. The parish church A p ...

. In 1905 he became the priest in Pečarovci. In 1910 he retired on a pension and lived in Črenšovci.

Political activity

In 1904 Klekl founded the Hungarian Slovene Catholic newspaper '' Marijin liszt.'' In 1914 he founded the semi-radical newspaper ''

Novine ''Novine'' ( en, The Paper), is a Croatian drama series that has been broadcast on Hrvatska Radiotelevizija since 2016. The screenplay for it was written by Ivica Đikić, a journalist who had served as editor-in-chief of Rijeka's '' Novi list'' ...

.'' In this paper he took a stance against the Hungarisation of Prekmurje. In 1918 the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

was breaking up. Klekl was in connection with the Slovene politician

Anton Korošec Anton Korošec (, ; 12 May 1872 – 14 December 1940) was a Yugoslav politician, a prominent member of the conservative People's Party, a Roman Catholic priest and a noted orator. Early life Korošec was born in Biserjane (then Duchy of Styr ...

. Korošec and a few Slovene politicians backed the idea of an independent Slovene March, which would later be part of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. Klekl,

József Szakovics József Szakovics, Slovene Jožef Sakovič, German orthography Joseph Sakowitsch (February 2, 1874, Vadarci (then known as Tivadarc, in what is now Slovenia) – September 22, 1930, Alsószölnök, Hungary), was a Slovene Roman Catholic prie ...

Iván Bassa Iván Bassa Slovene ''Ivan Baša'' (11 April 1875 – 13 February 1931) Slovenian Roman Catholic priest, writer and politic. Born in Beltinci (in Prekmurje, then part of Hungary), his parents József Bassa and Anna Vucsko. Was consecrate on 16 ...

István Kühár István Kühár ( sl, Števan Kühar) (August 28, 1887 – January 1, 1922) was a Slovenes, Slovene Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic priest, politician, and writer in Hungary, and later in Yugoslavia. He was born in Gradišče, Tišina, Gra ...

, and József Csárics worked out the ''Slovene March programme,'' but in Hungary the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

administration came to power and Serbian forces quickly annexed Prekmurje. For a long time the people of Prekmurje were angry with Klekl because he did not create an independent Slovene territory. The county of

Szentgotthárd Szentgotthárd ( sl, Monošter; german: St. Gotthard) is the westernmost town of Hungary. It is situated on the Rába River near the Austrian border. History The town took its name from, and grew up round, the Cistercian Szentgotthárd Abbey, fo ...

thus remained in Hungary and in Prekmurje the official language became Slovene, not

Prekmurje Slovene Prekmurje Slovene, also known as the Prekmurje dialect, East Slovene, or Wendish ( sl, prekmurščina, prekmursko narečje, hu, vend nyelv, muravidéki nyelv, Prekmurje dialect: ''prekmürski jezik, prekmürščina, prekmörščina, prekmör ...

After the First World War

After 1920, Klekl became a delegate in the Yugoslav capital. In 1941 he enlisted in the Hungarian Army. Klekl and Szakovics actively wrote and championed the standard

in the 20th century, which was banned after 1945. Klekl died in

Murska Sobota Murska Sobota (, Slovenian abbreviation: ''MS'' ; german: Olsnitz;''Radkersburg und Luttenberg'' (map, 1:75,000). 1894. Vienna: K.u.k. Militärgeographisches Institut. hu, Muraszombat) is a town in northeastern Slovenia. It is the centre of the ...

in 1948.

External links

* Enciklopedija Slovenije; knjiga 5, Mladinska knjiga,

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 ...

, 1991.
Vasi digitális könyvtár – Vasi egyházmegye
* Göncz László: Muravidék, 1919
Bence Lajos: A szlovéniai magyarság
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klekl, Jozsef 1874 births 1948 deaths People from the Municipality of Tišina Hungarian Slovenes 20th-century Slovenian Roman Catholic priests Slovenian politicians Slovenian writers and poets in Hungary Slovenian anti-communists

Early life

Political activity

After the First World War

See also

External links